New member, owner of a 2008 E320 CDI & occasional driver of a 1997 E300 TD

LostKiwi

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Aug 25, 2006
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Midlands / Charente-Maritime
Your Mercedes
'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
Wow so kind of you to offer :) Might well have to take you up on it if I can figure out a way to get the car to you!

I've been using an Autel Maxidiag unit to read and clear codes in the TCU but no doubt Star is many times more capable and sophisticated!

I am tempted to throw a new conductor plate at it but I'm reluctant to do so without knowing for certain it'll fix her as that means digging into the budget for the rally even further, which in turn means less money to donate to the charity at the end, plus it seems odd that one code (speed sensor 3) has gone only to be replaced by another even more debilitating one (shift solenoid) just because I removed and cleaned the 13-pin connector o_O
I come over the N'hampton fairly regularly (Stepson and stepdaughter live there) so could drop by if it makes it easier. Its not exactly far anyway.
 
OP
Jeremy Nesbitt
Joined
Mar 29, 2018
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Your Mercedes
W211 E320 2009 CDI
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I come over the N'hampton fairly regularly (Stepson and stepdaughter live there) so could drop by if it makes it easier. Its not exactly far anyway.

That would be awesome if you could :) Let me know when and we'll arrange a rendezvous.

I've only been on here a couple of weeks and I'm already very impressed!! :cool:
 
OP
Jeremy Nesbitt
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Mar 29, 2018
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Your Mercedes
W211 E320 2009 CDI
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Back for an update :)

After LostKiwi's extremely kind offer of popping over for a Star session on the SS Mercedes to see what it could reveal about the gearbox issue I discovered that one of the 13 pins inside the conductor plate connector was broken so a full replacement of the plate would be necessary anyway. I suspect the speed sensor was the issue all along, but by removing and replacing the 13 pin connector a couple of times I inadvertently bent and broke the pin that connects the offending shift solenoid so that became a secondary issue.

I bought a full genuine Mercedes conductor plate kit on the company credit card and got to work one Saturday morning. Took about 2 hours all told and I made really sure it went back together nicely with everything oil tight, torqued properly and perfect. I'm pleased to say that was the gearbox issues sorted, and she was driving better than ever as a result :cool:

I then set about the brakes, replacing pads and discs on all 4 corners with ATE parts. A straight forward job and the result was much better 'bite' from the brakes with none of the fade of the previous jobbies. For £220 in parts plus a couple of hours of my labour I was pleased with the results. I'd use ATE parts again happily.

A couple of weeks later I took her for all the brake lines to be cleaned/greased or replaced where necessary due to the MOT advisories but the garage also noted a leak from the engine oil cooler. After further deliberation out came the company credit card again, with the pipes and cooler being replaced. Genuine pipes, aftermarket cooler for a steal on Amazon. Oil leak fixed, for about £400 all in.

She was then stickered up again for this year's charity rally:
DA1838C0-7567-4317-B601-9E6B58FF084E_zpsocg5keii.jpg

The theme was 'Millionaires', a nod to the final destination of Monte Carlo, so our marketing team creatively came up with the Only Fools & Horses theme and "this time next year Rodney..." At one point there was talk of trying to make the SS Mercedes look like Del Boy's Reliant but thankfully that got dropped on favour of what's seen above.

I'm please to report that the old girl made it to Monte Carlo and back without issue :cool: However, after 4 years of charity rallies and about 18k miles it's time for us to sadly let her go as we'll be using a different car next year. I'll shed a tear when she goes, we've put a HEAP of money into keeping her tip-top and I realise we'll barely get any of that back, but nonetheless she was the car that opened my eyes to the delights of MB and without that I wouldn't have my own W211 now. If anyone's interested in buying, give me a shout, we don't want much for her :D

In the meantime my aforementioned W211 continues to run perfectly and impress me every day. SO pleased I bought her, genuinely the best car buying decision I've made in 24 years of motoring :cool:
 

sonic

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Nov 21, 2009
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Staffordshire
Your Mercedes
E350CDI, SLC250d, FJR 1300
A great story, don't forget to to knock the gearbox down when decending steep hills. Saves the brakes.
 

Craiglxviii

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Sep 6, 2015
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Cambs UK
Your Mercedes
970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
HOW DID I MISS THIS STORY?!

Hello Jeremy and welcome from another near-to-Northampton W211 owner. Yours has absolutely stunning wheels I must say!
 

Wighty

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Aug 4, 2016
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Sunny Essex
Your Mercedes
W211/E320cdi/2009 and CLK200k 2009
A great story, don't forget to to knock the gearbox down when decending steep hills. Saves the brakes.
Doesn't that just make the much more expensive gearbox wear out earlier ?
 

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