PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

jay_bob · #6 05-01-2019, 10:12 AM

Oh where do I start???

Having both a 2008 E320 BT (W211/1st gen OM642) and a 2013 E350 BT (W212/2nd gen OM642) I can give some good background.

Oil cooler seals are a given on a 1st gen OM642. It is not the end of the world to do this job. Get yourself the right tools (beyond the basics, a set of good e-Torx sockets and the proper fuel injection line nut wrench) and a copy of the WIS and you will be all set. There is a kit of seals and parts online from f c p e u r o dot com that will give you everything you need, including a new swirl flap motor (yes it's necessary to have this working) and breather puck. The kit around $600 ish and you can do this over a long weekend if you have all your ducks in a row.

AdBlue/DEF: Not used on the W211 diesels. All 211 diesels have a donut spare. If you must have a full size spare, buy a W210, that was the last MB to have one.

Front suspension: Any W211 is at least 10 years old now and probably in need of some front end work. The front suspension is completely different than a W123/W124/W201/W210, it does not have the open coil springs. You have coil-over shocks. So you can get the suspension apart easily and safely with just a floor jack to hold the spindle up while you pop the ball joints. Unfortunately they took a step back on the ball joints themselves, the 210 has a 2-legged ball joint that is easy peasy to change with a ball joint separator. The 211 they went to a pressed in ball joint that is a PITA. I am in the midst of replacing everything in the front suspension on my 211 before giving it over to my son.

Transmission: 07-09 will have the 722.9 transmission. These do have a weakness, it is the VGS (aka Conductor Plate). In the 722.9 the VGS also contains the transmission computer, not like the 722.6 as found in the W210/early W211 where the computer is separate. You cannot change this conductor plate yourself, as the VGS has to be SCN coded to your car and this can only be done with dealer Xentry that can phone home. The problem is the sensors fail on the VGS and cause the car to go into limp mode. I had the dealer do this for $1850. If you are adventurous you can pull the valve body and replace the sensors (look on eBay) for a few tens of dollars plus the $100 worth of special transmission fluid it requires.

Even if your VGS is okay take it to the dealer, ask him to read the adapations, this will give you a picture of the transmission health. Then make sure they apply the latest firmware to the VGS and ECU. There is a firmware bug that results in rough downshifts especially when cold that are addressed by the new firmware. They will charge you an hour of shop time (approx. $150) for this.

Motor oil: It is absolutely vital that only MB Sheet 229.52 oil (or the predecessors 228.51 or 229.51) have ever been used in the engine. Not using the correct oil damages the particulate filter. Mobil1 ESP oil is the one that MB recommends and meets the spec. It is normally $10/quart or more but if you watch NAPA they run a sale for any kind of M1 for $6/qt occasionally.

Audio/electronics: Most every W211 out there came with the P1 package which is the COMAND with Navigation. Go look out on eBay you can find the 2014 update disk pretty cheap. I normally don't believe in piracy but not paying MB $300 for a 5 year old map. They are not releasing any more map updates for this system. The user interface is clunky but the navi works pretty decent once you get the address put in...and it sets the big hocking clock on the instrument cluster for you automatically so it's always right. Make sure to look in the center console in the back behind the cup holders and confirm that the cell phone Bluetooth adapter stick is there.
When the 211 was designed they had a MB branded Nokia phone that was meant to dock in this connector (remember this is 2001 or so...). They subsequently released a dummy phone for this dock connector, that basically pairs to any Bluetooth compatible phone. But it carries Handsfree profile only, not A2DP (music streaming).
But don't despair, they added (at least in the later 211s) a 1/8 inch aux in jack in the glove box. I went on eBay and found an A2DP only Bluetooth adapter that has a 12 V lead that I tapped into the cig lighter and a pair of line level audio outputs. I found the connector on the back of the radio that brings the 1/8 jack in, and wired the adapter there and abandoned the 1/8 jack. So your phone has to pair to 2 connections.

iPhones get a little confused on this sometimes and try to route the phone to the A2DP adapter and the music to the MB Bluetooth. My son has an Android and he can specify what type of protocol each connection supports and thus has no problem keeping it straight.

They did fix the rust problems that were legendary on the W210 on the W211. And if you get a 07-09 W211 you get traditional ABS brakes instead of the goofy SBS. As a result these do not carry the motorcycle battery under the air filter like the 05-06 have. They just have the main battery in the trunk.

I'm sure I can think of more later, just ask!