ether in '99 e300 *&^%#!!!!! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

realquietlike · #1 05-22-2006, 12:07 AM

hi-

i'm still a little anxious over this, but, after some expenditure of $$ to my mechanic, i think things may be ok, but i'm not 100% sure. thought i'd post this up here to you all to see if there are any further thoughts. warning- nightmarish tale ahead involving clueless owner and a bunch of idiots.

i just bought a '99 e300 (140,000 miles- mostly highway) from the east coast, and had it shipped out here to l.a. when the seller dropped the car off to the shippers, the car was working fine. sometime along the route, the car stopped starting. when i went to the hub to pick it up and couldn't start it, someone there had the brilliant idea of spraying some starter fluid- which i assume was ether- into the intake. i thought it was a bad idea, but these guys assured me that they do it all the time to cars and diesel trucks. they had already demonstrated their utter lack of knowledge of diesels by repeatedly turning the ignition all the way on without waiting for the glow plugs, even after i had explained it to them, so i should have stopped them in their tracks, but, regrettably, i allowed them to continue.

well, they started spraying- they probably went for almost a minute filling the intake with that stuff. nothing happened other than the battery losing its charge and the engine shaking the whole car and crying out for us to stop. the whole time, i was thinking this isn't right and finally told them to stop.

the car got flatbedded to my mechanic- he knows mercedes diesels well, is honest and fair with what he charges me. intake sensor- dead. glow plug relay needed to be replaced which might have been the cause of the car not starting in the first place. they said the car was a little noisier than normal, but a good long blowout on the freeway would solve that.

anyhow- i've been driving it a couple of days and i notice these 2 subtle things. whenever i'm at 1200-1500 rpms there is a slight low pitched whine- comes from the engine. and at 55-60 mph, i can feel some vibration in the wheel, which disappears once i kick it up a notch. it does a smooth 80 mph. and it does, in general, sound better now.

just wanted to relay this nightmarish tale as a warning to others and also post up these 2 issues i've noticed- could they possibly be a result of this ether boneheadedness? they are both pretty subtle, but i still just have this constant low level anxiety that i've really messed up a really awesome car. i read some of the threads on ether up here, so i know a bit about it now. ugggh.

i'm going back to my mechanic in a few days, will report back what he says. thanks in advance to any other ideas you guys are willing to float my way.

kmaysob · #2 05-22-2006, 12:14 AM

the humm you are hearing is probly the diff. my first sd did that and my moms 190 does it. as for the vibration, i would start by balancing the tires.

as long as it seems to run fine you probly got lucky. if its absolutley nessacery to use ether use it in a 5 sec burst and wait for the liquid to dry. use the fumes.

dieseldiehard · #3 05-22-2006, 01:28 AM

Use WD-40 directly into the air intake on a diesel for starting, it works and won't strip the lubrication off the cylinder walls like ether does. I learned about that with a lawn mower. After one or two seasons it lost compression because the cylinders were scored badly.

t walgamuth · #4 05-22-2006, 06:17 PM

wd 40 will start a car that is having a prime problem. it wont start a car that has dead glow plugs unless the temp outside is pretty warm.

tom w

realquietlike · #5 05-22-2006, 06:53 PM

the noise at 1400 rpm is getting worse. it happens whether moving or idling. the window for it is really narrow- you have to be right on the (not so)sweet spot right around 1400 rpm and there is suddeny this metallic rattling noise. i'm not sure where it's coming from- unfortunately i don't have anyone to step on the pedal right now so i can figure it out...

could it be the catylitic converter?

F18 · #6 05-22-2006, 09:27 PM

You need to be able to listen under the hood while the car is at the right rpm so invite a friend ( beer or drinks should lure someone over).....or block the accelerator down with something so you can work under the hood. You got something harmonically resonating at 1400rpm like a metal heat shield or loose/broken exhaust hanger... it could be anything!

The vibration you feel in the steering wheel is probably from worn lower A-Arm Bushings (a very common MB problem). All my Mercedes over the years have had this vibration between 57 to 60mph. You can go to the expense of having the bushings replaced but from my experience the problem returns in 30K miles. Even my current 98 E-300TD vibrates at those speeds so I drive above or below those speeds.....who drives 57 to 60mph anyway?