e320 cdi Engine missing a beat

[too_juicey]

I have a 2002 e320 cdi which has started to miss a beat.

At idle the engine sometimes makes a single judder as though it has fuel starvation (like a missfire in a petrol car). When driving it does the same. Also at the same time the speedo needle jumps as the speed increases and not a smooth action as before. There is no smoke other than a blue puff when it judders during driving, and there is no apparent power loss. It does make a bad knock when it misses a beat.

I''ve been told it could be an injector or electronic problem - the needle sticking etc.

Any ideas?

Thanks...

 

[colechelle]

Would think one or more injectors are on there way out, need to have it put on a star machine and see what the values are for the injectors!!!

 

[BlackC55]

Seconded......

 

[too_juicey]

Thanks, I had it put on a diagnostic today and they found nothing??? So I am now trying to find someone with a "star" machine to check the values for the injectors.

The knock is a bit scarey - like a big end bearing noise - i have been driving it, should i stop?

 

[sms78]

i think im having the same problem with mine lol but ive found that the 320 cdi is a noisey engine anyway .

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Hi,
Take the car to a Bosch diesel specialist, they will remove the injectors and bench test them for spray pattern etc. I'm afraid this is proving to be a common fault with these injectors, the injectors nozzles on my 320 were replaced due to severe errosion. I have the old nozzles and they are nearly all erroded badly. A common complaint according to the specialist.

 

[too_juicey]

Thanks again, I will try and book it in somewhere asap. But the engine is not noisey as sms78 has found - it's very quite.

The knock worries me!

I'll be in touch...

 

[sms78]

mine is noisey cos im missing the bottom engine cover. But i find the engine ticks very loudly and also knocks like yours . Ive had 3 210's now and they all sounded bit rattly . i suppose ya have to expect a bit of noise cos the 210's a bit of an old banger now i just buy them for work cos in london the roads destroy most cars .

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

buy japanese new or old, new mercs are great if you can afford one, old mercs are for loosers, and mercmasachists. very complicated, impossible to manage when ware sets in. just look at hundreds of postings on this site, there are ten opinions on every fault and each one is probably right. you can spend hundreds of pounds and get no nearer to your problems. oil in wiring, sensors poorly, slight oil level in auto box, low battery ecu won't set, maf unit dirty, cold weather, air leaks on one of 55 "o"rings, chain tensioners, belt tensioners, vac pipes leaking, etc. etc. old toyotas can cut it, mercs cannot. yes iam ****ed off, just spent £750 at three top garages, and still got problems, trouble is when you have spent the money you don't want to turn back. wish i had read the postings on this site before i bought my merc. i studid taguchi the japanese eng. professor, he said "when the noise factors of a design outnumber the long term control factors, then the machine will never be reliable". in laymen's terms if a thousand things can go wrong then one of them always will. herbiemercman.

 

[Stu_CDX]

buy japanese new or old, new mercs are great if you can afford one, old mercs are for loosers, and mercmasachists. very complicated, impossible to manage when ware sets in. just look at hundreds of postings on this site, there are ten opinions on every fault and each one is probably right. you can spend hundreds of pounds and get no nearer to your problems. oil in wiring, sensors poorly, slight oil level in auto box, low battery ecu won't set, maf unit dirty, cold weather, air leaks on one of 55 "o"rings, chain tensioners, belt tensioners, vac pipes leaking, etc. etc. old toyotas can cut it, mercs cannot. yes iam ****ed off, just spent £750 at three top garages, and still got problems, trouble is when you have spent the money you don't want to turn back. wish i had read the postings on this site before i bought my merc. i studid taguchi the japanese eng. professor, he said "when the noise factors of a design outnumber the long term control factors, then the machine will never be reliable". in laymen's terms if a thousand things can go wrong then one of them always will. herbiemercman.

I think that's sailing a little close to the wind really. I have an old merc with my Missus... Are you calling me a looser for not buying new?

I thoroghly enjoy my car and would rather have a German or English car (Merc or Vauxhall) as my two choices than some piece of rubbish from Toyota or so on.

I'd never drive anything else

 

[maska]

buy japanese new or old, new mercs are great if you can afford one, old mercs are for loosers, and mercmasachists. very complicated, impossible to manage when ware sets in. just look at hundreds of postings on this site, there are ten opinions on every fault and each one is probably right. you can spend hundreds of pounds and get no nearer to your problems. oil in wiring, sensors poorly, slight oil level in auto box, low battery ecu won't set, maf unit dirty, cold weather, air leaks on one of 55 "o"rings, chain tensioners, belt tensioners, vac pipes leaking, etc. etc. old toyotas can cut it, mercs cannot. yes iam ****ed off, just spent £750 at three top garages, and still got problems, trouble is when you have spent the money you don't want to turn back. wish i had read the postings on this site before i bought my merc. i studid taguchi the japanese eng. professor, he said "when the noise factors of a design outnumber the long term control factors, then the machine will never be reliable". in laymen's terms if a thousand things can go wrong then one of them always will. herbiemercman.

Looser !

 

[umblecumbuz]

Herbie - you have a valid point.

Having owned a number of Mercs, I find the modern ones prone to niggles far more than the older cars (pre-1995).

I enjoy my 2005 C270, love driving it, but have had mystery warning lights, track rod trouble, glow-plug and injector seal hiccups, fuel O-ring problems, brake and tyre wear pains, and now ATF leakage - either from the pilot bush or pipes, not sure yet.

But my 9 year old JapJeep has seen more miles and more mud, been thoroughly abused, towed diggers and Mercs, and has never let me down. It just does its job without drama or concern, day in and day out. No replacement parts needed yet, and the paint finish is superior to the Merc.

Sad - but that's the real life.

Baz

 

[toby1]

Looser !

Looser than what.....?

 

[jberks]

Herbie,
Doesn't that make you a looser? You have an old E class and its not exactly a 123 or 124 is it?
Sure there are hundreds of possible causes for any fault and a jap car will probably be less troublesome. But my ageing E is fine still and it's infinitely nicer to drive than anything Japanese.
I also wonder whether we are more tolerant of faults on Jap cars. My heater fan occasionally squeaks for a few seconds. Bearings no doubt. (Malc tells me its an easy fix). Only I'd not hear it in anything Japanese above the din produced by the trim which will be rattling and squeaking away after 7 years and 130,000 miles. It's only because my merc is so refined and quiet that I'm even aware of it!
Golden rule is always use someone who knows what they're looking at and has hopefully seen the fault before.

 

[toby1]

Loser; someone who doesn't win

Looser; not as tight as something else

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I think that older cars, without complex engine management systems, complex electronics etc will inherently be more reliable. Simply because there is less to go wrong.

Think back to the old 240D........mega miles...no MAF, no electronic sensors, no catalytic converter, dont even think a crankshaft or camshaft sensor, no ABS, no EPC, no wheel sensors, no interwiring of the brake switch, no electric seats, no swirl flaps in the manifold, wind your own windows sometimes. And......those engines would do mega miles without a rebuild....

Oil changes much more frequent, higher fuel consumption, but easier to diy. I reckon maintenance on one of those would be much less than the newer cars thereby making up for the poorer economy. And of course no depreciation.

The logic is find an early 300D, live with the lesser performance and enjoy cheap and cheerful motoring. With what you save then buy a nice classic for yourself.

I have put almost 50k on the Peugeot in 2 years, had a main dealer fit a timing belt but done all other routine maintenance myself. In this time it has had various oil and filter changes, cabin filter, fuel filter, brake pads, reverse light switch.

On the look out for a good W123 now. I look at the new v6 and see the amount of components that will go wrong in 150k miles.......its heavy. It would be interesting to see a life cycle cost for a current model E320cdi up to 150k miles.

 

[mercmancdi]

I had a deisel a few yrs back and it start to knock badly i thought it was going to blow up but when i took the car to dealer it was a deisel knock i had got a fill of bad fuel he drained a lot off then put deisel treatment in and refilled with good fuel and changed the fuel filter 60mls later the knock faded out and was good from then on . Not saying this is your problem but ?

 

[Naraic]

So many losers on this old thread...who can't spell loser.

 

[Naraic]

Loser !

Fixed that for you.