Okay usually our mechanic can figure out what is wrong and fix it the 1st time. Problems started about a month ago with a whiny turbo, an apparent oil leak (oil coating the block), then about a week later there was loss of power, tons of smoke, rough idling, lunging (van would lunge forward at random moments), and the van would also not downshift when the incline decreased (you would either have to let off the gas to make it downshift or use the gear select feature). So my dad took it in to have an oil change and the fuel filters replaced (his idea of what was wrong) and also it has to be taken to the Mercedes dealership to have major work done for a recall (a manifold was replaced along with the wiring harness and some sensors and some other things). So he takes it out of the shop and at first it feels normal then there are the same problems so he takes it back to our mechanic and the mechanic figures something may have not been reattached right (a bolt was one thing, as soon as that was taken care of the whine of the turbo was gone, and a pipe was another thing). So my dad gets it back, feels normal once again and 3 days later he is having the same problems so he took it in today and out mechanic believe there could be oil up in the turbo or that the turbo might need to be replaced (van has 133K miles on it), also that there might be a fault in the ECU. Have you guys taken your Mercedes in to your mechanic and it come back seemingly fine then you encounter the same problems again?

I'd put the question to the Sprinter yahoo group.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Could you provide me with a link to that group?

You may also try here:
sprinter-source.com/forum/index.php

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1985 300D
The rest:
1957 MGA (comatose)
1965 Falcon (sleeping)
1966 E-100 (rust test in progress)
1976 Ford 3400 D Tractor (workhorse)
1978 Mercury Zephyer (5L playtoy)
1995 Isuzu NPR D (fetcher)
1998 Subaru Legacy (Spare)
2000 Toyota Sienna (School bus)
2008 Toyota Prius (Commuter)

sprintervan : Sprinter Van Mercedes Freightliner Dodge

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

So my mechanic figured out what it was, the ERG valve had failed. The part should be in soon. What happened was that the sulfur from the fuel mixed with the water given off as one of the byproducts of diesel combustion creating sulfuric acid which ate away at the copper of the valve (interestingly a week or so ago in my Chemistry class we saw a demonstration of sulfuric acid dissolving a copper penny), allowing too much oil to get through, gumming up the valve and making it stick. Apparently Mercedes changed the design of the ERG valve system in the 2004 Sprinter so this wouldn't happen (ours is a 2003).

EGR's are a common failure on Sprinters.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Yea that's what I heard. Thing is it still lasted 130k miles, hopefully the next one lasts just as long