Hi all, I am the proud new owner of a 2005 MB E320 CDI. Was my father's. He'd driven MB diesels since 1976, beginning with a '76 240D, moving through the years, a new one every 7 to 10 years, finally ending with the '05 E320 CDI.
I only mention it because having driven all of them, I find it amazing what Mercedes has done with the diesel technology over the years. That 240D was a serious turtle, just putted along no matter how far you pressed the accelerator. And his '83 300D Turbo was flat out dangerous the way it behaved just like the 240D until that turbo kicked it and off like a rocket (relatively) it went--nothing subtle about it, and talk about lag...
And now, this E320 CDI is so smooth and fast, very little lag, behaves nearly like a gasoline engine (and a very powerful one at that). My wife drives a 2005 E320 gas model and this CDI is as fast or faster and certainly feels more powerful.
At any rate, I took it in for service a few weeks ago because all of a sudden it began to feel like that old 240D--the turbo never seemed to kick in, it just putted along. I was informed that the EGR was acting up and after they tried cleaning it, it still went into what the repair man called "limp home mode" (perfect description of what it felt like).
So, long story short, he advised that we just disable it or remove it (forget which) and subsequently I've read that some are doing that as a matter or course feeling the engine runs better without it.
My question is, how can I be sure it's out of the loop in the cleanest way possible? I've read that there appear to be several ways to disable it in effect: block the vacuum tube, place a steel cap over something, etc.
Is this something I can check myself to determine exactly what the repair shop did?
Thanks in advance for any help. Best, Gary

 

FI - I don't understand. In another thread you seem to advocate blocking off or disabling the EGR valve. (The mileage thread just a bit under this one). Is that just on older models?
Whatever they did, it seems to run ok. I just want to get a better idea of what they did.
Thanks for your response, Gary

 

Thanks for you help and explanation. I'm afraid the service guys I use may not be quite up to snuff. They disabled the EGR electronically he said - just confirmed with him - but from what you are saying, that's no easy feat, they'd have to re-write the software. After they did that, it still showed the service needed indicator icon (the service shop said it would stay on until I got the EGR replaced), but oddly enough, after posting yesterday, when I started the car this morning I got a scary looking red colored message in the main display telling me to go directly to service with the car.
They are suggesting I have the EGR replaced. I was hoping to avoid that big cost just now as I paid over $800 to them just recently to do the regular service interval.
A point of interest, maybe: the car has about 127k miles on it. But it sat for nearly 4 months after my dad passed away. I don't think he had many problems with it, but now it seems to be acting up.
I will ask them about the intake manifold swirl blockage - see if they addressed it. I do know they tried several times to clean the EGR valve, but upon re-install it kept going into limp home mode.
Thanks again, Gary

 

Just to clarify: the red warning I got in the main display window (twice now) shows an image of a battery and says go to service immediately. This is likely the battery needing replaced as the car sat for so long unused. Hopefully, anyway; it's that or the alternator, so fingers' crossed. It's only happened twice now upon starting car after it's sat overnight--does not come back after driving it for a while and re-starting the engine.

And after they did whatever they did with the EGR to fix the car from going into limp home mode, I have a "check engine" indicator in the left area of the display, which is indicating a problem with the EGR and I'll have to live with it until I get the EGR replaced.

Thanks again for your help. Gary

 

Is there a way for me to tell what they've done? Something I can look for?

Also, is there a way to communicate privately within the forum?

Thanks, Gary

 

Thanks for all the help. I'll start studying my engine some and see if I can't figure out what's what.
BTW - don't know why (maybe as a Junior Member I don't get certain features) but I can't find a private message feature anywhere on the site.
Thanks, Gary