new sprinter 318

[ianmaxtec]

Has anybody managed to buy (or even test drive) the new sprinter 318. I have been trying to buy one of these for the last few weeks, and no dealers in either Ireland or the UK can supply one. They (Mercedes) are even refusing orders at the moment, and I am told that it will be at least 6 months before they are available! (Semperit van of the year 2007, pity you cant get one!)

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Has anybody managed to buy (or even test drive) the new sprinter 318. I have been trying to buy one of these for the last few weeks, and no dealers in either Ireland or the UK can supply one. They (Mercedes) are even refusing orders at the moment, and I am told that it will be at least 6 months before they are available! (Semperit van of the year 2007, pity you cant get one!)

I too would be in the queue for the 318 if I had the cash to hand, but then the practical side of me keeps thinking that the 315 has bags of power, is lighter (important when you are driving past a ministry weighbridge with a full load), will probably avoid any future banded roadtax penalties, should be more fuel efficient and I spend most of my time at 65-70mph on cruise control so what would be the point? However, I am greedy and like to have the fastest van on the road so the 318 still tops the wish list.

The last time I spoke to a salesman he did say that certain options still weren't available (such as the powered sliding side door which is causing major headaches on the assembley line) but he didn't mention the big engine being a problem.

Are you going for a manual or auto gearbox? after my Sprintshift experience I can only reccommend a manual as it is foolproof and I reckon will be worth more when it comes to resale as autos scare commercial vehicle buyers due to expensive faults.

 

[ianmaxtec]

I am collecting a new 315 tomorrow (LWB), off the shelf with no extras, manual box. I had tried to get the 318 (V6) with auto box (sprint tronic has been dropped), as I press the clutch app 500 times a day!!
Mercedes will not even take orders for optional extras at the moment, so I am stuck with the 315. My previous sprinter 312D (1999) was a great machine, 2.9 turbo charged (155BHP), and I cant help thinking there must be some downside to power in the new 2.2 (although it is advertised as 150BHP).

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

You lucky sod Ian.

I should think you will be more than happy with the performance of the new van. According to my figures, the standard factory tune for your 312 gave 122hp(metric) and 280Nm of torque while your new van gives 150hp and 330Nm so a considerable increase, Unless your 312 was 'improved'.

My 316 as standard puts out 156hp and 330Nm so allowing for the extra 35kgs of the bigger engine I have to haul around I would expect the 315 4cyl van to drive exactly the same as a standard 5cyl 2.7ltr 316CDI.

Having spoken to Superchips in the past they reckon a 316 will be raised to approx 185hp/430Nm which in theory is even better than the newest V6CDi Sprinter at 184hp/400Nm. Now it starts to get really interesting if you were to contemplate the superchip treatment for the 318. Potentially you could be driving around in a van with 220hp and a whacking 470-500Nm. I think it would be necessary to spec a final drive ratio that would redline at around 115mph and to have the electronic 100mph limiter switched off :evil:

I am glad you have taken the plunge and bought a new sprinter, if mine continues to give me the same number of problems now the warranty has expired as before then I may be forced to look at a replacement (I have just had to pay out on new front shock/struts and lower ball joints only 3 months out of warranty) and it will be good to have some realistic feedback on how you are getting on rather than the official Merc propaganda.

By the way, I know the sprintshift box has been dropped but I still think even the traditional fully auto box is electronically controlled so any gremlins and you are locked out and in trouble. At least you can usually limp home with a poorly manual box.

Please keep us posted and hopefully restore my faith in the marque.

 

[battwell]

the 316 is awesome. or troublesome?

i bought in a very poorly 316 last year which had been abused. i spent a month turning it back into a nice van.

what have you had to do to keep your 316 on the road? any engine work?

mine had 150000 on clock with full history as long as your arm.
the engine was blown and the bodywork knocked about.
on stripping the engine i found the following
piston 3 was holed which had started as a crack long before, pistons 1245 all were cracked to varying degrees.
apart from the cracking they had hardly any signs of thrust related wear etc.
the head has some very fine crack lines just starting between the valves,not deep and not to be worried about.
2 of the glow plugs had been in and out and not sealed properly so seized in the head,requiring pro removal.
merc mates of mine told me that the engines suffer from this at approx 150000 miles and they had replaced loads under warranty. (mainly due to the original injectors being useless according to them)
anyway my result was a great engine after £1000 in new parts and 2 days hard graft.(lucky i have a fork lift as its a heavy lump)
its done 30000 since and run sweet as a nut.
i wish id put a new clutch in at the time too because it did the splits on new years eve 400 miles from home leaving me with a long haul recovery and another £300 parts bill to wish me happy new year!
im waiting to order a 318 to see what bugs need ironing out first.
long live my 312 still the nicest cruiser after 500000 miles with nothing wrong!

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Well, you did ask!

what have you had to do to keep your 316 on the road? any engine work?

Under warranty -

Water pump leaked
replaced steering wheel(rough edges)
elec mirror switch replaced
rear hub oil seal leaked
fuel tank sender replaced/misreading
front shock strut replaced
exhaust blowing(4 attempts)
outside temp sensor failed
cab floor mat split
injectors replaced 2/5 faulty
passenger seat cushion replaced(internal fasteners failed)
4spd interior fan resistor replaced
sprintshift hydraulic pump replaced
V-belt pulley seized resulting in breakdown recovery.
auxiliary heater circulating pump replaced
door lock cylinder replaced
trackrod/ball joint replaced
sprintshift gearbox replaced (selection fault possibly related to muck introduced earlier?)
power steering pump replaced
corrosion in engine bay along chassis seams (mercedes authorised repair at about 30 months but I declined as it involved removing engine/brake pipes/ABS unit)
Alternator bearing/clutch?
turbo oil return pipe leak
new engine(snapped conrod at 100k)
clutch and flywheel approx 4k after engine but fault had been present for about 10k.

warranty ended aug 06

I have since also replaced bottom ball joints and front shocks as one was weeping minutely and van is going in next week probably for another clutch as the juddering has returned.

When the engine blew up at 100k(crankcase pressured so oil blew out of dipstick and ignited on hot exhaust, luckily no damage done) Merc stripped the head off and when they found a piston not moving with the crank they simply ordered a new engine. I examined the engine at that point and the piston faces and bores were as new. Now I am not afraid to use the available power occasionaly so what do you have to do to an engine to make it into the wreck you started with? I let merc service it at 24k and 46k then I serviced it with mobil 1 at 68k and 90k. at 90k I sent oil samples to 2 labs and both said no problems then at 100146 miles bang. Obviously I sweated a bit about the warranty due to my self servicing but they never batted an eyelid.

So to summarise the above, it has been far from the best van I have ever owned. To think I changed a 2 year old 311 for the 316 simply because I wanted a bit more grunt and a few extras. The 311 was perfectly adequate and more importantly, fault free.

 

[battwell]

i bought the 316 in off a dealer who had bought it as a non runner. i knew it had a blown engine and the lower sides of van had bodywork damage due to careless cornering over low walls i suspect (a woman driver maybe
i wanted a 316, couldnt justify a new one. i paid peanuts for it.
it had a service sheet as long as your arm with less gone wrong than yours until the engine went pop.
i repair aircraft engines etc in my spare time so a sprinter engine was a simple task.
it now looks near mint, runs sweet, outruns family saloons etc.

 

[mcmad]

318

Ive got a 218 cdi auto, with everything Waited for ever, late delivery but worth it, its a monster of a van, comand aps,metallic silver,chrome grille, heated seats, screen,aircon, 6 disc,alloys, tints,heated mirrors,etc etc.Well worth waiting for and that engine!!!!! It just purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar, err getting carried away now.

 

[mcmad]

oops forgot...

And apparently you cannot get the v6 ordered for 'the forseeable future' whatever that means.I ordered mine the day the sales went live, badgered the hell out of the dealership due to constant delivery date failures and in the end got it built'specially' according to dealership.Im told it is one of one in europe, maybe true maybe not, dont know but no reason to not believe, unless someone knows different.

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

And apparently you cannot get the v6 ordered for 'the forseeable future' whatever that means.I ordered mine the day the sales went live, badgered the hell out of the dealership due to constant delivery date failures and in the end got it built'specially' according to dealership.Im told it is one of one in europe, maybe true maybe not, dont know but no reason to not believe, unless someone knows different.

That'll be because they realised the drive train couldn't reliably handle the power . Why have you gone for all that power in a 2 series? Surely overkill.

 

[mcmad]

overkill?

Why overkill, I dont haul a lot of weight, and didnt feel the need to part with 3 grand for a number 3 instead of a number 2 What makes you say the drive train cant take the power, have you heard something i should be deeply worrying about?

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Why overkill, I dont haul a lot of weight, and didnt feel the need to part with 3 grand for a number 3 instead of a number 2 What makes you say the drive train cant take the power, have you heard something i should be deeply worrying about?

Just kidding. It's just that my 316CDI (the old range toper) seems to be struggling to cope with 156 horses so how will they handle 184 hp and even more torque? I am sure Merc have built the transmission to cope and I will probably go for the V6 when the time comes, if it is available. Perhaps they are going to kill it due to insignificant demand?

I know the 318 would have been the dearer option but From a flexibility point of view it would have given you the option to take that occasional heavy load without overloading(I assume you must do a reasonable annual milage, hence the big engine. Please don't tell me you are a florist doing local deliveries:???: )
Also surely the heavier van is going to be easier to shift on when the time comes?

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Just found this interesting article about the new Sprinter sales. No mention of a problem with the 3ltr V6 supply.

http://www.whatvan.co.uk/features.asp?id=4940

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Desire increasing

Eventually my desires will overflow and I will find myself at a Merc dealer, cheque book in hand!

Just take a look at these figures - http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/09/brabus-goes-mad-tunes-mercedes-benz-sprinter/

The kit can be installed by any authorized Mercedes-
Benz dealer in about 30 minutes, and turns the common-rail turbodiesel engine into a high-
torque power pack......

.....For the top-of-the-line turbodiesel models Sprinter 218, 318 and 418 CDI BRABUS has
designed the PowerXtra D6 (III) performance kit. It bumps maximum power output to 224 hp
/ 165 kW and produces a bullish peak torque of 480 Nm between 1,600 and 2,600 rpm.

 

[mcmad]

florist?

Hey sprint n go, got to sat liked the articles posted but did i need to know about the brabus kits? Of course i did, im on it now looking for prices, youll be pleased to know im not a florist, im a heating engineer, working locally! I suffer from o.h.d (obsessive horsepower disorder) , thats my only excuse. My last commercial vehicle was a viper quadcab pickup (8.3 litres, 500 hp), and my last toy was a 420 bhp nitrous streetbike. So i really cant help myself im afraid.Now, www.brabus.com................:D

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Hey sprint n go, got to sat liked the articles posted but did i need to know about the brabus kits? Of course i did, im on it now looking for prices, youll be pleased to know im not a florist, im a heating engineer, working locally! I suffer from o.h.d (obsessive horsepower disorder) , thats my only excuse. My last commercial vehicle was a viper quadcab pickup (8.3 litres, 500 hp), and my last toy was a 420 bhp nitrous streetbike. So i really cant help myself im afraid.Now, www.brabus.com................:D

Superchips do similar for £513 but it would be nice to have the Merc endorsed version from Brabus, much less worry about possible engine damage.

 

[emlclcy]

.



By the way, I know the sprintshift box has been dropped but I still think even the traditional fully auto box is electronically controlled so any gremlins and you are locked out and in trouble. At least you can usually limp home with a poorly manual box.

I've just picked up an '03 plate 316, first day of use the glo plugs killed the battery! Getting me a little worried now as she's got a sprintshift box.
What other sort of problems have you come accross?
carl

 

[teemyob]

v6

I have a 518 Manual Motorhome. Drives like a dream and that Engine.

But I now also want a SWB Sprinter Traveliner Automatic

Trouble is these are not available with a V6 319.

There are available as

311
315 (No mention of becoming the newer 316CDi Euro V as Yet)

I have found a 311 Auto, mint condition with 2 extra seats added 2007, 26,000 miles at £12k

But I may consider buying a 318/319 Van New with the Kombi pack and getting some extra seats fitted.

TM

 

[ianmaxtec]

It’s only by chance I came across this thread, as it was a few years ago, and I completely forgot about it. I did purchase a 318 in the end (arrived in Jan 08), but it took nearly a year to arrive after ordering. I did include a few extras, AC, leather seats, auto gear box, heavy duty alternator (I think it was 220 amps), and I also deleted the side door, as I had no need for it. Well I have been motoring with no problems since, on average I carry about 2 tonnes including the roof rack, and I can still cruise at a very quiet 100mph. I have been good to this van, and have over serviced it and only used Mercedes parts and Castrol edge oil, which is pretty expensive, but I reckon if you look after the van PROPERLEY it will look after you. The mileage is not high (app 130k km) and the van has had 7 full services (I do it myself) since new, the end result is crystal clear oil, a beautifully smooth engine, and loads of grunt, the only downside is the vans thirst for diesel….but that’s the way it goes. Like I said I have had the van from new since jan 08, and (touch wood) it has never failed me……