W210 E300 estate sleeper - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Stretch · #31 07-12-2015, 02:09 PM

What paint did you use for your inlet manifold?

m1tch · #32 07-12-2015, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stretch

What paint did you use for your inlet manifold?

Its actually basic cheap black gloss spray paint, I was going to use some Hammerite but I am out at the moment. I wasn't sure if it would hold up but its not had any issues - the inlet manifold isn't really that hot and it has air flowing through it all the time.

I was going to look into polishing it up but due to the fairly rough casting it would take a fair amount of time as I only really have hand tools.

The next thing on the list is researching into making a hybrid turbo using a spare turbo I have from a landcruiser which is running a larger compressor but still a small hotside.

m1tch · #33 07-30-2015, 02:55 AM

I have ordered a few more parts:

Aftermarket electric fan - 10" - to replace the 2 front fans which I will wire in on a switch
Oil cooler - I have found that my oil cooler lines have been looped and the stock oil cooler disconnected, I have ordered an uprated larger cooler which will either go in the OEM position or up in front of the radiator where one of the OEM fans went.

I am still in the process of working out how to remove some of the parts in the car, I have removed part of the boot seats, also attempting to remove the split rear seat backs which are very heavy.

m1tch · #34 08-04-2015, 08:21 AM

I have now removed the front twin fans (with the single motor) and will be replacing it with 1 high performance fan on one side and an uprated oil cooler on the other, routing the cooler lines down under the headlight to the stock lines.

I will hopefully be removing the stock non functioning oil cooler from the car this weekend if I can find where all of the brackets are etc. If not I will just leave it in there and run the new lines past it.

I am also looking at turbo upgrades, initially planning on running a GT45 at lower boost, however will probably go with something like a GT35 at higher boost owing to the lower volumetric efficiency of this engine needing higher boost.

The GT35 @ 2 bar of boost would be producing about the same amount of air as the GT45 at 1 bar of boost.

m1tch · #35 08-06-2015, 07:14 AM

The turbo I have ordered has arrived, going with a GT35 running slightly higher boost, I have also taken delivery of the oil cooler

m1tch · #36 08-09-2015, 12:50 PM

I have been checking out the routing of the oil cooler and have removed the OEM one from the front bumper, will be running a 19 row cooler with AN10 lines instead.

I have also unbolted a few more things from the car to save on weight:

Seat back nearside - 24kgs
Seat back offside - 6.5kg
OEM Aux fan units - 5kg

Adds up to removing another 35.5kgs giving a total of around 120kgs removed from the car so far.

m1tch · #37 08-20-2015, 07:53 AM

Should hopefully be fitting the electric fan this weekend, I need to get a slightly different adaptor for the oil cooler.

m1tch · #38 08-23-2015, 06:18 AM

Electric fan is now fitted, I now need to get an M22x1.5 female connector to join the stock oil lines to the AN-10 adaptor to be able to fit the oil cooler - might have to make one up as there seem to only be male/male adaptors!

netphil · #39 08-26-2015, 07:05 PM

some people have more dollars then common cents-----wasted that car

80sDweeb · #40 08-26-2015, 08:52 PM

The ultimate sleeper! I love the project, look forward to seeing your results as the project progresses.

Scott in Brighton NY

m1tch · #41 08-27-2015, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by netphil

some people have more dollars then common cents-----wasted that car

If it was an earlier model with a more classic shape I would be restoring it, but this car is a common shape and not really a collectable. I have noticed a few bodges on the car such as the oil cooler and electric fan so its not 100% original, its also had a bit of damage on the underside. Its also the base model with cloth seats so there isn't really anything special about it. The only things I am removing from it are things I can easily bolt back in (not removing door cards etc). Furthermore this is also a budget project and I am looking how best to get the most out of the engine without needing to really change much/spend much. I am aware that the pump rebuild will cost a fair bit, but the whole project will cost under £3k, not sure how many other cars you can really get that make 400bhp with 1000nm of torque - at the end of the project I will match up my car vs the modern Mercedes equivalent and see what the price would be for a similar car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80sDweeb

The ultimate sleeper! I love the project, look forward to seeing your results as the project progresses.

Scott in Brighton NY

Thanks for that, I am tempted to add some taxi logos on it to make it more of a sleeper, everything will be hidden under the bonnet and am just looking into exhaust options. I do have a spare 2.5" straight through exhaust back box, however its got quite a large tip on it - will see how it looks but I might just look at getting a universal straight through silencer and add on a basic hidden tailpipe. It is currently running without a backbox and it does sound good on idle, however therein lies the issue as it does sound good, I want it to sound quiet but still not be restrictive.

I have also now fitted a 12k Ohm resistor on the MAP wire, I can feel a bit of extra power mid range although nothing amazing but its still an improvement.

I will post up some photos soon of the GT35 I have for it, might still fit a GT45 but will see how the GT35 turns out. I am also looking at options to replace the AC compressor with a supercharger but tempted to keep things simple.

Next on the list is fitting the oil cooler, I need to get an M22x1.5 female/female adaptor made up as it seems an impossible part to find anywhere (can easily get a M22x1.5 Male/Male adaptor annoyingly!

jjrodger · #42 08-27-2015, 04:44 AM

This is a great project and I'll be following it avidly. I like that you're keeping the exterior stock rather than going Barry on it. I think your rationale on the preservation/modification question is bang on. Are you aware of these guys? Www.dieselpumpuk.com

indyz12 · #43 08-27-2015, 05:05 AM

Hi M1tch.
Where in the UK are you based? your project caught my eye - I have a 1997 E300TD Estate. Unmodified and used daily with 162k on the clock.
I bought it as a project - did the fuel delivery valve seals, Injector shield/seals, and refurbished the injectors (done by a reputable injector specialist in the midlands)
I did get rid of the PCV and routed pvc tubing to a catch tank which then routed to the turbo inlet to provide vacuum to the crankcase. I had excessive positive pressure in the crankcase - either worn rings or stuck rings on piston 1.

Anyway i will cut to the case! If you ever want to do side by side runs against my car for base to modified comparisons - give me a shout!

ps what sort of mpg were you getting (urban) on stock before and after your intercooler replaceemnt?

m1tch · #44 08-27-2015, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjrodger

This is a great project and I'll be following it avidly. I like that you're keeping the exterior stock rather than going Barry on it. I think your rationale on the preservation/modification question is bang on. Are you aware of these guys? Diesel Pump UK | Super Turbo Diesel Tuning Innovations

I will be getting the pump rebuilt there, I have seen the high power their project car has got, hopefully I will get somewhere close. I will also be using the stock part electric EDC pump rather than an OM603 pump (although I have one on the shelf) - I wanted to retain the stock setup as the ECU also drives the gearbox + other bits of the car. I am aware that the EDC pump isn't ideal, but additional rack travel can be had from adjusting the rack and forks as well as tweaking and resetting the rack travel sensor.

The exterior would be kept stock and I might add a few other touches that make someone think the car is slow, example is a national trust stick on the window, or an AA badge on the grill. The car was the fastest production diesel car when it came out and with a few tweaks you can definitely see how it was even when bone stock - mine also has 7 seats!

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyz12

Hi M1tch.
Where in the UK are you based? your project caught my eye - I have a 1997 E300TD Estate. Unmodified and used daily with 162k on the clock.
I bought it as a project - did the fuel delivery valve seals, Injector shield/seals, and refurbished the injectors (done by a reputable injector specialist in the midlands)
I did get rid of the PCV and routed pvc tubing to a catch tank which then routed to the turbo inlet to provide vacuum to the crankcase. I had excessive positive pressure in the crankcase - either worn rings or stuck rings on piston 1.

Anyway i will cut to the case! If you ever want to do side by side runs against my car for base to modified comparisons - give me a shout!

ps what sort of mpg were you getting (urban) on stock before and after your intercooler replaceemnt?

I am in Hertfordshire, will be interesting to compare, my engine is on 235k miles, although you wouldn't know it. I am in the process of sorting out a catch tank for the engine, I believe its got a 17mm hose so its fairly beefy! Will also post up some photos of the setup I am running so everyone can see what can be done with very little effort.

One of the things I would suggest that you do it remove that inlet elbow that leads into the stock airbox - it gives quite a bit of restriction and simply removing that will let the engine breath much better. I have fitted a basic pod filter which lets the engine breathe as much as it needs to and will be adding some heat shielding in as well. But for a stock engine I would recommend removing it as it does make a difference from stock.

I will check what the MPG is at the moment, I think its at around 40mpg, although that's not really using cruise control (another reason I want to keep the ECU). I believe that the Diesepumpuk project car is also returning around the same. With a larger turbo it would also mean that the car is normally running around off boost and only going on boost when the car needs the power (although currently running the stock KKK K14 turbo at the moment).

What I have found with MPG on other cars is that the better the throttle response is, the better the MPG you can get. My daily drive is actually a small Renaut Clio 1.5 DCI (80) - averaging around 79mpg although has been as high as 86mpg - the only mods on that car is removal of the restrictive inlet snorkel. I do a lot of miles each week to and from work mainly on the motorway so don't drive the E300 every day, but there is no reason why I couldn't.

leszek · #45 08-27-2015, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m1tch

I have been doing a bit of trouble shooting today, the car had issues where it would sometimes lack power when kicking down, eg stuck in gear at say 4,300 and not then change gear.

I also had an issue where I had some screaming/squeeking coming from around the EGR area. After unplugging various vac lines I noticed that the noise went away when the EGR was meant to be actuated.

I then thought of other things to unplug to pin it down, in the end I actually unplugged the MAF which resulted in an immediate power increase with the gearbox working correctly and shifting as it should.

It seems that the MAF has never been cleaned and the engine hasn't really been under much load over most of its life. I cleaned a huge amount of muck and dirt out of it yesterday evening. I think that the sensor was so completely blocked that the engine simply ignored it and just run on a base map with slow shifting via the adaptive shift tech.

Now that I have reset the gearbox and cleared the MAF out it must have been giving a signal but that signal was incorrect so therefore not fueling correctly at all - eg too much air and not enough fuel. Unplugging the MAF returns it to a fixed base map but this time with the transmission reset.

I think I will replace the MAF, although will try and clean it up more using MAF/contact cleaner tomorrow to see if that works any better. Happy currently running on the base map though as its giving some good power and it shifts well.

Next week or maybe the week after I will be removing the inlet manifold, I can see its looking rather horrific around the EGR so I am guessing perhaps a small boost leak somewhere plus I am guessing a very clogged inlet manifold.

Need to work out how to get the manifold off, I can see the bolts on top, I can just about see the jubaliee clip from the stock intercooler to the inlet manifold but I know that there will be a connector to the EGR pipe somewhere as well.

I will be cleaning the inlet manifold but keeping the EGR at this time - need to get a baseline of how the car performs with it connected. I can easily disable it by removing the vac line but it shouldn't be actuating when accelerating anyway. I will be simply blocking it off and adding in a tube instead to remove any restriction. I did unplug the EGR earlier today and drove it around a bit and there wasn't a code at all.

I will also be getting an engine bay code reader - the engine doesn't have the usual OBD2 port inside the car owing to the age, it just has the plate where it should be but no plug. Won't be an issue though as I will just get an adapter for the engine bay so I can pull codes and also perhaps do some logging when doing a run.

Next things to buy would be a boost gauge to see how much its boosting on stock - won't be touching any of the stock setup yet but will look to add a manual boost controller to ensure that its getting the correct boost levels.

Very strange on the lack of a code when disconnecting the vacuum line from the EGR. I have a 1999 E300TD sedan and tried a multitude of ways to bypass the EGR and got a code that then almost immediately put the car into a limp mode. I would get no boost at all until resetting the check engine. Don't remember the actual code. I eventually found an electronic bypass that "dumbed down" the EGR. My engine had a mid range "hiccup" for years and disappeared the moment I installed this EGR bypass. The one caveat to this is that the poster that I got this fix from was able to remove the vacuum line from his EGR after this electronic bypass. When I did it, I still got a code, but it would sometimes take quite a bit of aggressive driving to get it, however even without the code there was a lack of performance which I believe resulted from a reduced boost situation. I think it may have something to do with a parallel connection somewhere of the vacuum lines between the EGR and the turbo waste gate. Though that is only a hunch.