Hi Everyone!
Well, I read with interest what fun it was to change the two hoses on the Idle Air Valve.....
I approached it with trepidation... but it went pretty well.
Here they are... all 4 "The Usual Suspects!"

If I had know it would go so well I would have planned to do a better actual DIY write-up with pics instead of an afterthought!
The small one on the left was cake.. as was the one on the lower of the pic...

Here is what we did... son and I.
1/ Place new hoses in the sun, to warm and soften them.... those in colder climates... maybe a pan of hot water?
2/ Disconnect Battery.
3/ Take off the airfilter assembly.
4/ Remove Idle Air Valve electrical connection and remove the two 10mm bolts.
5/ Twist Valve to release the two hoses.... ours were stuck well... it took a few minutes to release them.
Here they are...


6/Remove right hand side hose by twisting... I had to get pliers on it to get it off!
7/ Remove the injector from above the other hose by removing the two Allen screws... careful that you dont drop them.... Dont ask... Then CAREFULLY bend the injector pipe and injector out of the way... Did I say BE GENTLE?
8/ Using a long flat screwdriver... pry the hose off its barb, I had to pry against the inlet manifold to push it off.... Ours was stuck good, even when it was off the barb, its so tight for space there, we had to push the hose DOWN into the area below the inlet manifold to get it out... the old pipe was very stiff tho, so maybe that was why.
9/ Here goes the tricky bit... First we sprayed the end of the new hose with Rubber protectorant, as a lube. Then we put on the original clamp with the tabs facing up..
10/ Wiggle the new hose down into place... we had to use the flat screwdriver to push it down into the gap and in position... took us two attempts... first time the clamp came off and we lost it for 10 mins!
11/ Once the hose with clamp is in position... Insert a larger diameter blunt crosshead screwdriver into the injection valve hole. Like this....


Then I used the screwdriver to apply sideways pressure to the hose... pushing it onto the barb, and it popped on, second attempt!
We could not believe it!
11/ We did adjust the clamp and make sure it was good, by opening and releasing it, letting it find its own position again...
The whole hose replacement took two of us about 30 mins...
I think the fact that we lubed the hose plus the heated softed rubber made a big difference.
Hope this helps someone!

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

Bump....
Updated with pics!
Will Hunter... maybe you can add this to the DIY section?

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

Ahah!

Did my trick work for you?

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

I ran the search after my first attempt at the 'fabulous four'. I can see that lube and heat are going to make a difference. Would a teeny dab of assembly lube work as well as the rubber lube you mentioned?

I used what I had around, but I would be careful with anything that will be too slippery. You dont want it sliding off!

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

I've read this thread with interest, having previously replaced the small ICV breather hose with some difficulty ( but I've been afraid to tackle the long one). Do either of you have any tricks for attaching the shorter hose? When I did mine the second time, when i pulled on the hose to remove it it came out attached to the plastic barb, and I discovered it was much easier to attach the hose to the barb outside the car and then put the barb, with hose attached, into its hole. Thanks.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

Richard,
I was worried about the long one too, and it was not that bad, tricky, but with patience and the trick I showed, it worked for us.
I will be honest I dont remember the short one being any problem apart from removing it. Just old and firmly stuck to its barbs.

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

did you work only from above, or did you install the lower end from underneath? thanks.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

I made my second attempt at the hoses today. I was stymied by the allen screws holding the cold start injector, then the barb for the smaller of the two idle hoses chipped a piece. I gave up for today.

Is there any wisdom in tilting the fuel distributor up? It looks like it is held in by 3 nuts and a rubber fitting at the throttle plate (which I would love to replace anyway).

We did it all from above... heaven knows how you do it from below!
The only thing we did below the inlet manifold was look for the clamp we dropped!

I undid the injector screw and eased it up gently until it was clear of the hose hole... worked for us.

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

I had the head off my 260e and was planning to replace the two difficult hoses while the head was off - until I saw that having the head off made it absolutely no easier. So I saved that project for another day.

Now I'm ready to tackle it and your suggestions will definely help. I also remember someone using a paperclip to hold open the hose clamps until the hose is on and then pulling out the paperclip.

Well, today I attempted the removal process on my parts car, for a practice run. I found it helped to remove the allen bolt on the harness channel, because the harness then can be tilted up out of the way, giving some more room. It also helped to remove the clamp on the fuel injector. However, I could not remove the bottom of the long hose, and in fact it broke off. After reading Merkey's description, it seems someone put the lower end of the long hose inside the barb, not over it This resulted in rock hard rubber inside the barb, which was impossible to get out. I may try a heatgun to soften the hose and see if I can pull it out. Of course, I am assuming the hose does go over the barb, not into it. My car has no clamp, but in a MB schematic for a 1991 w124 I see a clamp where the hose connects with the ICV. Merkey, before I try this on my working car, I would appreciate it if you would confirm about the lower hose going over the barb and that the clamp goes on the top at the ICV connection. Thanks.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

Well, checked my working car, and the hose goes over the barb. (How someone was able to put it into the barb I can't imagine.) That car has no clamp, however, and I think for the few dollars I may go out and buy one.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

Richard:

Good news and bad news. Good news is that you get to replace your ICV hose the easy way, with the fuel distributor removed. Bad news is that if the barb for the short hose comes out of the boot between air flow meter horn and throttle body, the boot is bad. Check the clamp on the throttle body -- if you can turn it, or the clamp is completely closed up (ends meet), it's shot and leaking.

Do yourself a favor and get new injector seals and injector holder seals (the plastic sleeve the injector goes in) and replace those at the same time, since you will be taking the fuel distributor off anyway -- have to remove the injector lines to do that.

The barb is out in the open with the FD off....

I did this in three rounds, it's MUCH better to do it all at once.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!