I believe the intake is two-stage. Nobody has an infinitely variable length intake, except a prototype BMW design I once saw.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

[QUOTE=Kestas;1428774]I believe the intake is two-stage.

.... we have established that.....

Yes, my 96 W210 with the M104 has over 200K with all original engine and transmission. Still has balls when I floor it and no smoke either.

__________________
2010 W212 E350 Sport
1996 W210 E320 (220K miles)

My '94 wagon engine impresses me every day with 281,000 miles on it. Burns no oil at all. Besides that - I think the 4 speed transmission is the perfect fit for that engine, very aggressive.

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

There is a definite rattling in the area of the resonance box. It has become progressively noisier. My tech has said that the rattling noise is not necessarily an indicator that it is not working properly and has said that he has replaced them for clients when they insisted the noise is annoying. Can anyone give their input on whether the noise is normal ageing of the part and if not, how would you test the part? My car is, in general, a sluggish dog.

The flappers break..pull it out and look at it.

Thanks, Arthur. I pulled the resonator and the flaps are intact, vacuum seems to be working. The rattling, from what I can determine, is from the flap on the spindle and the housing it is contained in being a somewhat loose fit. There's a gap of probably less of 1 mm that the flap can move up and down on the spindle it is on. Doesn't seem to be any wear and tear, just a somewhat high tolerance in the manufacturing process. Otherwise, it seems tight, in a good way. Why it seems to rattle compared to before is mysterious.

One thing I did notice after taking out the resonator is oil in the intake manifold. Not a lot, but enough to recognize it as oil. Is this normal? A result of an overfilling of the oil? Or....? Should this be cleaned out? Last thing, I hear rattling/ticking (separate from the resonator) emanating from the manifold? Are the valves the cause? And what can be done? Thanks.

There was Factory TSB on oil over-fill from Benz on 104 eng.
They changed the capacity by 1/2 ltr. less than Owners Manual specs.
You want no more 1/2 way mark when eng is at operating temp..Wait 5 min before taking dipstick reading.
Some claim this makes no diffeence, but may experiences show it does..
specially with oil in intake and oil leaks at front lip seal,

Why don´t you try to get an engine from a C36? Then you will have 280 hp without too much installation problems. I guess there are not many original E36 around so you will have a pretty rare car...

This is my E36 AMG Coupé:

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
-94 E 36 AMG Coupé, Brilliant Silver
-98 G 500, Obsidian Black
-05 Mini Cooper, Solid Black
-97 993 Carrera S, Ocean Blue

So I does the oil in the intake hurt anything and should it be cleaned out?

For the money you would spend 'tuning' an E320 - sell yours and buy a used E420 or E430. They should be comparably priced and even if you pay a grand or so more, you will be getting 50 more HP and all the torque you can ask for in a V8 that gets similar mileage to the V6.

Back when I had my 300E, I looked into the very same thing you are looking into and read the same response I just gave you. So I did it. It worked.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon