Ok the new DEF pump and heater are in, car runs fine, no check engine light after about a 100 mile round trip, so I'm thinking it is going to be ok.

Not a hard job by any means.

Only tricky parts are disconnecting the pump outlet tube to drop the tank, and remembering where all the connectors go and how they are routed (pictures help a lot). The only pain in the ass is having to remove the right rear wheel and inner fender liner to gain access to it all.

Big tip, use a floor jack to lower the DEF tank if you believe it is more than 25% full. Ours was almost full to the top (figures). Also, draining and emptying the tank before re-installing makes life much easier. BTW, in case anyone wants to know, I drained roughly 7 gallons of DEF from the nearly full tank, so that should give you an idea on tank capacity.

If you have all the parts readily at hand, and are fairly handy with tools, it is a 3 hour job max, start to finish, including clean up. DO NOT pay the damn dealer ridiculous amounts of coin to do a job you can easily do yourself

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

When these diesel cars and SUVs are gone. It probably is the end of the diesel era. Except for trucks, tractors and excavation equipment.

It is too bad the way it is ending. Power and cold starting had become far less of an issue.

Another oddity is it appears only one brand was seriously persecuted for cheating. When it was pretty obvious other brands where as well.

Then again Volkwagon intentionally lied by claiming they were producing a clean burning diesel when in reality the emissions of a harmful component where 40 times over the regulation limit. There is a possibility the outright lying led to the serious persecution.

FYI

Attached Thumbnails

 

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

Good to hear the repair went smoothly!

I suspect diesels may make another comeback if we encounter real high oil prices before electrification is the mainstream option. The stuff VW did is shady, but with the way emissions regulations are set up in the USA, unsurprising. When a diesel smart car getting 80mpg "pollutes more" than a H2 hummer per the EPA's guidelines, really makes you wonder....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Uhhhh, YEAH!!

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

I suspect that is rated using " Ton per mile " as in a vehicle can move X amount of cargo over a mile and give off Y amount of emissions for that ton. ( Economy of scale )

Unlike burning gas there is extra oxygen available the diesel fuel does not require. Volkswagon cooled the exhaust and used a portion of it to reburn it.. A decent ideal but the accumulation of by products from it created a mess. In the recycling system. If they can get around that the diesel car might come back.


Setting the system up to be easily cleaned out periodically. Or even self cleaning. Currently it is about a six hour job. The high test diesel has a cleaning additive package and is only about ten cents a gallon more. So in my opinion it is possible for the diesel car engine to resurface again. I am pretty certain a lot of effort is being taken on truck engines in this area. So research has not stopped.


The add blue cars logically do not have to recycle as much exhaust as the non add blue cars. On cars like our older 2006 Jetta some effort has been done to chemically keep the exhaust recycling system cleaner. By some people. Or at least reduce the time frame of the build up.


Over time many really competent repair facilities have emerged that are not affiliated with Volkswagon. The good ones seem to thrive.


Things have also changed in that some used car dealers are more ethical than new car dealers. I can see this as they have to be car oriented to know what to buy and what condition it is really in. The local guy in my area for example wants you back again for the next car.


His system seems to be working for him. He has been at it for twenty five years. I have never heard anything but good about him. He has more people looking over his inventory all the time than all the other car dealers combined in the local area. His inventory turnover is so rapid. If you see something you might like. You act then.


We have become aquaintences. I asked him how he responds to those that have purchased a used car and have some reasonable complaint. He said in most cases he has it repaired even after a year. They tell their friends and relatives.


When you buy a new car from a new car dealership. In most cases the people selling know nothing in comparison. The best way to describe the relationship with his outfit. The cars he gets sell themselves because the price and quality are good. The 2006 Jetta was my first experience with him.


He told me the older car had been well maintained by an older owner that died. He also stated he usually does not buy cars this old. He said it still looks like new and runs as new as well overall. I asked him if I could take it for two days with a dealer plate to evaluate it. He although we had never met said sure. Part of the reason I wanted to do this as his price seemed a lot lower than similar cars advertised elsewhere. Plus was in much better shape.


On this current one when I went to pay for it he said I will take your personal check. I seldom write checks anymore so just went to the bank and got a draft. What checks are written and they are few the wife does now.


No buyers remorse on these deals with him either. When we used to buy new cars the new aspect was gone very fast. Plus I realised the initial depreciation was massive. Where I can resell any car I buy from him and get what I paid for it back if I wanted to. Within a reasonable time frame.


Word around my area is that I am a value buyer. I see the race to accumulate more and more. I never had the massive means so I quickly figured it is not how much money you make. It is how you dispose of it. It is a constant in our life now. Plus for more than fifty years.


For example we picked up a patio set used but in really good condition as well a week or so ago. It was a highline set. A table with two umbrellas plus six chairs. The old umbrella still in good condition and a new spare. Six more chairs that had an adjustable back. Two lounges and two footrests for the adjustable chairs.


The lady said 75.00 and it was gone. You win and you lose some of course. The deck extension to take all this the wife wants. Is about three thousand in materials.


I had a problem in that one son in law got the worse value out of his money and remains the same. Rather than have the wife financially assist the daughter quietly. I thought getting him into refrigeration might increase his income enough in todays world to meet their perceived needs for the fashion he wants to exist in.


We also got them out of bankrupcy as it would stain the family name. I did make it perfectly clear that this was a one shot deal. Plus it may be reflected in whatever inheritance is left when the wife and myself are gone. Typically he dropped by yesterday as I was repairing the generator.


He said you need a new carb. I just mentioned that with the storm every place is closed. Plus it is far too early to say a new one is needed. We had it repaired in about an hour. Two additional to what I had found originally When he had originally dropped it by.


When he gave it to me as it would not run some time back. I cleaned out the shut off valve and the bottom metering device in the carb. Figured it was good to go so did not really test it.


In yesterdays episode it turned out I had missed the screen in the base of the cheap die cast shut off valve. I lightly blew through it after the cleaning originally and figured it was good to go.


It would not pass gas. Plus the needle valve was seized shut. The pin that holds the float is not removable. I was able to grasp the wire from the needle valve and free it. The carb did not overflow so the rubber tip was intact. I also suggested several ways to store his large generator to him between uses. Or will he be giving it to me at some point?


This son in law has a good heart but the way his family always functioned just was all too typical of today. As the daughter stated he told her. He never knew anyone like her dad. I told her our families ways are not the only way. I even suspect some current ways keep what is the current economy functioning. This easy endless credit. Where your father is old school. If something breaks I usually repair it. Where the majority today replace it without a moments thought.


Where I thought a more reasonable objective was to get away from debt as early as possible in life. It looked like gerbils running on an endless wheel to me otherwise. Freedom is also having a fair degree of liquidity. You are not really rich because the liquidity that enables the freedom must be maintained.


We never had an issue living well within our means. It is a form of self insurance against many things. I guess it is just a choice in life. Everyone gets through life one way or another. Although since I like people. I wonder about their choices sometimes.


When they reduce themselves to almost indentured slaves to the system. Money issues. Specifically the shortfalls. Unfortunately are the number one discord factor in relationships as well as huge stress producers. There are used cars out there today that are only a fraction of their original cost and still much as new. Yes you have to source them and it takes a little effort. So does it really make any sense to buy brand new today? I am finding more and more people with a decent income streams buying from all kinds of sources other than typical retail. Plus the average cost in Toronto for a small one bedroom apartment is now 2,300 a month and rising. Your first 575.00 a week from your income stream is history. You are not buying anything than ever increasing shelter costs. The economy is doing good but has really burnt the lowest third of the Canadian population in the process it seems. Food costs have gone really high for them as well.

I even don't have a better knowledge of using that kind of heater you are talking about. But recently I buy this one "Hatco C-45 Booster Heater, Electric" from online https://www.kitchenrestock.com. I noticed that it saved me some money when I compared the price with other websites. Are you looking for something like that?

That's got to be one of the funniest post on this subject

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

That heater is an instantaneous hot water booster heater for commercial kitchen dishwashers. It takes the domestic hot water (usually 120-160 degrees) and boosts it to 180 degrees for the final rinse and sanitize cycle. This is for the big dishwashers where you raise the hood and slide a whole basket of plates/silverware/cups/etc, and the cycle takes about 3 or so minutes total, and the dishes come out steaming hot.

These run on 3 phase 208 or 480 V ac!

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech