E270 S211 Air Con Compressor

[GeoffWestWales]

Hi,
The other day a very nasty sounding rattle started on my 2005 E270 Estate, it was the air con compressor looks like the bearing shave failed so trying to repair it on the cheap, I have heard that there is a smaller fan belt for some E class cars that did not have air con fitted, does anyone know the part number please?

Also are all the W211 Air Con Compressors the same as another option is a used compressor from Ebay but can only get them for E320

 

[Mr Greedy]

I needed to do the air con compressor on my previous car just over a year ago due to the same noice. I put on a brand new compressor myself. £180 plus new seals from the dealer plus degas/regas costs! Bargain.

Anyway, I managed to get it so cheap as follows:

Got the air con compressor part number off 7zap using my VIN number.
This allowed me to see the same compressor on ebay and see where the Merc part number and manufacturers number would be on the compressor casing.
I was able to crawl under the car with one wheel on a block with a torch and camera phone and take a picture of the air con compressor part number and manufacturer number (it was a SANDEN unit originally in that instance).

Then with the confirmed part number, put it into Autodoc and see what OEM compressors come up. This gave me a list of actual OEM manufacturers numbers (and not just the Mercedes part number).
Then search eBay and Google for the actual OEM manufacturers part number.
I also had the original SANDEN part number.

In my instance, I found a Hella compressor using the Hella number (not advertised as fitting my car, but the Hella number matched the SANDEN number matched my part number).

I also called Hella once I'd settled on what I thought was the correct number, and they confirmed that it was the correct part for my car (I can't remember if this was via Mercedes part number or the SANDEN number shown on my compressor).
Found someone selling a new but old stock Hella unit, made an ebay 'best offer', got my car degassed and fitted it myself.

 

[GeoffWestWales]

I needed to do the air con compressor on my previous car just over a year ago due to the same noice. I put on a brand new compressor myself. £180 plus new seals from the dealer plus degas/regas costs! Bargain.

Anyway, I managed to get it so cheap as follows:

Got the air con compressor part number off 7zap using my VIN number.
This allowed me to see the same compressor on ebay and see where the Merc part number and manufacturers number would be on the compressor casing.
I was able to crawl under the car with one wheel on a block with a torch and camera phone and take a picture of the air con compressor part number and manufacturer number (it was a SANDEN unit originally in that instance).

Then with the confirmed part number, put it into Autodoc and see what OEM compressors come up. This gave me a list of actual OEM manufacturers numbers (and not just the Mercedes part number).
Then search eBay and Google for the actual OEM manufacturers part number.
I also had the original SANDEN part number.

In my instance, I found a Hella compressor using the Hella number (not advertised as fitting my car, but the Hella number matched the SANDEN number matched my part number).

I also called Hella once I'd settled on what I thought was the correct number, and they confirmed that it was the correct part for my car (I can't remember if this was via Mercedes part number or the SANDEN number shown on my compressor).
Found someone selling a new but old stock Hella unit, made an ebay 'best offer', got my car degassed and fitted it myself.

Thanks for such a great reply as car is now off the road will remove it and get all the part numbers, seen as the car is a 2005 it;s lasted well, better hope the weather is kind and get the old girl on the ramps, good job that cold spell has gone.

 

[Mr Greedy]

If you can do parts detective work like this, it can save you a fortune. For my W203, I found original Sachs rear shocks for my w203 (exactly the same Sachs numbers as the factory install) for something like £18 each of a major parts seller via eBay. Thankfully for the w203 you could just lie on the ground at the rear of the car, pop your head under the rear bumper with a damp cloth, wipe off the shock and see the Sachs number.
They were listed under something like compatible for a Vauxhall Astra van. I bought 1, tried it and it was identical and fitted fine (of course it did, but I was just sure £18 couldn't be correct). I then straight away got back on eBay and ordered a 2nd. There were 5x the price if I bought them from Merc.

 

[Lumpini]

I need rear air springs for a 2002 CL500 but I need the part number to order from eBay. I have the VIN number but getting the part numbers seems to be a serious problem. Any ideas where i can get the part number from?