Thanks Conroe. Its really a matter of time for me, but I may try it. I have gotten pretty good a changing the oil and fuel filters. Good carpenter, just never got into the wrenches much.

I don't want to scare anyone off but, in the interest of full disclosure, I feel compelled to tell this story.

When I took the intake manifold off to replace the shutoff solenoid, I found that the one bolt that has to be accessed from below had its allen head stripped out. This is the one that holds the last section of intake pipe to the EGR assembly. It turned out that one of those two parts was not machined properly, so the bolt holes did not line up. The last dealer tech who worked on it simply ignored that fact and applied undue force putting it back together, thus stripping the bolt head.

There was no way I could get them apart while inside the car, so I removed a couple brackets and took that section of pipe out as a unit with the manifold. They were not meant to come out together, so it took some creative jostling, but they did come out.

To address the problem, I elongated the hole in the flange on the intake pipe. Of course, then I needed to source another correct size metric bolt before the whole thing could be put back together. Thank goodness the E300 isn't my only car.

All this is to say that, while the manifold removal should be a quick and easy process, things can and sometimes do go wrong!

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

The glow plug relay is set up like this:

1 3 5
2 4 6

Len

Thanks Len, it was actually the #6 plug that went out. I'll try the POR15 Marine Clean next time...the B12 worked, but not that well. One thing I didn't notice in Lightman's write up was what to do on the engine (if anything). The ports were also dirty. I dipped a middle finger covered with gauze in the B12 and cleaned them very carefully. With the wetness, the sludge melted into the gauze. Was this a good practice or no? When I fired it up, it coughed, but then purred like a kitten. Neighbor decided to burn leaves just as I started her, and I was mighty worried when she started smelling funny...till I found the source. Heh. Nevertheless, I gained another 4 MPG and it's due to cleaning the manifold.
Mike

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"HEIDI" White 1998 E-300TD 176K
European Delivery is a HOOT!

2002 Harley "FatBoy"

I tested and had 2 bad glow plugs. Took her in Friday. $480 to replace all 6 and clean the intake manifold.

Also found out I need: lower ball joints, new pads/rotors on front, new pads on rear and new fuel filters.

What about that price on the glow plugs? Supposedly they cost $30 apiece.

That price is about right. Fastlane shows Bosch and Beru with retail at $32. Their price for Bosch is $25.14 and Beru is $31.36. You paid about what I did at the dealership including the manifold cleaning.

W210 brakes are a piece of cake. You can check parts prices on Fastlane so you know what you're getting into.

I haven't ever looked at the ball joints on this chassis, so don't know what is involved. Lightman just had his done last week and they were really cheap, but the front end was already apart to replace the lower control arms.

I'm curious, how did the tech determine that you need new fuel filters?

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

He says by the way it was running, he thought they may be dirty. Confession--last time I changed the oil, I didn't change the fuel filters, so he may be on to something......

To replace the ball joints is $250, btw.

Rick, that must have been a nightmare! When I tried to find the little bolt Lightman described, a combination of ignorance and poor eyesight worked against me. I began taking the 4 bolts out of the intake manifold from below, when I saw the allen head that needed removal. The mechanic had buggered it up a little so that I could tell it had been previously removed. Wish I had seen your post about part numbers for the fuel lines...they needed replacing. I'll do that later, as I'm still digging black stuff out from under my nails. Anyway, thanks for your posts and I sent Lightman a personal thank you note. I see where you and Narwal were discussing mirrors last June. I had the passenger mirror come loose. Two of the little black tabs had broken off on the body. I tried two sided tape, but the heat in Texas only gave me 2 days before it turned loose...tried gel type super glue, but only made it to the corner stop sign. So, I tried liquid nails and it's held for 3 weeks - wish me luck!

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"HEIDI" White 1998 E-300TD 176K
European Delivery is a HOOT!

2002 Harley "FatBoy"

Yeah, Lightman told me he started out trying to remove those smaller bolts too. And when I found the large bolt stripped, I really considered doing the same thing. But one of the four is simply not accessible while it is still in the car.

Uhh, good luck with the liquid nails.

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Hi Rick, I have a 99 E300 like you and just did an intakemanafould off replacement of the plastic fuel lines. How do you remove that intake in a few minites? It took me almost 2 hours to remove the 4 bolts on the turbo side. Do you take the intake pipe off First and then remove the waste gate with it? I was looking @ that intake pipe when I put it back and I see that it could be easer that way.

Roger Stanley

99 E300 TD 165 K
97 E300Diesel 75 K
84 930 50 K
89 Toy PU 190 K

4 bolts on the turbo side? Huh?

The intake manifold (aluminum) has about 14 hex bolts, one pipe clamp and one 10mm bolt you get from underneath that attaches the intake up pipe.

Sounds like you're talking about the exhaust manifold???

When my GP failed, the MIL came on and the GP light remained. If you are going to do 1 GP, do them all. they go thru the same wear. Also when they are out, you can clean it and put antisieze all over the GP and make sure it doesn't get stuck.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow