 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / August 2005Continued questions and comments
#1 Plug wires I'm going to perform a basic tune-up. Plugs & wires. Picked up a Bosch Platinum 2 set. Now looking @ wires. I guess the price is so high because of the integrated coils. Is that correct? Should I stay with Bosch, go to the dealer, or is there any appreciable difference so to avoid any particular brand? https://www.rockauto.com ... lists these ... Bosch for 79.79 Beru for 81.99 Standard for 90.79 Beck/Arnley for 100.79 AC Delco for 120.79 #2 Oil consumption is normal. Down 1/2 qt. in 3500 miles. And it's still almost clear. Mobil 1. Looks like I change at 5000, but will monitor it weekly. #3 Mileage average is 29mpg hwy and 26-27mpg mixed c/h. The wife's 97 Camry gets 21mpg mixed c/h. (he he he) #4 Even with the issues of a used car from a hole-in-the-wall reseller, it's a pretty satisfying vehicle. Collin KC8TKA Why change something that's obviously working well - plug wires & coils if these give good mileage? They can be changed independent of the sparkies. The three coils are screwed onto the head; one of these screws split when I changed my car's plugs so I needed to drill it and use a small easyout to remove it. (That was fun.) Then replaced the 3 OEM headless screws with 4x30 mm Phillips head & washers from local hardware store. (Dealer told me the OEM screws aren't on the parts list and offered no alternative to buying a new head to get one!) You'll need a ratchet extension for the plugs are about 6" down a tube. Bosch 4301 Platinum 2 - to 19 ft lbs. Also need a long, large screwdriver to loosen the clamp on the air intake - from the front and under the intake tubes. Have fun. A good part of the static on my AM is spark-frequency static. That tells me something is wrong. And with 131K miles, might a change not be due? Collin Well, radio interference is a good reason to replace plug wires etc. One thought: if the static is engine speed related and is dense - almost like a curtain of sound - it could be from non-resistor spark plugs. OTOH, if it's a staccato plunk plunk plunk then one ignition wire is very very suspect. Some shops replace the coils as a matter of course - of course, it's not their money and adds to the bill. Bosch or Beru if you proceed. Tom Two items: #1 Since I've not purchased the wires as yet, the plugs are a good first item. Simple. The way I need it. :) (If this was software, I'd dig right in. But hardware, that takes more time.) I have the 6 Bosch plugs ready to go. Non-resistor plugs? Do they still exist apart from lawn mowers and chain saws? The other night I took a look @ the wiring & noticed that there are 3 coils, each for 2 plugs. Should the plastic plug connectors just pop up, off the plug, or is there something else that needs to be done? Special tools? (I ask because, with my recently-deceased '91 Camry, the boot on the base of the plug connector had a penchant for maintaining a vacuum on the plug, making it difficult to remove. Having owned it for 193k miles [of its 291k life] I only had to do this twice. But it was notable both times.) ALSO #2 sig lines So many M-B people put their model(s). (Many, it seems, own as many as my older brother in Texas owns VWs.) Ham people put their call signs. Photographers (those who are very brand-loyal) add their body list. Which should go first? :O Collin KC8TKA E320/97 http://www.brendemuehl.net Re: Spark plug change. Raise the hood to its full vertical position; the hood latches are staggered so one can release one side before the other. 8-) The engine's air intake duct needs to be moved out of the way - not removed from the engine. Its secured by two nuts to the top of the motor, a clamp on the air intake and the air mass meter. Use a large blade, long screw driver on that clamp - reach under the front three air intake runners. Unsnap both snaps (top & bottom) between the air mass meter and the air filter's box. Wiggle the two apart - there's a rubber "O" ring that needs to slide between the pieces. Lift the air duct and air mass meter and fold the whole duct onto the left side of the motor - so the top of the motor is clear. A metric allen wrench is needed to loosen the allen bolts holding the black plastic cover to the top of the motor. Just loosen them DON'T remove them - their length varies - leave them in the cover and lift the cover w/ bolts still in their holes. Now you'll see the three coils and wires to the other three plugs. The plug wires just pull off with some effort using your fingers. The coils are mounted above the other three spark plugs and are held in place by screws. You must remove the screws to lift the coil from the spark plug. As you remove the old sparkers note their color - it's a reasonable symptom of the engine's air / fuel ratio. (I found a wet plug indicating a leaking fuel injector.) The new Bosch dual tips are pre gapped so just eye their ground contacts to ensure they are not bent out of place and carefully install them so they don't drop into their tube. Tighten to 19 ft lbs. Reinstall the coils by first holding them in place and then tightening their hold down screws. The other three wires are simply pushed firmly onto their respective spark plugs. Check everything and replace the black plastic cover, tighten the allen bolts to snug. Replace the air duct - loosely attach it to the air intake, then onto the two studs atop the engine and finally connect it to the air filter box. (Moisten the rubber "O" ring on reassembly.) Check the clamp, top nuts and snap clips. As a point of interest the coils simultaneously fire both their spark plugs even though one of the two cylinders is 180 degrees from position to use that spark - a moot spark. So three coils serve six cylinders! ;-) Have fun. Tom Plugs replaced. I'd already picked up a set of Platinum 4 plugs. They went in easily. More easily than putting plugs into my previous Toyota 2 liter. Radio interference was reduced but not eliminated. I still have to find that steenkin' antenna preamp. (Maybe next weekend I'll spend time on it.) The wife came home as I was finishing up. She's anticipating that I'll spend time on my car but not on her car. (97 Camry V6) She could use a tune-up. Her car also. :) I told her that the Camry goes to a shop for a tuneup. I don't have the ratchet extensions and flex thingies to get to the back plugs. It's a good reason to not purchase a transverse V6. Collin KC8TKA E320/97 Hey there ole TGL ! My take on the new S Klass is that it will be out this fall. If they delay it, I will have to go to the Kudzu brand cause the ole S Klass is on its last legs - er - wheels. I am hoping that it does not have that squashed down look the ganster style Chrysler 300 and the MB CLS have - they look like some giant came along and pushed down on the roof and made the windows all squashed down and narrow looking. And then too it has to be a lot bigger. The post-2000s are all too small with short seat tops and the sides press on your shoulders like a neon probably does. mcbrue anticipatingly under the bridge in the trailer down by the river 96 S420 The description of the new S sounds attractive. It is somewhat bigger. It will have some nice options too. The night vision display sounds worthwhile. Maybe they should also have optional seats for Americans too. . > The description of the new S sounds attractive. > It is somewhat bigger. It will have some nice [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > . "business class" you mean for our fat a.ses? LOL. Marty PS Mcbrue's opinion of the new S class is long awaited here... When I had ole Heavy Carl, the local Mercedes Stealership, taking care of my kar, once some coil burned out. The kar ran REAL rough - missing and spitting and what not. So I had to replace it - well Karl and them boyz in tha shop did. Only kost $400 each as I remember, and there were a couple of them. The plugs and all that stuff should be changed every 30 or 60K miles as part of the regular stuff the stealership does. So there is something other than plug wires that can burn out - what is it? mcbrue screwedaginly under the bridge in the trailer down by the river 96 S420 Oh poor McBrue - bent over again. There's a computer that spits out some volts that go (basically) to some coils that make high voltage for the spark plugs. The six has three coils, your heavy V-8 probably has four coils - one coil for two cylinders. Then there are the 8 ignition wires from the coils to the sparkies. All this stuff is stuck on top of the cylinder head - real hot on there - a wonder that it works longer than a week or two! So four coils, some wires and the labor to install them is about $400 (including the S-Klass surcharge). Say McBrue, what do you think of the new '07 S-Klass kars that'll be available next spring? |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.