190E Help

[stuu]

Hello,

I have a 1992 190E, lacking power and low mpg (<18mpg, 230 miles to a full tank!)

Shes in good condition so I can't give up on sorting it! I've replaced the following:

Gearbox, lamda sensor, decat, ecu, distributor cap, fuel pump, fuel filter, ignition timing, injectors/seals, clutch, fully serviced.

There's probably more I've forgot. I checked the fuel distributor with another one and its definitely working. The car is super slow. To put it in perspective, it is slower than a MK1 1.2 8v Clio which means something is wrong!

I've run out of ideas on what to do to get it sorted, any help guys?

 

[Stratman]

Have you done a compression test?

 

[grober]

What size are those wheels and tyres-- if their rolling radius is wrong then the gearing could be way off? What size of engine has it got? 1.8 2.0 2.3 or 2.6.
What is the setting on the wheel/knob that sets the timing.

 

[stuu]

One of the only things i havent done is a compression test! Forgot about that.

Wheels are 17", 205/40

cheers guys!

 

[grober]

Ok I did a quick calculation based on std wheel 185/65R15 to a 205/40R17 which has a slightly reduced rolling radius 310.75mm down to 297.9mm-------- this means a reduction of 4.14 % in circumference i.e when the speedo indicates 70mph you are travelling at 67.1mph. While this would do your mpg figures no favours the car would normally feel quicker off the mark----so does not explain your problem.


I guess the other explanation might be a mistimed cam or cams if its a 16V engine?

 

[stuu]

Ok I did a quick calculation based on std wheel 185/65R15 to a 205/40R17 which has a slightly reduced rolling radius 310.75mm down to 297.9mm-------- this means a reduction of 4.14 % in circumference i.e when the speedo indicates 70mph you are travelling at 67.1mph. While this would do your mpg figures no favours the car would normally feel quicker off the mark----so does not explain your problem.


I guess the other explanation might be a mistimed cam or cams if its a 16V engine?

Cheers for information. It's an 8v engine, not totally mechanically minded so I donno if they're mistimed or not

 

[stwat]

Handbrake sticking on maybe?

 

[neilrr]

Shes in good condition so I can't give up on sorting it! I've replaced the following:

Gearbox, lamda sensor, decat, ecu, distributor cap, fuel pump, fuel filter, ignition timing, injectors/seals, clutch, fully serviced.

There's probably more I've forgot.

Assuming the gearbox & clutch were not done as part of the fuel consumption problem, how much did that lot cost?

How much would it have cost for an hour's diagnostics with a mechanic knowledgeable in 1980's MBs?

Is your fuel tank 50 or 70 litres? If 50 that works out at 21 mpg if you run it dry.

 

[stuu]

Assuming the gearbox & clutch were not done as part of the fuel consumption problem, how much did that lot cost?

How much would it have cost for an hour's diagnostics with a mechanic knowledgeable in 1980's MBs?

Is your fuel tank 50 or 70 litres? If 50 that works out at 21 mpg if you run it dry.

The car was lying for a while then when i got round to sorting it both the clutch and gearbox went! Got a good gearbox from a friend for 50 quid, was well chuffed! Can't remember how much the clutch cost, it was a while back. In NI there isn't very many people knowledgeable with old mercs apart from the merc garages.

I wish it was as simple as the handbrake sticking Tank is definitely 50 litres.

 

[grober]

Does the engine respond to the throttle well- you know what I mean- you blip the throttle and you get a nice eager clean response with no sign of misfiring. When warm does it idle evenly just sitting there. If its a 8valve its a single overhead cam. You mentioned a replacement ECU and a lambda sensor decat and gear box . I always get a bit twitchy when I hear that. All these components are finely matched to each other and require careful replacement . Do you know what car/s they all came off? The other unit which we haven't mentioned is the ignition module which I suppose may have gone faulty. The early ones are simple but can go wrong but the later EZL units can go faulty due to overheating.
Symptoms could be explained by a lack of ignition advance for example.

The ignition/ injection systems on these cars are Bosch Jetronic K/KE and this is shared by contemporary BMW and VAG cars. A good independent garage with an old fashioned oscilloscope type engine analyser should be able to help even if they aren't mercedes specialists

 

[stuu]

Does the engine respond to the throttle well- you know what I mean- you blip the throttle and you get a nice eager clean response with no sign of misfiring. When warm does it idle evenly just sitting there. If its a 8valve its a single overhead cam. You mentioned a replacement ECU and a lambda sensor decat and gear box . I always get a bit twitchy when I hear that. All these components are finely matched to each other and require careful replacement . Do you know what car/s they all came off? The other unit which we haven't mentioned is the ignition module which I suppose may have gone faulty. The early ones are simple but can go wrong but the later EZL units can go faulty due to overheating.
Symptoms could be explained by a lack of ignition advance for example.

The ignition/ injection systems on these cars are Bosch Jetronic K/KE and this is shared by contemporary BMW and VAG cars. A good independent garage with an old fashioned oscilloscope type engine analyser should be able to help even if they aren't mercedes specialists

No misfiring, it idles nice but sometimes coming up to a junction when you stop she struggles and drops to 500rpm then goes back up. Well ECU, lambda, decat were all changed but didn't make any difference to the car. The ignition module was also changed.

See I don't have another 190E to compare power wise, I know mines is slower than a MK1 clio 1.2, can anyone confirm that 190E 2.0 are infact normally faster than a clio?

 

[219]

Neither car is a ball of fire , however , my girlfriend had an 'L' reg 1.2 Clio which , being a smaller and lighter car , was probably quicker off the line than the 'B' reg 190E I had , but once you got rolling the 190 would have left it for dead .

I generally got around 35 mpg with mine , and recorded a best of 43 mpg on a long run - and my car was automatic .

There are MB specialists in Ireland ( T&D Heaney come to mind , although I can't remember where they are ) and no doubt a few others .

Also there's at least one of the officials of the mercedes-190.co.uk web forum in NI , so expertise available for the asking .

 

[grober]

T D Heaney Motor Co


Telephone: 028-79401660

Fax: 028-79401660

Address:

20 Main Street
Swatragh
Maghera Co.
Londonderry
BT46 5QB
Northern Ireland.

 

[Rob77]

If it feels responsive and runs well then maybe that's just what it's meant to be like.

Is your driving all short journeys round town? If it is then is the consumption so bad?

And in what way is it slower than a Clio? If you mean away from the lights then again, maybe that's just how it is?

I'd get someone who knows about the cars to test it out and see what he says.

 

[stuu]

Cheers for the help guys. I'm a member on mercedes190.co.uk and they got me the name of a company in Belfast but T D Heaney would be closer to me.

I drive nearly all in town so I can see why I wouldn't get 35mpg but I cant justify the low mpg with terrible power. The Clio I tested it against was quicker the whole time, we stopped at 70mph but he was well well ahead of me. I'm not trying to exaggerate but it was a lot faster, again this was a standard 1.2 8v Clio.

I will get it to a mechanic at some point but was just seeing if there's anything else that could be done.

 

[chan268]

check you dont have any leaks in your fuel pump as I had very bad economy in my 2.5 16. Realised that one of the pipes was leaking. Ever since Iv been getting around 400 to a tank

 

[stuu]

Well there's never any fuel present in the driveway so I don't think its leaking anywhere. I'm thinking about changing the whole fuel injection unit to see if there is any difference.

 

[dog68]

It maybe silly, but are the spark plugs gapped correctly?

 

[stuu]

It maybe silly, but are the spark plugs gapped correctly?

It just got serviced not so long ago, I don't think its the plugs.

 

[Toff190]

injectors ?