Once my new ETA arrives I will plug it in before doing anything and turn the ignition to the on position to make sure it moves or does something (It is suppose to do something right?) given that my EA is sound. I will update once I do that. I am affraid that if the ETA is a DOA I am going to think that EA is bad but we will see what happens.

Just placed the order on my ETA with Mercedes dealer. It will be here on Thursday and I will put it to the test first. According to the result I will order the EA. I will update.

Ummm... you might want to call Phastlane Phil, and see what kind of price he can get you (that is if you insist on new).

Lots of cracks. . . closer to the main unit it would be even worse, at least if it follows what I and others have seen. The heat up on the top of the fender wall is not as great as it is were the cable mounts into the ETA body.

Keep that $450 EA from the junk yard 'close'. . .

I went with a new one because I could not trust the used ones after I saw those cracks. I want to take this car over 200000 miles so I have about another 78000 miles to go and did not want to do this again.

I have the $450 set aside for the EA as well JimF. I am afraid that the EA is dead as well. The ETA somehow shorted the EA (with wires touching in the ETA cable its possible). I ordered the ETA first to make myself feel better that I only changed the dead part not throw out money like the dealer wanted me to.

If the bad parts were the EA and the ETA then why would there be a code for a cam sensor? (From previous failure perhaps)

After these two are replaced how do I make sure the cam sensor is good?

Does the CE light come on for a cam sensor?

<If the bad parts were the EA and the ETA then why would there be a code for a cam sensor? (From previous failure perhaps) > Not necessarily. . .could be a just a 'glitch'. Normally, most recommend that you reset all codes and then see if they come back. I wouldn't make too much of that code.

<After these two are replaced how do I make sure the cam sensor is good?> Time will tell.

<Does the CE light come on for a cam sensor?> Don't think so; CE light comes on for "emissions" related faults.

I have a 1994 SL500 with a ASR light. Sporadically my ASR light comes on and my engine shuts down to idle speed when driving on the road and/or at speeds of 20-40 MPH. At that point I have to shut the engine off and restart the car. At that time my car runs normal again. I have been told that it is most likely because of my Throttle Body Actuator. The problem doesn't happen all the time. In fact, it only seems to happen wehn it is hot outside (70 degrees and above). You can buy rebuilt Throttle Body Accuators for between $399-$799.00. One such place it Jayten on the internet. Their site is: http://www.jaytanindustriesinc.com/index.htm.
Thanks, Rgrayoh

I received my ETA today. I plugged it in and turned the ignition to the on position. The ETA moved the flap from totally closed to somewhat open and whirred. I took the old one off the car but in the process broke the pipe that connects to it. I ordered the pipe from Phil it will be here tomorrow. Once I put everything in I will know for sure but I think the EA is ok.

Once I get this issue resolved I want to attack the lifter noise. I read up and know about the plastic things under the valve covers that break up and will check it out and replace them all if any one of them are bad.

But first things first. I will get the car running and drive around to make sure no more codes are thrown. I will report back tomorrow once I have everything put together.

Just an FYI for others who read this thread, you can get a rebuilt unit with a 1 year warrantee(longer than a brand new unit from MB) for 399(www.4mercedes.com). Fair price if you ask me

Heh...I did mention to order the tubes :D ... anyway...good to hear that things are making noise...a step in the right direction! Did you have any trouble removing the old gasket?
Here is a link to a diy pictorial for the cam oiler tubes http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/M119OilGuides For the most part the same engine, except that this model has coil packs and ours do not - but once you have the valve cover off, it's pretty much the same thing.

Good luck!

Cool . . . goods news . . a clicking and clacking! But that doesn't mean it will idle. . . unless you've already checked this out???

What "tube"?? do you mean the rubber tubing?? It turns to mush as I said someplace in this thread (post#24) and always needs to be replaced.

The oil tubes are easy to replace; see MENU#19. You don't have to replace ALL of them . . . just the ones that popped their ends. The only hard spots is the one by the timing chain; need to remove the chain guide.

The ETA came off easier than I thought. Me and my brother took the whole thing out in like 15 minutes. No kidding. We took off the the filter box first. The MAF was removed second. The clamb that suppose to hold the MAF was not really that tight. The last thing was to remove the cable from the clamp, the pipe which we broke, the spring and the rod from the throttle assembly, and the 4 hex bolts of the ETA.

The gasget peeled right out with no crums remaining. Thank you for the step by step on the oil tubes. I will do that next after getting the car running. I will post later with results.

Okay, now what? The ETA is in. After puting everything together we cranked her up. She would not start on her own so I pumped the gas pedal and she started. The rpm's started at 1500 rpm and climbed to 2000 rpm. I thought that it would come down on its own but it did not instead it just kept increasing very slowly.

At about 2000 rpms I thought something would go wrong so I wanted to see if it would settle when in gear. I put it in reverse and the car just stalled. It will not start again with or without pumping the gas pedal. As I cranked the car it makes a explosion sound I dont know how to describe it. It does this like 2 to 3 time per 10 to 15 second cranks.

So what do I go for next the EA or MFA? Does the sound it makes while cranking a sign of bad air/fuel mixture?

You did a very good job describing the original problem . . . so if it wouldn't stay running then, it won't now. An ETA does nothing to make a M119 run, just is a big throttle (fly-by-wire).

First, did you clean the MAF when it was out?? Some CRC MAF cleaner (or certain brands of brake cleaner) to make sure it's ok. The hot-wire MAF are somewhat durable and tend to work but can get contaminated as described in Menu#4a. Do what I did and see what happens.

But, as I said to open, your diagnosis was accurate, so after cleaning the MAF, it still needs an EA . . . most likely. Maybe you can swap with a known good EA to be sure??

Just to make one thing clear the car when cranking just cranks does not pickup or even attemp it. It was the same before the ETA. It does as I said make this explosion sound. Do you think it still is the EA? Does EA have anything to do with starting? I know it affects idling. I did clean the MAF and it did not look contaminated but did clean it anyway.