Log of the E320's life with us.
Friday, December 8, 2017
I went to look at the car in the daytime. Looked fairly reasonable,
given the price. It was no longer able to move under its own power,
though it had been able to do so intermittently, according to the
owner. It started and ran OK. The interior was very dirty.
The car was a repo, and had been fitted with a breathalyzer start
interlock at some point. The owner got it at auction and had been
trying to get it going again; he'd bought a new key, a replacement
shifter, a replacement center console, replaced the brake light switch
and MAF sensor, put on used wheels that actually fit correctly, with
snow tires, and worked on the brakes. A friend with a scanner had
been unable to contact the transmission computer, which could mean any
number of things. A common failure point is the "conductor plate",
which is fairly easy and inexpensive to replace. But, there can be a
lot of other, worse problems too, such as a radiator that cracks
internally and fills the transmission with coolant, destroying it.
He finally decided that it was too much for him, too many other
projects, and it was getting cold outside. He had been dropping the
price every few days, and was well into the losing money category by
the time I came to see it.
He accepted my offer of $750, and I arranged to trailer the car home
tomorrow. (There is no guarantee that this particular car is
not a losing proposition, this is a definite gamble for me, too.)
Saturday, December 9, 2017
I bought the car. Unfortunately I had been short on time this day and
had not had time to prepare the trailer, and it was dark before our
schedules aligned and I could pick up the car. I brought the truck, a
tow rope, and Daniel. The plan was to start the car and drag it home,
with heat, lights, steering, and brakes all fully operable. (Just
like the 190D many years earlier.)
That actually went very well, Daniel did a good job piloting the toad;
there were no incidents.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
I removed the transmission control unit (TCM, EGS51) from the
underhood electronics nest, and it looked a bit oily. When I turned
it over it puked oil all over me, so we've definitely had the leaking
O-ring and oil wicking problem going on for awhile. I'll let it drain
a bit and then open it up to clean it out. Supposedly the oil doesn't
really do much damage, but it can eat electrolytic capacitors, which
can be replaced.
I tried to dip the radiator fluid, and I couldn't reach it. (The
car's parked nose-down, which doesn't help.) Shining a strong
flashlight through the tank, though, didn't show anything bad-looking.
I was unable to tell if the radiator was the troublesome Valeo make,
which is prone to leaking coolant into the transmission circuit.
(That is deadly to the transmission.)
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
I got the oily TCM pried open, and sluiced it clean with brake cleaner.
I then washed it in hot water with dishwashing liquid, rinsed, and put it
in a 250°F oven to dry. (No starch, please...)
Thursday, December 14, 2017
I removed the single electrolytic capacitor from the TCM and tested
it, it seems OK. My new proposed replacement tested worse, so I just
put back the original. I then put the unit back in the car, using
Deoxit first, and fired it up. No real change, though I could feel
the car barely trying to pull in reverse, at least at first.
Friday, December 15, 2017
After moving the Frankenheap out of the
way, I towed/pushed this car into its place. It left a glycol trail
along the way, that's not good...
Monday, December 18, 2017
I ordered the parts today. FCPEuro.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
The parts came. Unfortunately I was not home to receive them, they'll
be on the porch until the neighbor can retrieve them when feeding the
cats.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
I bought an open drain pan, so I could look at what went into it. It
was black, so I cut a circle of white butcher paper to lay in the
bottom so it would be easier to see debris.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Cold outside, maybe 28°F. I put a radiant space heater on the
transmission pan for an hour or so, then pulled the drain plug. Warm
oil coursed out quickly, and was black-ish with a hint of red.
Definitely not normal as I understand it, but didn't seem foul or
burnt, nor frothy or scummy. The oil was far too opaque to see
through it to the pan bottom for debris. I will leave it to drip
for a day.
...After work I bought two rolls of those lint-free blue paper towels.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
I poured the drain oil into a jug. Just a little over a gallon of
brown (with a hint of red) oil. No crud in the bottom that I could see.
No burn, froth, or scum. Just... brown.
Friday, January 5, 2018
I cleaned off the workbench and put down a layer of the blue lint-free
paper towels I bought. Ready?
Saturday, January 6, 2018
With Daniel's help I began the repair. I dropped the pan, and managed
to slop the brown glop onto me, the first of several times. I pulled
off the filter, more glop. Removing the electrical plug showed it to
be thoroughly saturated with oil, which was no surprise given the
amount I'd cleaned out of the transmission computer earlier. When I
removed the valve body, more glop. I ended up wearing more than a
little bit. I didn't really see any sign of particulate matter, the
only disturbing thing is the brown-ness of the oil. We brought the
valve body inside, where I removed all six solenoids and the conductor
plate. We took the body back outside and used brake cleaner to clean
it off, there was a thin layer of schmutz on the top of it. Back
inside I installed the new conductor plate and wiped off the
solenoids, and checked each one with 12V for clicking. All worked. I
reinstalled all the solenoids and the covers. Many paper towels were
used to clean things up and off, and to prevent dripping during
transport.
The valve body was fairly easy to put back in the car, you just have
to make sure the shift linkage is correctly engaged. The cavity for
the valve body looked pretty clean, actually. I had Daniel clean off
the pan while I put the body back, then I installed the new filter,
and the pan with a new seal. The hardest part of this job is installing
the new electrical plug seal, the trick seemed to be to oil the O-rings
and then drive the thing into place with a small hammer and the 7mm (?)
socket over the retaining bolt. Once the O-rings start to seat you can
use the bolt to cinch it down. After that it was just cleanup and tightening
things down.
We stopped before refilling the transmission and testing it, as it was
starting to get dark and cold. Plenty of time tomorrow to finish it
off. We spent about three hours on it today, plus another hour
previously getting to today's starting point.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
I put the transmission oil in the car, started it, and checked for
leaks. Nothing that I could see. I put the car in gear, and it
was un-happy. The stability control system doesn't like
free-wheeling, and got angry and started hitting brakes, etc. trying
to keep all four wheels rolling together. It seemed to have at least
a bit of power when I had it fight the brakes, so we lowered the car
and went for a test drive. It worked great, at least at first. We
went up the icy hill to start, and the traction control system was
doing its thing. We went down and the ABS worked when I tested it.
Off we went down the main road, and it was clear that the transmission
was not shifting, so it was probably stuck in the 2&R limp-home
mode. That's OK, we probably just need to clear the codes, but when
we turned around to go back, slightly uphill, it decoupled, and the
whine was back. If I restarted the car I could get it to go for a
little bit before it got upset and decoupled again, and we'd roll to a
stop. We were able to limp nearly home before even that stopped
working, so Daniel and I just got the truck and the tow strap and
dragged it the rest of the way. This is extremely disheartening!
If I understand correctly, this is exactly what it was doing for the
previous owner.
...Later in the evening I did the adaptive transmission reset (key on,
floored for 5 seconds, key off and wait quietly until the dash lights
all go out, about 2 minutes) and was able to start the car and move it
into its proper place. It was still whining, though. Not Good.
Monday, January 8, 2018
I dipped the fluid, and it is a bit overfull for cold. Slightly brownish,
but not as bad as it was. (Torque converter was not drained.) My only
hope is that the brown stuff was a filter clogger, and that another new
filter (cheap, if I can save the oil) might survive. This is highly
unlikely.
Friday, November 8, 2018
Some time ago I had ordered two new transmission filters, $30, for the
next stage of the game.
A week or two ago I had jacked up the car again and drained the oil
back into the jug. Dropping the pan, it was clear that the filter was
clogged, and there was aluminum (?) dust in the pan. My hope is that
these are leftovers. I cleaned out the pan, put in a new filter, put
the pan back on, and poured the (browned) oil back in through a couple
of shop towels. (Ugly, but this fluid is far too expensive
to waste, especially on a crap shoot like this car.)
The car would then move again, and I drove it up and down the hill.
No problems, other than being stuck in 2&R, and no whining.
Today I had Daniel follow me to the closest shop with
the truck and a tow rope, just in case. They were to clear the
transmission codes and get it out of limp-home mode. Unfortunately
they said that the transmission computer never would talk to them, and
appeared to be completely inoperative. That's awkward.
We drove the car back home, and it behaved as it should, given that it
had only second gear. There was a bit of whining at speed, but nothing
at idle (unlike before), and we never lost engagement.
Looks like the transmission computer is DOA; either there are wiring
faults, or it died when I cleaned it. A replacement is not too
expensive, I suppose that's next after checking the wiring.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
I located a schematic for the car, pulled the
027 545 03 32 (EGS51) TCM out of the car, and opened up
its connectors. A multimeter showed that it was getting power and
ground on pins 29 & 30, and that 6V was coming out on the other
connector's pin 13, for the RPM sensors. After cleaning the
connectors and re-installing there was no improvement in the car.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
I surfed around, and found a good used TCM, same exact part number.
The few I could find in the States were outrageously expensive, but
this one, in Germany, was only $21. Even with international shipping
(that cost more than it did) it was still a good deal. Total: $48.58,
and not too much more to invest in what might yet be a parts car.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Yesterday the replacement TCM came, and I installed it. The car
drives fine!
Monday, December 17, 2018
Flush with success, I gathered my things and went off to do errands in
Barney. First was the licensing office, to get the title transferred
and the plates. Transfer OK ($99), plates not until it passed a smog
test. Next stop was the gas station, to top it off with $50 of fresh
premium fuel, to aid the stink test. Then I went to the emissions
test center, where it passed ($15). On my way back to the licensing
office to get the plates and tabs the transmission disengaged.
Plugged filter again! Crap!!! I was able to limp to a quiet side
street where I waited. I had a tow rope, Jill came to get me and we
towed the car home.
The car ran many more miles than the first time the filter clogged
on me, so it's possible that this is just a clear-out process.
My brother suggested getting a 5 gallon bucket of the cheapest ATF I
could find, and flush the transmission with that, then put in the
correct stuff. There may be a significant amount of crap hiding in
the torque converter, whose periphery acts somewhat as a centrifugal
debris trap. I don't like the thought of so much residual 'wrong'
fluid being left in there after such a procedure, since you can't
drain the torque converter. My idea at the moment is to intercept the
transmission cooler line and put in a large inline spin-on
filter. That should catch the bulk of the crap before it gets a
chance to clog the (much smaller) transmission filter.
At that point there's only two likely outcomes:
- The transmission has been repaired, by virtue of new computer and
conductor plate, and the shavings and other residue from improper
operation will slowly filter out of the transmission. Even if
there's enough to clog the big filter that's an easy
side-of-the-road change, provided you carry a spare and some
transmission fluid to make up for the loss in the body of the
filter.
- The transmission has not been repaired, and shavings and
other damage products will continue to be generated. The big
filter will clog, perhaps more than once, and/or the transmission
will begin to malfunction for real, which should become apparent
in fairly short order.
Either way, the investment will be minimal.
...Further research, though, shows that the cooler circuit is
thermostatically controlled, so the flow does not all go
through there unless things are very hot, which means that putting a
filter there would do almost no good, especially in winter.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Daniel and I went to Pull-and-Save, they had a couple of newer cars
there. From the E320 I got the glove box, which was intact though
somewhat the wrong color. $12. I should be able to move just the
broken/missing part, mix-and-match.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
I stole the car's pop-up cupholder to put in the
other E320, for Jill.
Sunday, January 13, 2019
I jacked up the car and drained the ATF, cleaned the pan, and put in
my last filter. There was a layer of black sludge on the bottom of
the pan, and the fluid just didn't look that good. Research suggests
that Valvoline MaxLife is a suitable fluid, and fairly inexpensive in
the big jug at Walmart.
Monday, January 14, 2019
Bought 2 gallons of Valvoline Maxlife ATF at Walmart, about $18/jug.
It says it's for Mercedes-Benz NAG-1, right on the jug. I poured one
into the car. It moves again, but doesn't seem to engage correctly.
Level?
Friday, February 15, 2019
I picked up the license plates for Jill's E320
today. (They had a 2000 E320 4WD wagon, silver with 199kmi going up
for sale. Price mentioned was $3,300-ish.) They offered me a free
tranny from a 2000 ML320. (It might be that it comes with a car
hulk.) I know this is different than the transmission in the E, but
only by one digit. I wonder if a valve body swap would take care of
that difference?
Monday, March 18, 2019
I talked to the place with the ML320 transmission. They're serious
about giving me the tranny, even the whole car carcass if I want it.
I really need to find out if this is worth procuring.
Friday, March 29, 2019
I called Sun Valley Mercedes Transmissions, LLC ((818) 782 2300) to
get a definitive answer to the question of whether the 722.664 02
774951 [type = GA] transmission in this car can be replaced by a
722.662 (?) from a 2000 ML320. They said yes, just swap and go.
I dropped by the potential donor car. Most of it is no longer there,
getting the thing home promises to be... interesting.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Much time has passed, with no action on this front. I wanted to clear
the driveway for tomorrow's party, so I connected the battery and gave
it a whirl. The car started right up, and drove. [Later I was able
to move it to longer-term parking, also no problems.] The new fluid
and filter seems to have brought it back. But, for how long?
The battery disconnect I put in is clearly a good idea, if a car is
subject to long periods of inactivity.
Monday, June 22, 2020
To tow the other E320 home it was easier to liberate the tow hook from
this car rather than dig out its own. I noticed that it was a bit
bent, and as a result had a bit of difficulty being inserted and
removed, so I whaled on it with a 10# sledge to straighten it back
out. Seemed to work well.
Friday, November 20, 2020
Stole the driver's seat for temporary use in
the other E320. Turns out this car's seat
heater is still good, bonus.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Moved the car down below and out of sight, for political reasons.
Monday, December 20, 2021
The other E320 broke down, and we had
to leave the disabled car in Montana. The belt tensioner's idler
pulley seized, and burned the belt off the engine. Today Daniel and I
robbed the idler off this car, to loan to that one in order to get it
home tomorrow. It's very easy to do:
- Use E12 Torx socket to twist idler pulley on its eccentric (via
the shaft) to relieve belt tension;
- Remove belt;
- Use 15mm socket to remove the concentric (with the E12 shaft) nut
that holds on the pulley.
The plan is to return it to this car once a new replacement is
procured. It feels good, not 'dry'. (The other idler feels dry.)
Friday, March 17, 2023
I stopped by Spalding's, and picked up a set of five
five-hole 16" alloy wheels I'd identified on an earlier trip, $155
(such things have gone up substantially in recent times). Complete
with center caps, but the rubber is mostly shot. These are for
summer/winter tires for this car, if I ever go that way. Or, spare
wheels.
Sunday, June 30, 2024
I had found a broken (but complete) pop-up cupholder in the trunk of
Daniel's car, to perhaps replace the
one I stole to put in Jill's
car. Yesterday I cleaned and fixed it. There is a thin plastic
extension that broke at the neck, which lets the whole thing extend
too far up, thus coming apart. (You're supposed to remove a snap-on
plastic cap if you want to disassemble the unit. The place it snaps
into is what broke off the main body.) I used Shoe Goo, a staple, and
some popsicle stick wood to splint the break.
The unit is not badly-designed, per se, but it is weak there and
clearly doesn't account for plastic's ability to age and fail.
So now this car can have a cupholder if it ever gets back on the road
and needs one.
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