W210 - Engine Crossmember

[gordonwd]

I've seen a few references to a design fault with this model - mine's an E300TD ('98 R plate). The fault manifests as a corrosion on the engine crossmember at the front. I had mine inspected at a main dealer this week and the crossmember was found to be badly corroded. However my 30-year corrosion warranty has been honoured by Mercedes and the job is being done this week free of charge.

It would have cost around £1300.

I wasn't asked for a full MB service history either.

 

[Bargain Bucket]

Bizarre. I've had 4 doors, a tailgate, and a wing done on my 2000 E-Class, and am just about to have the other wing done - all under warranty. But they refused to do the front cross-member.

 

[tom7035]

I think there's a problem here (as the W124) with the under-engine splash guard sitting up against the underside of this crossmember, allowing it to sit constantly in a pool of water in wet weather - and obviously worse when it's salted water! A very worthwhile mod. is to lower the rear fixings of the splash guard and fit a couple of spacers between the chassis and the guard to allow water to run away, and also allow some airflow.
My tuppence worth.

 

[gordonwd]

This is indeed strange. It wasn't the dealer that made the decision on this for me. The workshop took a suite of digital photographs, emailed them off to Mercedes (not sure exactly where) and got authorisation within 24 hours. Maybe you want to try again ?

Bizarre. I've had 4 doors, a tailgate, and a wing done on my 2000 E-Class, and am just about to have the other wing done - all under warranty. But they refused to do the front cross-member.

 

[Bargain Bucket]

I'll try again right after they've done the wing. I don't want to risk them re-considering that. Booked in for April 10th so shouldn't be long before I unleash myself on MB HQ.

Worst comes to worst, I can sort the cross member out myself and in the meantime, I'll look at what Tom is saying and see what can be done.

Thanks all.

 

[clive williams]

I think there's a problem here (as the W124) with the under-engine splash guard sitting up against the underside of this crossmember, allowing it to sit constantly in a pool of water in wet weather - and obviously worse when it's salted water! A very worthwhile mod. is to lower the rear fixings of the splash guard and fit a couple of spacers between the chassis and the guard to allow water to run away, and also allow some airflow.
My tuppence worth.

Tom, I came to the same conclusion some time ago and posted a thread on the forum but its worth repeating. I've recently noticed that there is a tech bulletin on the WIS that actually instructs stealers to install spacers between the X-member and the under shield at the fixing points so MB have a correction to the design fault, which should be applied to all W210s, whether or not they have a new X-member.

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Do they mention what size of spacers?

Presumably if I got a couple of old rubber blocks of the right size and then secured them to the crossmember with tie-wraps, that'd be ok?

 

[clive williams]

Do they mention what size of spacers?

Presumably if I got a couple of old rubber blocks of the right size and then secured them to the crossmember with tie-wraps, that'd be ok?

The tech bulletin just shows what look like round spacers about 25mm dia and 5mm? in depth fitted at the same point as the fixing screws.
On mine I made up some top hat section pvc washers out of 6mm thick material. The washer sits in the tray fixing hole and spaces the tray down by 4-5mm. IMO that should be enough to prevent the capillary effect of the tray hard up to the underside but not so much as to prevent an effective stop if the tray was hit from the underside or to space it so far down to affect the overall fixing of the tray. Also, the fixing screws are still long enough for the spacers.
One other point that the tech bulletin mentioned was the waxoyl injection into (and around?) the X-member. I just cleaned and coated the underside with axle grease. This will allow any internal moisture a chance to dry out before I make the decision to waxoyl it internally myself.
Re your rubber blocks - how thick are they?. If they are about 5mm then I would create a pair of 25mm dia washers and superglue them to the tray at the fixing positions. The overall idea is to provide the maximum passage for moisture to pass under the x-member and maximum drying airflow.
One last thought for general use is that the spacer material does not have to be plastic or rubber - it could just as easily be a bit of hardwood with some oil to preserve it - I know its a bit Blue Peter but it should still work

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210

 

[whammer007]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any input on corrosion problems when the tray is not there? I had my W210 on a ramp a while back, and as far as I remember there was no tray fitted.

Regards,

Col

 

[clive williams]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any input on corrosion problems when the tray is not there? I had my W210 on a ramp a while back, and as far as I remember there was no tray fitted.

Regards,

Col

If you can see up into the engine bay then you don't have a tray. The problem with exposing the x-member is that the standard unit was only painted with a primer/top coat by immersion, which will have coated the inside but not very thickly. The large lightening holes in the base are too high to effect a full drain and therefore, I would expect corrosion on the inside. To make matters worse road silt will lodge inside via the holes and this may be salty causing accelerated rusting. Answer - waxoyl inside soonest and fit a tray!

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210

 

[whammer007]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check again just to make sure. Does anyone have any idea how much one of these costs?
I will phone the dealer, but just in case anyone knows or has replaced one.
I have some sort of Mercedes WIS service DVD, but i can't seem to get the hang of how it works. I don't know if it would show me the part number.

Regards,

Col

 

[cyps]

service dvd

Thanks for the reply, I'll check again just to make sure. Does anyone have any idea how much one of these costs?
I will phone the dealer, but just in case anyone knows or has replaced one.
I have some sort of Mercedes WIS service DVD, but i can't seem to get the hang of how it works. I don't know if it would show me the part number.

Regards,

Col

wouldnt mind a copy of that dvd

 

[nh2]

I too noticed how the plastic under tray sat against the crossmember and came up with the same solution, some plastic spacers and some good old waxoil... The crossmember is a bit rusted but, i'll just have to keep an eye on it..(not literally...)