D.I.Y. - 190E

[Geronimo]

Hello,
I have acquired a 14 yr old 6-cyl 190E 2.6 Manual merc in the last 6 months, have yet to join the owners club but will be sending in the form now I have seen this website it's excellent. I would like to maintain and refurb my merc myself but am finding the Haynes manual and the huge engine bay & eletronics very difficult.
I have had trouble with the car stalling when coming to a stop but after fitting new plugs, new fuel filter, new accelerator cable and switching EZL trim switch from 'S' to 'N' found that it now only stalls intermittently and not nearly as regularly as it has done, will now be taking it to Bosch specialist to get electrics checked out. Also having major problems with overheating - fitted new radiator and new thermostat and after leaking radiator car came with finally burst but temp still rockets over 120 does not affect running of car and then drops back down to 80-85 while still running, may be airlock have only put new thermostat in this week, fan appears to run straight away when started from cold and not spin freely as the Haynes book states.
I would appreciate any feed back on these points as I do intend keeping the car and bringing it back to 'good as new' state, it still is a fantastic car with great performance even in its present state and will hopefully remain my working classic.
Last point, fuel consumption is around 200 mile to a full tank of fuel is this normal? I know it could do slightly more but I tend to drive it quite hard on motorways.

 

[Geronimo]

D.I.Y.

Has nobody any ideas I know some of these subjects have been touched on before b4 but need some help. Also getting noiseier now when clutch relesed - new clutch? Any price guides Andy, sorry to use this as direct contact for Andy but he is only chap I have seen on here that works for himself and could help out. I read the message about advertising and I agree, that side should be avoided but nice to see some 'genuine' tradesmen on the site.

 

[Matt Crooke]

D.I.Y.

Hi there

Regarding the over heating. Now you have the new rad fitted, does the temp still his 120 degrees withough the fan cutting in?

 

[white190]

D.I.Y.

Have you replaced the Temperature sensor ???
This is a well known cause of the EM fans locking all the while.

Will the fan Spin freely when the Ingition is switched off ?? if it does it points to the Temperature sensor .....

If the fan doesn't spin freely with the engine cold and the ignition off ... you need a new fan coupler.

Also did you flush the engine with clean water when you replaced the rad ??.

It is a good idea to get your KE diagnosed ... that can save many hours of fault finding.

BUT


take a good look around the engine bay and make real sure you don't have any split/loose vacuum pipes or breather pipes
.... this can weaken the mixture at Idle and cause the car to stall..... Also check the air bypass valve is working.

The Haynes manuals aren't very good for the 190/190E are they...

get your self one of these CD's
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....;ed=1033539384&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOT:UK:3



(Edited by white190 at 9:47 am on Sep. 26, 2002)

 

[Geronimo]

D.I.Y.

Thanks for feedback. Not sure if fan cuts in or not Matt it seems to spin with engine. Think u might have cracked it White190, it does spin freely when engines off so I'll go for new sensor, its all been flushed through I'm a gasman so I'm well aware of problems with sludge and so forth even threw a mild central heating descaler in there but I think that just finished off the old rad.
Thanks for the help, I'll let u know how it goes.

 

[Matt Crooke]

D.I.Y.

Just had a thought, i think its only the 1.8 and 2.0 litre 190's that have Electro magnetic fans, as far as i know the bigger versions have viscous clutch fans. It sounds as though yours has given up the ghost. As you will know this style of fans dont operate by a sensor, they use the heat from the rad and the engine bay in general to thicken the viscous in the clutch and lock the fan on. It looks like it may be a purchase of a new fan thats in order as im not sure there is a lot that can be done with a clutch once its gone. Definatly go ahead with the full engine flush though. What you need to do is leave the car till its cold, then see if the fan spins freely. Then drive the car till its warm, leave ticking over until it his about 100 degrees or just above..this is the point when the fan should lock up. Switch the engine off then spin the fan again. If its still spinning freely its the clutch gone for sure. This will be the cause of your over heating. I had the same in a Granada i used to own.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Matt Crooke]

D.I.Y.

Just had a thought, i think its only the 1.8 and 2.0 litre 190's that have Electro magnetic fans, as far as i know the bigger versions have viscous clutch fans. It sounds as though yours has given up the ghost. As you will know this style of fans dont operate by a sensor, they use the heat from the rad and the engine bay in general to thicken the viscous in the clutch and lock the fan on. It looks like it may be a purchase of a new fan thats in order as im not sure there is a lot that can be done with a clutch once its gone. Definatly go ahead with the full engine flush though. What you need to do is leave the car till its cold, then see if the fan spins freely. Then drive the car till its warm, leave ticking over until it his about 100 degrees or just above..this is the point when the fan should lock up. Switch the engine off then spin the fan again. If its still spinning freely its the clutch gone for sure. This will be the cause of your over heating. I had the same in a Granada i used to own.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Spike]

D.I.Y.

Sounds to me like it is the clutch but another very common problem is the expansion tank cap can sometimes be leaking slightly. If it is leaking even slightly (above a certain pressure), the temperature can alo soar. IIRC the last time I bought a new cap, it was less than a fiver so it might be worth doing in any event.  

The same symptoms can also be said if any other pipework in the system isnt correctly sealed so check all your joints for any signs of previous seepage.

 

[Geronimo]

D.I.Y.

Matt,
Have read the fabled Haynes manual and found I have the thermo-viscous couple as you suspected - therefore I have not gone ahead with the purchase of a new temp sensor. This looks like a job for handy Andy........
..........I could do with some MDF arches, not as tacky as chrome.
Spike, whats IIRC? And yes Matt after engine hot and switched off the fan spins freely.

 

[Matt Crooke]

D.I.Y.

Its the clutch for sure then..highly irritating. Ive never seen under the bonnet of a 2.6. although i wouldnt imagine fitting a new fan would be too much trouble although using a professional certainly cuts out a lot of headaches!

 

[Spike]

D.I.Y.

IIRC = If I Remember Correctly