> Mass Air Flow Meter... it is that thing right after your airbox
> (where the air filter is). When this thing goes bad, idling problems,
> weak power, plugs may or may not foul out, O2 snesor errors, etc.
>
> These thing does go bad.

Signature
Buzby
There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot
> Tiger wibbled:
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> Buzby
> There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot
I agree with both Tom and Tiger, i.e. air mixture problem caused
either by MAF or leakage. It could also be Oxygen Sensor (right, Tom
and Tiger?).
Anyway, idle is not adjustable. It is adjusted by ECU, which controls
the throttle by a servo cicuit on throttle body.
I'm only wondering why idle is smooth out of gear but stumbling in
gear.
When in gear, the engine vibrates more. So I would look for something
sensitive to vibration, which could be in the ignition, injection or
as suggested in the vacuum lines to the intake manifold.
Buzby - 07 Mar 2008 20:04 GMT
Jens wibbled:
> > Tiger wibbled:
> >
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> sensitive to vibration, which could be in the ignition, injection or
> as suggested in the vacuum lines to the intake manifold.
Replaced the MAF - the car is going appreciably better but still
stutters on occasion - I'll check the lines tommorrow. So many thanks
for the recommendation.
As an aside - I thought I had all the necessary tools - but no - Merc's
done it to me yet again, this time needing a star screwdriver bit with
a hole up the middle. My Mk1 hacksaw came in useful again!
Are there any recommended manuals out there for the W210 series -
Haynes in the UK haven't done one as yet.

Signature
Buzby
There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot
Tiger - 07 Mar 2008 22:48 GMT
Mercedes Benz publishes W210 service manual on a DVD. This is the best
source of information.
Tiger - 07 Mar 2008 22:47 GMT
Oxygen sensors are easy to determine if good or bad. On E320 and most MB 6,
8 and 12 cylinders has 4 ozygen sensors.
The front sensors are A and using a scanner, the readings are rapid and all
over the map... this is normal. The second sensor is after the cat and these
are slow changing as with different throttle level.
When an O2 go bad, the reading is normally reads zero... that is really
dead.
When you change these O2 sensor, you must replace in pair... front and back
of each cat.