Heck yes! Turn it up and get it done. Good luck.
Heck yes! Turn it up and get it done. Good luck.
And now I can road-test it! Got it added back to the insurance this morning and went over to the courthouse to get tags for it.
The only thing keeping me from doing the road test now is the fact that the rear suspension is not suspending. I've got to play with those air springs a bit either tonight or tomorrow.
i had to do air springs in a grand cherokee. what a bulls*** experience.
on that cherokee it wouldn't inflate after having the battery disconnected until it hit 5mph
In reply to Norma66-Brent :
I can't believe I'm about to write this, but actually even if I have to replace both rear air springs, it really doesn't look like a bad job. They try to level things out pretty much right away and I can hit the button to raise the ride height on command. What I can't easily do, apparently, is force them to deflate without STAR. But I've been able to make do so far.
I know that the bags were twisted around and out of their little cups. In the process of putting them back in their cups, I broke one of the air lines. So right now, the right bag is deflated, the left bag was inflated before, and there's a broken air line on the left. I'm going to fix that air line which should get the left side working properly. Then, if the right side still doesn't work, I'll get an Arnott bag and put it in. Then all should be copacetic.
I was going to try to just make something to replace the grille, but the more I thought about it, the more I hated that idea. Doing a nationwide search, there is one 2010-2012 GL[345]50 in a you-pull junkyard and that's in Colorado. car-part.com has a few listed, but they're all a bit spendy. So I did some searching and found some on ebay, but anything sub-$400 is either broken or just the crossbars and not the plastic mesh to which they attach. Or it's some sort of Chinese knock-off that I don't want.
Looking in EPC, I need A-164-880-27-85, so just to sanity-check myself, I tried the parts store for the local dealer. Available, appears to be in-stock, and only $266.16 after tax. It also appears to include the Mercedes logo - which many of the more expensive used parts on ebay do not. So maybe I'm not getting what I think I'm getting, but it seems worth the risk.
Other than the DPF (which, in retrospect, I let go waaaaaaaaaaay too cheap), all of the parts that I sold off have now been re-purchased. The DPF is being replaced by the settlement, so I don't need to worry about that. Let's look at some totals, then:
My net from selling stuff off: $ -770.94
Re-purchasing that stuff: $ 426.16
Rebuild: $2,554.04
Total cost: $2,209.26
Worst-case settlement: $2,692.50
That means that after the settlement check, I'll be $483 ahead. A little less, if you count that I probably have to buy a new air spring. And I'm sure there were a few other little things here and there that I bought and don't remember, but nothing that added up to any serious money.
Meh, looks like I need to figure in another $8 to fix the left rear air line. It needs a compression fitting - actually just the ferrule - but of course it's 4mm and the only things available locally are in inches. So a pair of complete compression unions from which I can just use the ferrule are on the way from Amazon, due here on Saturday. I guess I'll go ahead and get the fender liner and stuff installed tonight.
Last night I got the air spring with the broken line out and the bag itself seems to be intact:
After I tried to get it back in it's little cup on the control arm, I managed to mal-position the top part of it some how so that the car came down on the line and cut it. Not sure how that happened, but that's what I need to fix. The good news is that it took off about a half-inch of the end of the line and there's plenty of line left intact. So all I need is a damned 4mm compression sleeve and I can have that fixed. Then I can see if there's still a problem that needs to be addressed.
I stopped by the Mercedes dealer this morning and picked up the grille. It turns out that I got exactly what I thought I was getting:
That is a 100% complete, brand-spanking-new, Mercedes GL-class front grille for 2010-2012 with all the mounting tabs intact and the emblem. I have no idea why the dealer wanted $267 after tax while the junkyards were all way more expensive:
A broken one for $100 in Rhode Island (and I'd have to pay shipping), and then a couple more for only about a $30 discount off of new (and I'd have to pay shipping) and then prices go way up from there. Somebody is off their rocker here. When I sold mine off three years ago (wow. it was August of 2019 when I was trying to part this thing out? Holy crap) I sold it for $220 which left me with $169.73 after all the fees. So I certainly took about a $100 loss on it, but being able to get the alternator and intake tube cheaply at a junkyard saved me. Well, that and not having to buy a new DPF or EGR valve.
A frustrating day yesterday. Most of the weekend has been spent with home projects and furniture repair, but I got a couple hours to work on der Scheißwagen yesterday. Just for E36 M3s and giggles, I set the new grille in place. It's not actually attached yet, but it is neat to see it looking like a car again:
After that, though, things went downhill. First off, I discovered that one of the hydraulic cylinders on my lift has burst a seal so that means I have to work on the rear suspension with the thing sitting on the ground. Like some sort of peasant. ugh. I'll call Titan tomorrow and see how the warranty works. In theory, it should still be under its 2 year hydraulics warranty, so that's good. It looks like a replacement cylinder from them is just shy of $500, but there's also a hydraulic shop locally that I assume could repair it for me for less. But that's a problem for later.
I got the 4mm compression fittings and they are the perfect size for the air line. Using a razor blade, I nipped off the little bit of pinched line from the end and got the new ferrule and the old fitting on the line. There's plenty of slack in it, so it'll reach without needing to be extended. Putting the spring back in, though, it almost immediately started to come out of the top mount, so I stopped and aired it back down. Turns out that they have a tiny little bit of thread welded to the center of the top mount onto which a plastic clip screws. That clip then goes in to the hole on the top of the air spring. Great. Except on mine, the air spring going sideways bent that thread. And then it broke off entirely:
I kicked around a few ideas for how to fix it. I thought about just welding on a new stud, but I have absolutely no idea what's on the other side of that and I'm a little bit afraid of setting the interior of the car on fire. So I took that off the table. When I finally came up with was to grind the little pocket smooth and drill a small hole to put a sheet metal screw through:
I looked around for something that would act as that clip and found that a 1/4" drive 9mm socket was pretty much the perfect size. So:
I also threw some paint on there where I had ground or scratched through it, just to try to keep rust at bay in the long term. I wasn't able to get the spring re-installed, though, because I ran out of free time. When I get back out there, though, I think what I need to do is put the spring in my press and get it to deflate straight down. Then I can put a bolt in the airline fitting hole to keep it deflated and slide it in to place. What appears to be happening is that trying to deflate the bag by hand results in it getting a little caddywampus. When the Airmatic system starts filling the bag, it wants to move side-to-side instead of just going straight up and that torsional force is causing it to bend - and then break - the upper positioning stud. If I can get it to deflate in such a way that the re-inflation just pushes up instead of to the side, I think I'll have better luck.
And then I can try to see what's going on with the right side bag - is it leaking or was it just not functioning because the left line was broken. I strongly suspect that it is actually leaking because I thought that the four corners were plumbed and controlled independently. If the bag is just leaking down over time, I will probably wait until after the lift is repaired (which will probably also be after it's back from the dealer). But if it won't hold pressure enough such that the compressor is just always running, I'll have to do it on the ground.
I finally won the fight. The key was to turn it upside down, use my compressor to fill the bag and then control the flow of air out as you push down. If you're letting the air out really slowly it will allow the bag to sort of roll over onto itself instead of twisting.
After that went back in, I took a short drive. On public roads. For the first time since October 10, 2018. And with insurance and current tags and everything, so totally legal. Except for maybe the missing emissions, but I'm on my way to fix that!
It ran like crap for the first half of my around-the-block. Acting like it was going to stall out, everything was really rough, and I was having some second thoughts. But then it suddenly smoothed out and ran okayish. I can tell it's in limp mode by the way it's shifting, but I've towed a car home from Columbus in limp mode before, so that doesn't scare me.
Things I need to fix before the 20th:
- tires need air
- even though the hood is closed, it's complaining that the hood is open
- right rear air spring is, in fact, sprung and needs to be replaced. I'm ordering an Arnott bag from Rock Auto right now
- One of the injector lines on the right side is probably not tight enough. There's a fuel leak over there on that side
- I need four new trim clips to permanently hold the new grille on. I have some old ones sort of jammed in there for now, but they're all completely broken
- I should probably consider washing it
Nice! That's a pretty short list.
Congrats on a fairly easy journey.
Seriously though, you have more patience than me. Th car would've been long gone out of my life lol.
wae said:- I should probably consider washing it
Congrats on a victory lap!
You know, they'll probably wash it for you at the swanky Merc dealership... :)
Used to be if you bought Arnott bags from Arnott instead of a third party vendor you got a lifetime warranty on them. They replaced 5 of them for free on my Audi Allroad over the 16 years I owned it
MiniDave said:Used to be if you bought Arnott bags from Arnott instead of a third party vendor you got a lifetime warranty on them. They replaced 5 of them for free on my Audi Allroad over the 16 years I owned it
According to Rock Auto, they come with the lifetime warranty from there as well. I've heard great things about them and already have an Arnott air strut on the front!
yupididit said:Congrats on a fairly easy journey.
Seriously though, you have more patience than me. Th car would've been long gone out of my life lol.
Quoted again. I would've kicked this car to the curb long ago. Bravo for your tenacity.
I think what you guys are really saying is that you're way smarter than I am! Hehe
Basically, I'm just really stubborn and I just don't want this stupid thing to win.
WonkoTheSane said:wae said:- I should probably consider washing itCongrats on a victory lap!
You know, they'll probably wash it for you at the swanky Merc dealership... :)
My original plan was to spend some decent time getting the interior just immaculate and then just letting the exterior just be totally grimy and covered in dust and dirt as it is. I also wasn't going to do anything about the grille until after I got it back from them.
But then I got to thinking about what Dad always said about never taking a dirty car to a mechanic and now I'm thinking that I should probably at least hose it down!
In reply to wae :
I never really paid attention to the outside (except for tire shine, which should have a $50 surcharge) but it is amazing how many cars come in gross. I don't just mean gross like sticky steering wheels and grubby carpet, I mean like half full drinks in the cupholders. Spit cups. Honest to God half eaten plates of food on the dashboard, ceramic, complete with silverware.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I just threw up in my mouth a little. How can people drive around like that? Much less let another human being see that they apparently live like that. Have they no shame?
New bag! Went on easily and now the suspension is all good.
I found the fuel leak, though. One of the injectors' return line nipples has a tiny crack in it.
And despite the fact that the first test drive had it clear itself out pretty quickly and ran well, it's back to bogging now. Is it the fuel leak? Is it the lack of sensors and DPF? Did I screw up the timing? With the fuel leak, I didn't drive it to the point where it would "fix" itself again so I'm not sure if that was just a fluke or what. I'd think that if it was timing it wouldn't self-clear at all. Hmmm.
I didn't expect it to work, but I gobbed some JB Weld Steel Stick on the injector. As expected, no joy. Still leaking from a cracked return line nipple. And it's leaking a lot, with fuel sprayed all over. Looks like the best deal on eBay is about $140 for a used injector. But one of the local junkyards actually has an older iteration of the OM642 that does have injectors that interchange with mine. They appear to want $7 each. So I think I'll head out there. I won't be able to calibrate the injector and I doubt I'll be able to get some that match, but I should be able to get the dealer to do that for me.
I also figured out the hood latch thing. Fun fact: Even though the left and right latches have electrical connections, only the left side actually gets connected. I spent about 45 minutes trying to find the one for the right side before I realized it just doesn connect. Sigh. The left one is definitely bad as it doesn't make any clicking sounds. But they wire it so that the circuit is open when the hood is closed so unplugging the connector fixes that for now. I think I can just move the latch from the right side. Or I could just not worry about having the car know when the hood is open.
So a little bit closer today but not quite there yet.
Do the wipers work when it thinks the hood is open?
VWAG products will not allow the wipers to work if the hood is not latched. Prevents a possible cospatial event between the arms and the hood, which on a D2 chassis A8L, which did not have this interlock, causes the wiper transmission to bend and the wiper arm to contact the bottom of the glass and now you need a wiper transmission and a windshield that was $900 in 2006.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Yep, if the hood sensor says the hood is open, no wipers. So I'll need to be careful with that.
Went to the yard and got six injectors, the fuel return hose assembly, and an engine cover for under $50.
I don't have Xentry so I can't relearn the new injector but there is no more fuel leak. Still not running right though but it may need to do some relearning on its own of the new MAF sensors as well as adjusting the injector flow. I may need to just put some miles on it.
wae said:Went to the yard and got six injectors, the fuel return hose assembly, and an engine cover for under $50.
That's a Junkyard score!
I went to the PnP in Columbus for half price day on 7/5. Unfortunately, they had just bulldozed clean the mercedes row that had a gas powered ML350, with my bodystyle, and the sedan with the OM642. So a total bust in the MB department at local yard.
Mine is running slightly rough very rarely, but it coughs up a code for "bad #1 injector" at the same time. Wanna sell an injector? I'll double your money!
Yours might be running bad because the first cat is missing and the O2 sensors are upset. Also, it's running on 2 MAFs that are 12years old and from the JY. They calibration drift over time, and are fragile. Bottom line, it has to run better after 2 new cats, O2 sensors, 2 new MAFs, reflash and injector balance at the dealership. Also, the dealership is supposed to give you back a vehicle that runs good enough to pass emissions testing, no pending codes, all monitors clear.
My Central Ohio dealership has pushed my AEM appointment back, and now it's on indefinite hold because (they say) the EGR valve is on intergalactic backorder. What's the name of the dealer near you? I'll call them to see if they have the parts... after yours is done, of course!
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