Diesel fuel injector seals

[yellowbelly]

I currently own a c220 cdi'99, can anyone advise on how to check if the seals need replacing? The car appears to run perfect yet i noticed on an old service sheet that one may need replacing, alas two independents have told me contrasting stories. One says they need doing and the other says they dont, to be honest i cant say i trust either, so would appreciate any advice from the forum.

Many thanks

Darren

 

[simonnite]

Hi Darren, had injector prob on my vito 110 cdi, showed itself by whitish smoke coming out of plastic rocker cover area, was pretty obvious, in my opinion if 'it aint broke dont fix it' especially as m6 thread holding them down appears v fragile so just the process of removal and refit could strip the thread and cause more agro..

 

[yellowbelly]

Thanks for the advice, is this job that delicate that ist geared for an independent rather than a steady diy repair?

 

[simonnite]

Hi Darren would suggest you remove the plastic cover over the rocker cover, if ther is a serious amount of hard black crud underneath, on and around the injectors ( I have pics of my crud!!) then they are leaking..
Would love to know how endemic this problem is with these engines as suspect MB is keeping a head down strategy!
cheers
Simon

 

[yellowbelly]

Simon

Cheers for the tip, will be having a look at weekend

 

[GGB]

Hi Yellowbelly

This seems to be a regular topic on the forum! I've got problems with my 99T C220 CDI diesel injectors at the mo; I've got an independant mech replacing one of them on my 135K lump (can't afford to have them all done at once (£1000+) so I've opted to have the only obviously leaky one replaced) I should find out today what the damage is likely to be. The symptoms of the snag were a "rough as a badgers arse" idle that made you get motion sickness! And a horrible rattley engine noise at low rpm. (Don't expect it did the fuel economy much good either!)

 

[GGB]

Just got the beast back from the independant mech (Connellys Bmth) having had two out of four injectors replaced with the other two resealed/reseated, a hefty bill for £705 on top of last weeks £700 service (lots replaced/repaired) she is running sweetly again. 135K on the clock and everything is as tight as the day it rolled of the production line (famous last words I know!) lets hope that is the end of this years big bills!

 

[shaneroyb]

same problem

HI.just read the threads on injectors and i am currently in the process of removing an injector,but i may have cracked the casing around the injector,it is well stuck in and wont budge,any suggestions?

 

[dava]

MB are aware of the problem and they have produced a new grease for assembling them, shame they did not use it from new. 001 989 42 51/10. It is also recommended for the fitting of glow plugs, they have also produced a set of long reach wire brushes to clean out the injector hole. They also say the reason that glow plugs seize in the head is because they have been incorectly torqued and gases are passing past the seat and up the threads and I supose it's the same for the injectors, which is a very common fault, you'll probably hear it 'chuffing' and a smell of fumes as well as the tell tale signs of black oilly crud around it.....

 

[Wezzel]

Seems like a common fault. My '99 220cdi had a leaking seal last year. It covered the top of the engine in black crud (as Simon said) and you could hear a 'puffing/ticking' sort of noise.

Cost me about £100 at an indy.

 

[GGB]

Just had the other two injectors changed (or rather re-conned) for £435 including VAT/labour etc. Ouch! A lot to spend on this car in the last six months (£1800), hopefully thats the last of them as I starting to loose my faith in this car! As regard the post on a seized injector; all I can say is get it to an indy (you could try a glug of penetrating oil but I doubt it will be much use, be careful as apparently its a doddle to damage the head shifting them!). Good luck!

 

[Bill312D]

Didn;t wanna make another thread about this one so i've dragged this up.
Just bought a vito 110CDI (V reg 73k) and i got the ticking sorta noise and bit of white smoke in the engine bay, which i presumed was a dodgy joint on the egr or similar seeing as the engine bay is so cramped you can't see anything!
Sounds like it must be an injector, but the engine still runs sweet pulls hard in all gears and is good on fuel...surely an injector leaking should upset the running of the engine one way or another?

 

[muller1]

CDI Injectors

I just had all 5 injectors on my ML 270 overhauled, new nozzles, needles etc and set up as per spec., and refitted for a total of £700.
The engine now runs perfectly, no smoke on start up except a trace of black on first fire up from cold.
Fuel consumption is better and is now like a new one.
The 6mm clamp pins MUST be changed when replacing the injectors as they are a stretch fit and only should be used once.
An easy way to check for a leak from the cylinder is when the engine is cold remove the plastic cover and squirt a little soapy water round the injectors and start the engine.
Bubbles mean leak, tiny amount tiny leak lots of bubbles lots of leak.
DO TON be tempted to tighten the clampiong pin as it WILL break, take it out, pull injector, clean pocket, replace copper washer MB or Bosch, part as the washer is NOT A NORMAL flat copper washer but slightly convex both sides, renew the clamp pin in the interests of safety, and torque up again.

Regards.
Mike

 

[Bill312D]

and its that simple? new stretch bolt, washer, and a torque wrench? and the injector is jus theld in by this 1 6mm bolt then just pulls out? no wonder they leak!
If its as easy as you say why are there so many threads about people struggling with this?

 

[Bill312D]

just about to go and have a looka t them, can anyone reveal why muller1 makes it seem really easy and a load of other people have had major hassle with it?

 

[Bill312D]

Right had a looks, look slike the 2 on the left have been leaking everything around them is black but i don't think (hope) theres enough hard stuff down there to make them too hard to get out. Rang my local independent who quoted me £5-600 but wont garentee that the problem wont come back hows that compare with what everyone else was told? Anyone who has DIY'd it or is a mechanic how bad do you think they'll be from these pics...

the ones tha ti thinbk are ok

 

[Bill312D]

come on, anyone?

 

[stumo]

come on, anyone?

I'm by no means an expert, but it looks bad to me. I just tried to replace a couple of leaky ones on my ML270 a day or so ago, and I couldn't get one of them out. My engine is so clean up the top there you could eat off it. The one that wouldn't come out had a very slight trace of that black crud (that stuff that is all over your rocker cover) only on the join under the clamp where the cover and injector meet. but that is enough to lock the injector in there solid - actually it is just the tip of the iceberg - the whole shaft of the injector is locked in by the lava.

Also, it looks like yours has had a bad case of "black death" before. Tell-tale signs are that the wires for your injectors are missing their outer insulation. That is one of the first things to go when someone has to chip away at the lava that forms from the volcanic eruption at a badly leaking injector seal.

 

[kebo57]

come on, anyone?

Hi Bill I have some tooling for this job see link below
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=35511
Your profile doesn't show where you are located
"how bad do you think they'll be from these pics..."
You can't tell I had one that wasn't showing a leak untill I did the bubble test & I had to make a puller to get it out

Kevin

 

[Bill312D]

Hi I am in Kent so a fair way fromy ou I thnik, although not too far. My local indy has quoted me a base figure over £200 more expenisve than what 'Black C55' has over the phone. and says he has a tool that will remove the injectors but also break them at the same time and if he has to use this i'll need to replace the injectors. This got me thinking, if he use this tool it must cut down on lbour massivley. and i an get a pair of injectors off ebay for under £200. so could i go to him and say get them out with this destructive tool and bang these in and save aload on labour? or do all the injectors need to be ine xactly the same condition and or need calibrating etc? is it viable?