E320CDI Juddering

[davidpmiller]

I have an EClass 320CDI (Reg Aug 2000) -46K Miles

Recently, the car has started juddering badly when at idle. The dealer said one of the cylinders was down (not sure what that meant but it was expensive!!).

They suggested adding some Diesel cleaner, which appears to do the trick for a while. However, it starts again after a few weeks, in addition if the car isn't started for a few days it struggles to start (not sure if it is related)

The last service changed the glow plugs which they said would solve the problem, but it didn't!!!

No warning lights or messages just juddering!! Another dealer suggested it may be a leaky rubber plug that sits on the top of the gearbox, which after 3-4 years this goes hard and un knowing to the car owner, oil from the gearbox travels' up the cables in a capillary way and finds itself in the control box/ecu, this ends up with the gearbox having lots of faults, the only way to cure this is to replace the ecu,and the wiring harness, this is 9 hours labour, @110 the ecu is £600 and the harness is £500 - all in all about £2000!!!!!

Any ideas what the problem could be?

Regards

 

[Blobcat]

You know the glow plugs have failed as the warning light comes back on after the car has started and remains on for ~20 seconds.
Cylinder 'down' to me is compression. If you have a compression problem then it could be pistons rings, head gasket or valves.
From what you have written it does not appear that your garage knows that much about MB products.

 

[television]

MB's answer to, engine shaking, misfiring when accelerating and dies at idle is the MAF (mass air filter)


Malcolm

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

You need to check all the basics first.
A good place to start is the fuel filter, if this hasn't been changed already.

It does sound very much like a faulty injector so it is probably worth seeking out a deisel specialist who should be able to pressure test the system and hopefully test the injectors.

I think the MB commercial dealers have a better attitude than the car dealers so it might be a good idea to talk to them (less bull___t).

Always use branded fuel, Shell or BP.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

You need to check all the basics first.
A good place to start is the fuel filter, if this hasn't been changed already.

It does sound very much like a faulty injector so it is probably worth seeking out a deisel specialist who should be able to pressure test the system and hopefully test the injectors.

I think the MB commercial dealers have a better attitude than the car dealers so it might be a good idea to talk to them (less bull___t).

Hope this helps.

My thoughts too.

I was recently told by an MB independent that CDI's are prone to injector faults so this could be the problem. I agree with the tip about going to the Commercial side of Mercedes. If they are prepared to accept a car(why not?) then they do have the experience of fixing CDI engined sprinters all day every day so should go straight to the problem. I am sure they have been there, done it, bought the T shirt when it comes to these engines. I am not certain but from what I have gathered during conversations with my dealer the procedure for diagnosing faulty injectors is to pull the leakoff/return pipes and drain into containers and the one that returns a different amount to the others while the engine is running is at fault? of course I may be completely wrong on this but it seems logical.

As Malcolm210 says, it would be a good idea to ensure the fuel system is in tip top shape and I would also replace the air filter to make sure the engine is breathing properly(both these items are cheap and you can do them yourself, always eliminate the obvious before you involve expensive outside help!). I would be surprised if the compression was down for any of the reasons Blobcat suggests at this milage but anything can happen so I suppose it's not impossible. The milage is suspiciously low, do you know the cars history?

A cylinder being down can also be taken as meaning its not firing on that one which again could point to an injector and yes, failing injectors will hinder starting.

 

[Blobcat]

I would be surprised if the compression was down for any of the reasons Blobcat suggests at this milage but anything can happen so I suppose it's not impossible. The milage is suspiciously low, do you know the cars history?

A cylinder being down can also be taken as meaning its not firing on that one which again could point to an injector and yes, failing injectors will hinder starting.

Agreed, my first thought from 'down' was compression (word association and all that), however on reflection 'down' is more likely to be injector/fueling to one cylinder.

 

[davidpmiller]

Thanks for the responses.

The mileage is genuine as I have had the car from 2000miles, always been serviced by merc (is that a good thing?)

I think I'll try the cheap options first like the fuel and air filter then try to get a diesel specialist to test the injectors I'll also try ringing the commercial mercedes garage.

Cheers

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Genuine filters are usually dated to help establish servicing compliance in the case of a warranty dispute so you can get an idea of how thourough your dealers workshop have been by checking the dates on changed items. the filters that I regularly buy are mostly dated 2-3 months previously.

 

[jberks]

replace the ecu,and the wiring harness, this is 9 hours labour, @110 the ecu is £600 and the harness is £500 - all in all about £2000

Can't see it being the ecu anyway - sounds like an injector to me but anyway,
9 hours labour, @110 = £990 or 9 hours labour, @£45 (for a decent MB specialist)= £405
ecu is £600 or ECU repair around £200
the harness is £500 - Maybe, but I'd hang the harness upside down for a day and drain the oil out of it, once the plug has been repaired there will be no pressure to push the oil back up the cables so I would imagine it should be fine and gravity alone would protect the ECU.
So,
£2000 or £605 - (maybe £1105 if I'm wrong about the harness) you pays your money ....

In any case, IMO your car is getting too old for the dealer to handle. By 6 years, most owners have switched to indies so the dealer doesn't see that many. Sure they are experts on the teething troubles of new ones, but thats it. As recommended, either a commercial (though how many vans have the 3.2 6cyl engine? - maybe if it was a 220 or 270) or a reputable indie who fixes wayward 320cdi's all day.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

My car has 113k, goes to a MB Main Dealer in Waterford who charges €80 and hour, about £54!! One hour from Rosslare [reached from Fishguard or Pembroke]. Travlodge up the road from the dealer. They do plenty of older Mercs too so they see the older ones. Stena fast ferry makes it a day trip.

Suspect injector!! Had MAF and air filter replaced, both ok. However, watch for suspect fuel lines allowing air intake. Also make sure fuel filter is ok too.