Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[SpeckledJim]

0a said:

If, say, a classic Mercedes sort of chap were to be about to purchase a 1999 XJ 4.0 would there be anything in particular to be aware of?

The car has had new front wings with paint, and the owner seems like a very genuine sort of chap indeed.

I have a telephone call with him tomorrow.

There's a fairly famous XJ buyer's guide posted by a chap called JaguarSteve that gets passed round the Jaguar subforum regularly, I'd try to track that down, it's excellent.

As said, rust is the risk - most of the oily bits are available, cheap, and lots of it is DIY-able. I've not found working on my Jaguars the absolute pleasure that working on an old Mercedes usually is, but it's not at all bad.

A 1999 Jaguar might carry the same badge as a 1970's / early 1980's Jaguar, but in quality terms they're not comparable.

[SpeckledJim]

My wife's 2005 W211 E320 CDi (3.0) is struggling at the moment. Regular hiccupping, no power, intermittent throttle response.

With some help from a grown-up, focus has turned to the turbo actuator, which I've now removed, pending swapping it with a known good one to test.

Anyone have any advice before I do something stoopid?

[mccrackenj]

SpeckledJim said:

A 1999 Jaguar might carry the same badge as a 1970's / early 1980's Jaguar, but in quality terms they're not comparable.

So Mercedes in reverse basically?




BTW I haven't forgotten about a certain 'thread book' that I promised to pass on once I'd finished. It was you who pm'd me wasn't it? Must get it read.

[SilverSixer]

SpeckledJim said:

My wife's 2005 W211 E320 CDi (3.0) is struggling at the moment. Regular hiccupping, no power, intermittent throttle response.

With some help from a grown-up, focus has turned to the turbo actuator, which I've now removed, pending swapping it with a known good one to test.

Anyone have any advice before I do something stoopid?

Ooh. My 2005 S211 320 CDI (3222cc, n'est-ce pas?) is displaying the initial signs of similar problems. My local Merc indie has said the torque converter is on the way out (prepared to believe him, when it's cold gear changes are jerky), but running STAR shows no related codes, just a turbo sensor error. He says the sensor is built in to the turbo and non-replaceable, it would need a new/recon turbo fitting.

Replacing a turbo actuator sounds like a much cheaper place to start. Could I prevail upon you to keep the thread up to date on progress with your wife's vehicle? It might be a great help.

[Bargista]

Bargista said:

Chaps, I don't want to clutter the thread up but would aporeciate your combined (and individual) wisdom...

Thanks to this thread, I own a 2001 BMW 540i touring auto, non sport model but spec'd with sport suspension.

[Questions about the wisdom of keeping it and fettling it]

Thanks for all the replies chaps. Really really helpful.

The car is staying! And getting fettled!

After digesting the collective wisdom of threadists and then a few weeks of lots of back and forwards between Oxfordshire and Sussex after my elderly mother unexpectedly died peacefully in her sleep, I've bonded with the car big time! To'ing and fro'ing will continue for a few months as things are sorted out.

The combination of waft and grunt is fantastic, and when undertaking a late night drive home, with a somewhat tired driver, having the air on cold and the heated seat on toasty is a great way of covering miles 'rapidly enough' in enjoyable comfort.

Genuine front and rear discs and pads ordered from Cotswold BMW for £307 (discount for bmw5 forum).

Now working out a plan of attack for the other tasks... and hoping to make the York meet...

[SpeckledJim]

SilverSixer said:

SpeckledJim said:

My wife's 2005 W211 E320 CDi (3.0) is struggling at the moment. Regular hiccupping, no power, intermittent throttle response.

With some help from a grown-up, focus has turned to the turbo actuator, which I've now removed, pending swapping it with a known good one to test.

Anyone have any advice before I do something stoopid?

Ooh. My 2005 S211 320 CDI (3222cc, n'est-ce pas?) is displaying the initial signs of similar problems. My local Merc indie has said the torque converter is on the way out (prepared to believe him, when it's cold gear changes are jerky), but running STAR shows no related codes, just a turbo sensor error. He says the sensor is built in to the turbo and non-replaceable, it would need a new/recon turbo fitting.

Replacing a turbo actuator sounds like a much cheaper place to start. Could I prevail upon you to keep the thread up to date on progress with your wife's vehicle? It might be a great help.

The Mercedes Dealer Gospel on the turbo and actuator is that they are a matched, calibrated pair, and won't/can't be sold separately. At £2500 investment to replace a £100 component I am somewhat cynical. There's a real industry in refurbishing and replacing actuators, so that's my ambition at the moment.

I'm temporarily swapping one on from another car (same part number) this afternoon, so if that clears the problem, hopefully I've found my culprit. We'll see...

[SpeckledJim]

mccrackenj said:

SpeckledJim said:

A 1999 Jaguar might carry the same badge as a 1970's / early 1980's Jaguar, but in quality terms they're not comparable.

So Mercedes in reverse basically?


BTW I haven't forgotten about a certain 'thread book' that I promised to pass on once I'd finished. It was you who pm'd me wasn't it? Must get it read.

I think it was, thanks for remembering. No rush, but as-and-when you're done with it I'll happily accept temporary custody, ready to pass it on again once digested.

[tog]

Lagerlout said:

Surely such a chap would be better off buying a lovely Azurite blue W140 S500 at a bargain basement, cut price thus insuring he stayed faithful to the three pointed star??

tobinen said:

I am surprised to hear that has not sold LL.

Have you a link?

[SilverSixer]

SpeckledJim said:

SilverSixer said:

SpeckledJim said:

My wife's 2005 W211 E320 CDi (3.0) is struggling at the moment. Regular hiccupping, no power, intermittent throttle response.

With some help from a grown-up, focus has turned to the turbo actuator, which I've now removed, pending swapping it with a known good one to test.

Anyone have any advice before I do something stoopid?

Ooh. My 2005 S211 320 CDI (3222cc, n'est-ce pas?) is displaying the initial signs of similar problems. My local Merc indie has said the torque converter is on the way out (prepared to believe him, when it's cold gear changes are jerky), but running STAR shows no related codes, just a turbo sensor error. He says the sensor is built in to the turbo and non-replaceable, it would need a new/recon turbo fitting.

Replacing a turbo actuator sounds like a much cheaper place to start. Could I prevail upon you to keep the thread up to date on progress with your wife's vehicle? It might be a great help.

The Mercedes Dealer Gospel on the turbo and actuator is that they are a matched, calibrated pair, and won't/can't be sold separately. At £2500 investment to replace a £100 component I am somewhat cynical. There's a real industry in refurbishing and replacing actuators, so that's my ambition at the moment.

I'm temporarily swapping one on from another car (same part number) this afternoon, so if that clears the problem, hopefully I've found my culprit. We'll see...

Thanks, will be fascinated to hear the upshot.

My hiccupping is really only noticeable when the car's cold, or at lowish (sub 35), constant speed. The rev counter fluctuates a bit, I feel a slight hesitation. And when I do a long run I sometimes get a limp mode after stopping for a bit (leak and a coffee for example) and restarting whilst the engine is hot. Then, another stop and switch off/on and it clears. No engine management lights or nuffink.

Merc indie blaming torque converter and turbo, I had them do a transmission oil flush and change, they said the old oil wasn't nasty at all. So maybe, just maybe, the TC is OK and all will be solved with work on/replacement of the turbo. if I can sort it with just the actuator I'll be a very, very happy idiot.

Edited by SilverSixer on Thursday 30th March 11:23

[bmthnick1981]

Patrick Bateman said:

Is this e38 or e65?

E65.

[bmthnick1981]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

bmthnick1981 said:

Many thanks to Slipper as Seller and K12Beano as delivery driver, BMW 750 now sat in office car park, hoping to get away soon so I can go fill it with Super and take the long way home!

Great news. We like to see an intra-thread buy, and this one has the brucey-bonus of an intra-thread delivery team too.

When do we get to see the obligatory dim light petrol station shot?

K12Beano provided this shot from his journey from Norwich to Bournemouth;

[Krikkit]

Nice, very moody. I presume it's silver?

SilverSixer said:

Thanks, will be fascinated to hear the upshot.

My hiccupping is really only noticeable when the car's cold, or at lowish (sub 35), constant speed. The rev counter fluctuates a bit, I feel a slight hesitation. And when I do a long run I sometimes get a limp mode after stopping for a bit (leak and a coffee for example) and restarting whilst the engine is hot. Then, another stop and switch off/on and it clears. No engine management lights or nuffink.

Merc indie blaming torque converter and turbo, I had them do a transmission oil flush and change, they said the old oil wasn't nasty at all. So maybe, just maybe, the TC is OK and all will be solved with work on/replacement of the turbo. if I can sort it with just the actuator I'll be a very, very happy idiot.

Edited by SilverSixer on Thursday 30th March 11:23

The fluctuation of revs (presumably without a change in road speed? Just a hesitation.) was the same symptom of an auto I had with a dying TC, but it didn't do the hot/cold and didn't go away with restart.

An easy way to tell would be to hook up a laptop to the OBD port and graph the boost pressure (and hopefully actuator value) on screen so you can see what's happening - you don't even need STAR to do that, any generic software will do...

[SpeckledJim]

bmthnick1981 said:

K12Beano provided this shot from his journey from Norwich to Bournemouth;

Did he send you the video of the J-turns we did on B&Q car park? Can't believe it fitted through those bollards. Well, second attempt it did.

What about the video when 8 of us went through Maccy's drive-thru all sat on the roof?

Does it still smell of sick? We tried pretty hard to clean it up but after we stole that petrol we couldn't stop in one place for long. Might have to wait until the first hot day before you can tell whether we got all the milkshake out.

[SilverSixer]

Krikkit said:

Nice, very moody. I presume it's silver?

SilverSixer said:

Thanks, will be fascinated to hear the upshot.

My hiccupping is really only noticeable when the car's cold, or at lowish (sub 35), constant speed. The rev counter fluctuates a bit, I feel a slight hesitation. And when I do a long run I sometimes get a limp mode after stopping for a bit (leak and a coffee for example) and restarting whilst the engine is hot. Then, another stop and switch off/on and it clears. No engine management lights or nuffink.

Merc indie blaming torque converter and turbo, I had them do a transmission oil flush and change, they said the old oil wasn't nasty at all. So maybe, just maybe, the TC is OK and all will be solved with work on/replacement of the turbo. if I can sort it with just the actuator I'll be a very, very happy idiot.

Edited by SilverSixer on Thursday 30th March 11:23

The fluctuation of revs (presumably without a change in road speed? Just a hesitation.) was the same symptom of an auto I had with a dying TC, but it didn't do the hot/cold and didn't go away with restart.

An easy way to tell would be to hook up a laptop to the OBD port and graph the boost pressure (and hopefully actuator value) on screen so you can see what's happening - you don't even need STAR to do that, any generic software will do...

Yes, no change in road speed. Perhaps I do have both dodgy TC and dodgy turbo. Also got one rear air spring 2cm lower than the other (newish, previous owner evidently didn't believe in replacing in pairs) one. So 3 expensive problems, potentially. Crossing off one would be a definite win.

What you say is intriguing, thanks. When you say any generic software will do, you couldn't name an example could you? Please assume you're dealing with an idiot here. Because you are. Also, what cable would I need to connect a laptop to the OBD port? Never done it myself.

[Krikkit]

SilverSixer said:

Yes, no change in road speed. Perhaps I do have both dodgy TC and dodgy turbo. Also got one rear air spring 2cm lower than the other (newish, previous owner evidently didn't believe in replacing in pairs) one. So 3 expensive problems, potentially. Crossing off one would be a definite win.

What you say is intriguing, thanks. When you say any generic software will do, you couldn't name an example could you? Please assume you're dealing with an idiot here. Because you are. Also, what cable would I need to connect a laptop to the OBD port? Never done it myself.

Hopefully not both!

For OBD the ubiquitous ELM327 seems to work for most cars, <£5 even for bluetooth ones these days. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=obd2+w211&a...

In terms of software I use EasyOBDII which was bundled with my ELM. I also have a couple of others for marque-specific cables etc, but that's my go-to for general purpose.

Obviously a full STAR multiplexer etc would be a much more comprehensive system, but much more expensive.

As an aside I have a bluetooth reader and the torque app on my Android phone for on-the-go diag in case something crops up - never used it on my own car, but come in handy diagnosing a couple of friends' when they were misbehaving while I was visiting.

[SilverSixer]

Krikkit said:

SilverSixer said:

Yes, no change in road speed. Perhaps I do have both dodgy TC and dodgy turbo. Also got one rear air spring 2cm lower than the other (newish, previous owner evidently didn't believe in replacing in pairs) one. So 3 expensive problems, potentially. Crossing off one would be a definite win.

What you say is intriguing, thanks. When you say any generic software will do, you couldn't name an example could you? Please assume you're dealing with an idiot here. Because you are. Also, what cable would I need to connect a laptop to the OBD port? Never done it myself.

Hopefully not both!

For OBD the ubiquitous ELM327 seems to work for most cars, <£5 even for bluetooth ones these days. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=obd2+w211&a...

In terms of software I use EasyOBDII which was bundled with my ELM. I also have a couple of others for marque-specific cables etc, but that's my go-to for general purpose.

Obviously a full STAR multiplexer etc would be a much more comprehensive system, but much more expensive.

As an aside I have a bluetooth reader and the torque app on my Android phone for on-the-go diag in case something crops up - never used it on my own car, but come in handy diagnosing a couple of friends' when they were misbehaving while I was visiting.

Thank you. I are terrified by the technological challenge this presents my feeble faculties, but I might give it a go.

[0a]

SpeckledJim said:

There's a fairly famous XJ buyer's guide posted by a chap called JaguarSteve that gets passed round the Jaguar subforum regularly, I'd try to track that down, it's excellent.

As said, rust is the risk - most of the oily bits are available, cheap, and lots of it is DIY-able. I've not found working on my Jaguars the absolute pleasure that working on an old Mercedes usually is, but it's not at all bad.

A 1999 Jaguar might carry the same badge as a 1970's / early 1980's Jaguar, but in quality terms they're not comparable.

Thanks. I have a train booked for tomorrow.

[Stegel]

SilverSixer said:

SpeckledJim said:

SilverSixer said:

SpeckledJim said:

My wife's 2005 W211 E320 CDi (3.0) is struggling at the moment. Regular hiccupping, no power, intermittent throttle response.

With some help from a grown-up, focus has turned to the turbo actuator, which I've now removed, pending swapping it with a known good one to test.

Anyone have any advice before I do something stoopid?

Ooh. My 2005 S211 320 CDI (3222cc, n'est-ce pas?) is displaying the initial signs of similar problems. My local Merc indie has said the torque converter is on the way out (prepared to believe him, when it's cold gear changes are jerky), but running STAR shows no related codes, just a turbo sensor error. He says the sensor is built in to the turbo and non-replaceable, it would need a new/recon turbo fitting.

Replacing a turbo actuator sounds like a much cheaper place to start. Could I prevail upon you to keep the thread up to date on progress with your wife's vehicle? It might be a great help.

The Mercedes Dealer Gospel on the turbo and actuator is that they are a matched, calibrated pair, and won't/can't be sold separately. At £2500 investment to replace a £100 component I am somewhat cynical. There's a real industry in refurbishing and replacing actuators, so that's my ambition at the moment.

I'm temporarily swapping one on from another car (same part number) this afternoon, so if that clears the problem, hopefully I've found my culprit. We'll see...

Thanks, will be fascinated to hear the upshot.

My hiccupping is really only noticeable when the car's cold, or at lowish (sub 35), constant speed. The rev counter fluctuates a bit, I feel a slight hesitation. And when I do a long run I sometimes get a limp mode after stopping for a bit (leak and a coffee for example) and restarting whilst the engine is hot. Then, another stop and switch off/on and it clears. No engine management lights or nuffink.

Merc indie blaming torque converter and turbo, I had them do a transmission oil flush and change, they said the old oil wasn't nasty at all. So maybe, just maybe, the TC is OK and all will be solved with work on/replacement of the turbo. if I can sort it with just the actuator I'll be a very, very happy idiot.

Edited by SilverSixer on Thursday 30th March 11:23

My CLS started occasional hiccuping, sometimes followed by a limp mode sluggishness that could be partially ameliorated by manually changing down, usually after a warm re-start, and resolved by stopping the engine and restarting. This would occur once every few months 30k miles ago (at about 90-95k). No warning lights. I lived with this for 2 years but suddenly it became far more frequent - daily - was not sorted by a restart (but disappeared overnight) and occasionally put the EML on. My OBD reader suggested wastegate issues (I don't think it has one).

My Indy (WDM in Birmingham) diagnosed a turbo actuator but said that changing that alone was not sufficient as the turbo causes the actuator the problem. New (Huff) turbo, precautionary change of inlet port shut-down motor (while they're in there!) together with oil and filter, air filter and two (unrelated) glow plugs -£1,300. That's 5 or 6k miles ago - issue solved, absence of smoke on hard acceleration and it feels like a new car.

ETA- clearly I'm referring to the 3 litre V6 not the 3.2 litre straight 6 - not sure if that suffers the same way.

Edited by Stegel on Thursday 30th March 15:38

[SilverSixer]

Cheers, Stegel. My local Merc indie says the problem you describe is common on the V6 - a close neighbour with a 2009 V6 had it happen last year. However, they say turbo problems are virtually unheard of on the I6, which is what is causing them doubt and the reason they didn't tell me to replace the turbo straight away, rather see if the problem worsens. They seemed to be saying that they were surprised the STAR diagnosis pointed to the turbo when they were suspicious of the TC. Symptoms as I've experienced though sound far more similar to the issues people get with turbos on the V6.

So I iz well confused, innit. And spending £80 or so on an actuator recondition wouldn't be too great a loss if it didn't fix the issue. Although it would put me back to square 1 on whether it's the turbo, the TC, or both. Indie says both jobs are about the same price, so it's a right lottery which one to do first. And I am not renowned for my luck when it comes to our four-wheeled friends.

[Stegel]

SilverSixer said:

Cheers, Stegel. My local Merc indie says the problem you describe is common on the V6 - a close neighbour with a 2009 V6 had it happen last year. However, they say turbo problems are virtually unheard of on the I6, which is what is causing them doubt and the reason they didn't tell me to replace the turbo straight away, rather see if the problem worsens. They seemed to be saying that they were surprised the STAR diagnosis pointed to the turbo when they were suspicious of the TC. Symptoms as I've experienced though sound far more similar to the issues people get with turbos on the V6.

So I iz well confused, innit. And spending £80 or so on an actuator recondition wouldn't be too great a loss if it didn't fix the issue. Although it would put me back to square 1 on whether it's the turbo, the TC, or both. Indie says both jobs are about the same price, so it's a right lottery which one to do first. And I am not renowned for my luck when it comes to our four-wheeled friends.

I understand it is indeed far more common on the V6. When I was Googling the issue I did come across a few turbo related tales relating to the straight six - from memory some were on the mbclub.co.uk forum.