Isn't 'Black Death' a bit of an exaggeration, perhaps a 'Gentle Rest' would be more fitting..

L'll get my coat..

I think there are kits with special tools to remove stuck glow plugs.

Yes, and that is what I will need when the time comes to replace them.

FYI-
I removed that insulation/foam and found no difference in sound from the drivers seat. Don't see a reason to re-install.

I feel the same way, and no need to order a new part.

I've got one in the shop replacing the seal on the #4 injector. I'm getting a fault code of low voltage on the fuel rail pressure sensor. The leaking injector won't throw this code will it?

Live data, up to temp, at idle is as follows:

rail pressure (302 - 342) - actual is 382 bar
pressure control valve (24.0 - 30.0) - actual is 19.4 %
Y94 Quality control valve (37 - 42) - actual is 28.4%

Obviously all three readings are out of spec but I'm not sure if this could be caused by a leaking injector? Plans are to resolve the leak then take another reading.

Hi Rollguy.

Can you please tell me, now that it has been a year, how is this repair holding up? I'm asking because a previous poster here brought up the possibility that maybe the sealing surface on the head was damaged, and implied that your fix might only be temporary. And how about the car in general? Holding up well? Being reliable? Is it a better or worse car than your Blutec? I am being forced to go to a newer diesel (as you have done), and I am really torn up about it. I don't know what to do! I figured I'd ask the man who owns both! CDI or Blutec? Any advice is much appreciated!

My niece has the car now, and LOVES it!. There has been no issues from the B.D. repair, and the car runs great. I now have an identical car (same year and mileage), except a different color. I bought it without any B.D. issues, so that is good. I did have to replace the SBC module. It was really not that big of a deal, other than having to pay $200 for a shop to bleed the brakes. I like some things about both cars, so it would be hard to choose if I could only have one. The pro's for the Bluetec for me are: interior color is awesome (kinda orange-ish tan), and the smooth power it provides. I think it gets better fuel mileage than the CDI as well. The updated interior and front bumper are nice too. Since the oil cooler seals have been replaced already in this car, it is a plus as well. The con for me is: should the trans ever go bad, it would be VERY expensive to fix. It has the seven speed 722.9. This particular car only has 76,XXX miles on it, so I think I am going to sell it while it still has good value. The CDI has many things that I like about it, and not many things I don't. The 722.6 trans is familiar to me, and I have worked on them, so they don't scare me. I think most repairs on the CDI will be easier than the Bluetec (everything is packed in tight on the V6). All things considered, I would keep the Bluetec if it had a lot more miles on it, and sell the CDI to my other niece (that may happen anyway). Also, the CDI has a trailer hitch that I use for pulling a small trailer. The car does rather well with it, so it has value to me for that. However, the Bluetec just gives me great joy when I drive it!. I do like having both......Rich

Thanks for getting back to me!

I'm getting conflicting information about the transmissions in the CDIs. Some sources are saying that while the '05s had the 722.6, the '06s had the 722.9, like the Bluetecs did. While others are saying that both the '05s and '06s had the 722.6, no 722.9s were put behind CDIs, at least not in this country. What is the final word on that?

If I'm reading you correctly, the Bluetec is fairly quicker, is that correct? But the CDI is still respectable, right? I'm thinking that the Bluetecs are quicker mostly because of that 7 spd. Do you agree?

My first CDI would set you back in the seat when punched out! I think the Bluetec may have a lower first gear, so it may just be quicker for that reason. The bluetec just seems smoother to me for some reason. Either one feels like gas V8 power off the line. You really need to drive one, it will impress you I'm sure. As far as the trans, I am pretty sure there is no '06 or earlier with a 722.9. I believe fifth gear is 1to1, so it has two overdrives. Don't quote me on this, I could be wrong. I think I read it somewhere.

OK, thanks again.

I just committed myself a few minutes ago to a 133,000 mile 06 CDI with a new SBC unit and new pads all around (with receipts of course), and a beautiful looking valve cover/injectors (confirmed) for $6,200. I think I'm in love. I can't wait to pick it up. I just hope it's not one of the lemons. Fingers crossed.

That sounds like a good deal. Hope it turns out to be a good one!

I'm looking at another CDI but the seller won't let me have a peak under the shrouding. He says the other buyers calling him about the car aren't requiering this of him. So I have to factor in what the cost of having an indy shop do a black death repair would be. The reason being that this repair demands more time than I can spare right now. In an earlier post Rollguy stated that he figures that this repair would cost about $1,500 at a stealership. Does anybody have a more concrete idea what this would cost to repair at an indy shop? I've called around to a few shops to try to get a number but none of them knows anything about "black death" in the 05-06 CDIs. Could it be because this isn't that common? Does anybody know about what percentage of 05-06 CDIs are affected by this syndrom? Any help is appreciated! I don't have much time. I believe his claim that there is a lot of interest in this car!

I would tell the seller that you will pay the price that you negotiate, as long as when you are able to inspect it, it is found free of black death. Or maybe hold back a certain amount of $ until it is inspected. If no BD, give the held back $.. I find it unreasonable that the seller will not let you remove eight #T-30 screws to make an inspection. You would also need to have a look at the fuel filter, which requires three screws to be removed. Leaks in this area are common. I would also use a quality scan tool, and check for stored codes. These things should be allowed, and would even benefit the seller, should you not purchase the vehicle.

I agree the guy is hiding something here if he won’t let you pull the cover.

I’ve not ever driven the first gen W211 with the OM648 (“CDI”) but I have a second gen (2008) with the OM642 (“Bluetec”) and can tell you the thing is a total rocket. I have the same engine/transmission combo in the 2008 ML320 which is no slouch either but does weigh almost a thousand pounds more and it has 4Matic.

My thoughts on the vehicle:
For a 10 year old car it does not look like a 10 year old Mercedes. The body style changed radically between the W211 and W212, when they went to the W213 (2016+) they went back to the rounded style and so at first glance the W211 and W213 look like first cousins.

The interior is still holding up great even though the car has 184k. The only thing wrong with my interior is some wear on the drivers side door rubber seal from someone constantly entering and exiting the car. I think the prior owner was in outside sales/manufacturers rep/some kind of entrepreneur who drove about 20k/yr on average. But I had most of the paper records with the sale, and Xentry confirmed that it had been serviced like clockwork.

I took my Xentry with me when I bought the car from a private seller last March. He had bought the car in fall of 2017, from the first owner, to keep at his winter home in SC (he was a snowbird from Chicago). However his wife passed away after last Christmas so he decided to move permanently back with his kids in Chicago so he was selling.

Records show that the oil cooler seals were replaced, but having done that job once before, and lived to tell about it, I wasn’t going to be thrown off by having to do it again.

Pulled up codes and found an intermittent transmission sensor problem. I was able to get him to take $1500 off the price because of this. Well a few months ago the problem started getting worse to the point it affected driveablilty and then finally hit limp mode.

Dealer charged $1850 to change the VGS (integrated conductor plate and transmission computer). This is a dealer only because the VGS requires version coding that can only be done with a properly connected Xentry that can phone home back to Germany.

Before they actually changed the VGS the dealer tech looked at the adaptation data. From the data they can tell the percent wear on the transmission. He reported back that I still had about 70% life left on the transmission so I told them to go ahead and replace the VGS.

The new VGS had updated firmware that really improved the shifting performance. So much so that I had the 2008 ML inspected and they did a firmware flash on it as well, which made a huge improvement. Anyone out there with a 722.9 go to the dealer and have them do the software updates, it makes a huge difference.

The only downside to these cars is the audio electronics. Absolutely do not buy one that does not have the MHI (mobile handy interface) installed in the center console. There should be a candy bar sized module plugged into it. The original intent was to sell an MB branded Motorola or Nokia phone with the car that you would plug into this cradle while driving and be able to talk handsfree and dial from the stereo and answer from the steering wheel. MB later released a dummy phone to plug into this connector that just has a Bluetooth receiver in it to pair with your phone. It is nearly impossible to retrofit this feature into the car.

The stereo itself performs great (Harmon/Kardon with lots of power, but you won’t win any bass competitions, if you’re into that sort of thing) but it only has the ability to play CDs, or CD-Rs filled with MP3s. There is an aux-in jack in the glove box. Of course now the latest Apple and Samsung phones don’t have an earphone jack so you have to get an adapter or a Bluetooth receiver for the audio.

I’ve looked into changing out the stereo to a double DIN with Apple Car Play. Will keep everyone posted if I end up doing this.