Sprinter 312D turbo

[Bill312D]

Before i start Ihave never owned a Turbo'd vehicle before.
I have just Purchased a Sprinter 312D R reg with 144 on the clock, the turbo appears to work but there is oil on the intake manifold on right hand side of the head, is this ok? I assume dit was just a result of a lack of cleaning and that is just some of th elubrication/cooling oil blown through fromthe turbo?if not what is the problem and how bad is it?
Should the turbo be audible through out the rev range once it has intially kicked in? The turbo's whistle is not a smooth clean sound, it starts as a normal turbo whistle but changes in pitch alot as the revs increase into, I can also hear more turbo than engine at 80mph, but someone has told me this could be the cooling fan as it runs in time with the engine. Also what is the usual top speed for one of these vans and what speed are they supposed to cruise at fairly comfortably I am expecting 80-90?
I think its probably fine but i am very paranoid as it cost me a fair bit (relative to my finances) and is the first turbo I have had so obviously i have been fairly fixated on it anyway

Thanks, Bill

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Turbo diesels do tend to pass an amount of oil into the air intake system, in my experience even a brand new engine/turbo will wet the air system with oil and this is normal and not to be overly concerned with.

Turbo noise can be easy to home in on due to its pitch but it could also indicate a burst/loose hose in the pressured part of the air system or possibly a punctured intercooler, these are certainly things to take a look at if you know your way ariound the engine compartment.

also see this recent thread - http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=23460

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Also what is the usual top speed for one of these vans and what speed are they supposed to cruise at fairly comfortably I am expecting 80-90?

Around 98/99 I followed a LWB hi-top Sprinter from the M6 onto the southbound M5(the bendy bit) for a few miles at a steady indicated speed of 105mph. I decided there and then that I had to have a Sprinter as my old 307D just didn't cut it any more at 65mph max (obviously I was in my car at the time)

 

[dava]

Sprinters are limited to 105mph we run a fleet of 416cdi and thats the best I've ever had out of one. Turbo's do pass oil and Sprinters are prone to them, when they go they are noticibly noisy, worth checking the rubber pipe to the inlet manifold as these split and open up on boost which give a high pitched noise and a drop of in power.

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Sprinters are limited to 105mph we run a fleet of 416cdi and thats the best I've ever had out of one. Turbo's do pass oil and Sprinters are prone to them, when they go they are noticibly noisy, worth checking the rubber pipe to the inlet manifold as these split and open up on boost which give a high pitched noise and a drop of in power.

According to the official merc literature the CDI Sprinters are electronicaly limited to 100mph and my 316 seems to back this up as at an indicated 100mph engine noise drops off and it won't go any faster regardless. this is at 4000rpm so there is theoreticly another 200rpm before the rev limiter cuts in. I chose a final drive ratio especially to acheive this as the normal chassis cab ratios peak at about 94mph.

I always thought the standard 416 wouldn't hit 100 due to the smaller tyres unless final drive ratios are tweaked(a factory option).

Not sure if the older 2.9ltr Sprinters are limited this way?

By the way, a GPS check shows my indicated 100mph is actualy a true 97mph

 

[Bill312D]

Thanks for the help guys am I right in thinking the intercooler is located underneath the radiator? will I be able to check the pipes for damage with the engine off or willl i need to get someone to rev it so the turbo is operational before the damage becomes visible/audible? Also is there a chance everything is just fine because i was doing 85 going on 90 and got their fairly quickly before my passenger (mother, threatening insurance etc:sad: ) made me slow down and it seemed like it would have carried on going pretty well, I wouldn;t have thought the van would reach tese speeds without the turbo working fairly well, this was on a slight hill though. What mileage do the turbo's usually give up the ghost at?

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Also is there ahcance everything isjust fine because i was doing 85 going on 90 before my passenger (mother, threatening insurance etc:sad: ) made me slow down and it seemed like it would have carrie don goign pretty well, this was on a slight hill though. What mileage do the turbo's usually give up the ghost at?

Sounds like you might be ok, all that power unfortunatly also means some more noise. The turbo's don't 'usualy give up' but it can happen. Use good quality oil at the right intervals and don't rev the engine for a while before switching off as this leaves the turbo spinning at 10's of thousands of rpm with no lubrication. Driving gently for the last few minutes of a journey to allow the turbo to cool and then idle for 10-15 seconds before switch off. If the turbo is damn hot at shut down it can cook the oil that is present and turn it to harmful deposits. I have never lost a turbo yet despite enthusiastic driving and I believe the above tips have helped with this.

 

[Bill312D]

Thanks for th ehelp guys, I have just been out again and had a closer look around things now knowing that the induction pipes are mean to be full of oil i noticed another oil stain on the heat sheild, below the big pipe that comes acorss the top of the engine to the intake manifold on closer inspection the bottom of the pipe is covered in oil, so i think there is a small tear/hole there that must open up on high boost, as i could barely see the hole think i could feel one, so i'm gona try to track down one of these pipes and hopefully that will solve things does anyone now of any suppplliers of these andhow much one is likely to cost? There is also a leak from the joint between the metal pipe the afore mentrioned hose connects to and the inlet manifold, is there gasket in there i can replace? but this is a steady one that dind;t reappear after the long drive home, so it may be nothing to worry about? If it is a problem where am I likely to find one?

 

[Bill312D]

after cleaningth epipe andinspectinfg it I could only find the tiniest of holes, some faierly smlal crack at the end after the point where the jubilee clip clamps, i don't thinkthese would affect it would they? also the turbo sounds fine when i revs traight through secondnly inthe higher gears does the noise become inconsistant, I think i might just be paranoid.

 

[dava]

If it's doing them sort of knots then it's probably on song, as the pipe would open up at speed if it was split. Millage? Moon and back SS Enterprise did less. We get 200 to 350k but have seen 400k out of them, but belive me they are kicked to death. In my opinion they are the best van on the road at the moment for drivablity and reliability. Keep them serviced and dont fill them up with petrol they run for fun.

 

[dava]

901 528 39 82
Inlet manifold to intercooler pipe.
This is the one you need.

 

[Bill312D]

thanks for the part number, I may try a new pipe, getting theoil and filter changed airfilter and fuelfilterchanged on tuesday as i don;tknow whent heywere last done so that should freshen it up a bit and i think the turbo must be fine as it sounds perefect right through secondgear the noise only gets weird ( suddenlygoes to a much higher pitch higher) in 4th and 5th so i guess its just me being a twat and thinking too much, itsstillmiles faster than my old transit and Movano anyway:d , thanks for the help guys.
Ona different note i noticed hwne i removed thh epipe to the intake manifold where the engine wobbles when revved the pipe thats goes into the middle of the head below the induction pipe has a flat spot worn on it from the induciton pipe what does this pipe carry and is this pipe easy to replace? And does anyone have apart number for it? once thats doei can stop worrying, the flatspot is pretty big and there can'tbe alot of material left before theres a hole inthe pipe.

PS. Dava excuse my ignorance but what are moon and back SS?

 

[Blobcat]

PS. Dava excuse my ignorance but what are moon and back SS?

A reference to the Star Ship Enterprise (Star Trek) and mileage to and from the moon.

 

[Bill312D]

oh yeah, was thinking abit too serious.Ayonehad any expirience with chipping the312D can good results be had from it? mostly6 looking for higher top speeds/higher speeds at lower revs.

 

[dava]

Ha. sorry about that I work in the motor trade and there is another language that we use on a day to day basis. I've herd of someone fitting a ECU from the 416 ot the 312 and it's supposed to give more balls to it, but I'm not sure if it will work, so dont go investing in hardware till you know it will work. Could cock up all sorts of readings to it.

 

[battwell]

turbo noise can be heard more in the cab if the air filter isnt seated correctly or the air filter clips arent fastened properly. (both of them) the sprinter 312 should accelerate to 95 quickly and reach 100 eventually. my gps has logged 103 but dont tell plod! to get the 103 i did a lot of fast driving high revving injector cleaning

 

[daz 585]

dava the ecu from a 416 wont work on a 312 well not right if at all totaly diffrent,
just one quick check for you look at the turbo from the front of the van? you will see a pipe coming down from the top of the engine into the intercooler pipe, make sure this is pushed into the intercooler pipe as they have been know to pop out it is only a breather pipe from the rocker cover but if this has come out of the intercooler pipe you will get a lot more turbo noise, this is if you havent checked this or sorted it all ready, cheers daz

 

[battwell]

make sure your not getting the turbo noise mixed up with fan noise.
get someone to rev the van up when cold looking at speed of the fan and listening.
if the fan growls you have a done in viscous coupling behind the fan.
if the fan runs relatively slowly to the engine speed then its ok.

the viscous coupling absorbs about 20hp and can make the van feel slow.
hope this is it... its cheaper than a turbo and a common fault.

my 312 turbo is hardly audible from the cab , only heard at full boost.

re tuning a 312. get it running on song and it will keep up with just about anything (it will limit at 100 as all sprinters anyway, which seems fast enough to me))

my 312 is on song and feels as torquey as my 316 which has a done in viscous coupling