[Vwdiesel] My E300 Mercedes

[James Hansen]

Hey Bill.
There is an induction heater called a mini-ductor that if you could find
one, it would be the ticket to heat that steering wheel nut without getting
the nut behind the steering wheel too hot. 

http://www.toolsource.com/-p-111172.html?sourceid=blg

You heat what it surrounds, it's essentially a big high frequency ac magnet
that induces eddy currents into what you place it against, such as a block
stud that is red in 30 seconds or so.  It would enable very localised
heating of the steering wheel nut, spin it a bit, then quench the area.

That, or use a heat gun, with a small cone tip reducer, to localise the
heat, and make a heat shield out of a can with both ends cut off to protect
the steering wheel.

Sorry , no help on the benz part, but that switchover valve and associated
EGR plumbing have been a problem child ever since they were invented.
http://www.mbca.org/forum/96-e300d-intake-manifold-switch-over-valve-error
As suggested in the above posts, the real fix is to modify the egr system.
Since you are in Kalifornia, I doubt you could get away with it, so cleaning
everything and trying to get it back to as near new is probably your best
bet.  Early EGR is crap in every diesel of that era.  One suggestion to put
a sized restrictor in the exhaust supply has merit- If you could machine one
to fit in there cleverly it would not be visible, and probably prevent a lot
of grief.  EGR and diesels do not mix well at all.   ALso consider a
crankcase vent filter- to get the oil mist out of the intake stream, so the
particulate carbon can't mix with it and form all that crap in the manifold.
Racor makes one- they are frequently used on boats too.
http://www.maesco.com/products/racor/r_ccv_intro/r_ccv_intro.html

I'm in the process of putting the larger one on my Ford 6 litre dually as
the motor slowly crawls back under the hood.... after being out the second
time. It's a similarly invented nightmare like your egr on the benz- all
band aids to fix bandaids that are bandaiding a problem. Lots of stuff had
to come off to make it back into a motor that will work like it was supposed
to.

Good luck with it.

-james


-----Original Message-----
From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On
Behalf Of William J Toensing
Sent: February-27-13 3:54 AM
To: VW Diesel Fans
Subject: [Vwdiesel] My E300 Mercedes

I have now had my Mercedes E300 diesel for about 10 months attempting to
de-bug it with the help of an excellent nearby Mercedes mechanic so I will
share some of the things I have found out & perhaps some of you may have
some suggestions. The airbag light won't go out nor will the horn button
work. seems some idiot who previously worked on the car used red locktite on
the screw that holds the steering wheel to the steering shaft. Does anyone
know of some kind of chemical or other way of removing that screw. My
mechanic tried to remove the screw & tried an easy out & breaker bar but
couldn't budge it & he is afraid to use a torch to heat it up for fear of
causing a fire. My ODB2 code reader won't receive any codes when the check
engine light comes on but fortunately my mechanic has a used Mercedes
$20,000 code reader which he is able to shut the check engine light off & it
will stay off for about a week, then returns & shows code P1475. He has
finally narrowed the problem down
  to Mercedes part #6061400431 & called a "Resonance intake line switchover
valve". He can source one from a Mercedes dealer for around $360 but
suggested I check around the Internet to see if I could find one
significantly cheaper but so far haven't been able to find one at any price.
ANY SUGGESTIONS? The E300 drives & handles nicely & I would like to keep the
car although it is an electronic nightmare, & I was warned of this by this
group when I got my E300. I am surprised how closely the handling of my 2001
Ford Focus feels like my Mercedes since it cost one third of my Mercedes
when new. However, for you who may not know, the Focus was designed in
Germany & was chosen as Europe's 1999 car of the year, one year before we
got Ford's decontented one in the USA. 

I have been getting so much email along with other disruptions that I have
been unable to keep up on the  discussions going on with this group.

Bill Toensing  Nevada City, CA
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