Help with a sick E230

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scorpio stu

Active Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
73
Location
Essex
Car
E230 Estate 1997
Hi I have an E230 Estate 1997 P reg.

Symptoms:

1.Rough idle if stationary but in drive on the auto box, tries to surge but its ok if it's in neutral as no surging

2.Sluggish to pull away , holds back and then as below...

3.Intermittent Small 'pop' backfire but sounds like it comes from the front somewhere and feels like its on 3 cylinders, after its had a little splutter it clears it's throat and seems ok

I was strongly advised NOT to replace with an ebay one and to get the Bosch which I couldn't afford.
Yes I should have listened but before I fork out for one and try and get a refund on the flea bay one is there a way I can check it is definitely without a doubt the MAF sensor, I have been told about Lambda sensor, could this be a possibility. Apparently a bad MAF won't show up on diagnostics so I am not going to bother with that.
Where can I get a decent priced Bosche MAF , Euro car parts don't seem particularly competitive. My post code is IG9 Buckhurst Hill Essex if anyone knows somewhere local.Thanks again and yes Malcolm I will listen to you all in the future. I fitted the 'new' ebay maf today and the idle whilst in drive was perfect,no surging or stalling but as soon as I put my foot on the accelerator the engine nearly died, or you will be driving along happily and the car will lose power. Its Going into the garage now.
Update:
My wife spoke to the garage and they told her that the main brain (ECU) has gone and needs replacing , not sure of the cost but he thinks it is going to be over £600.I am not going to get it fixed but one thing that did make me think abit was that he said the only place that will be able to tell for certain is a Mercedes garage. Makes me think maybe he hasn't got the correct equipment? From all the posts I have read here and on other forums I still think its pointing towards the MAF. I know this is a long shot but is there anyone that lives ANYWHERE near to IG9 area that would be willing to let me try their MAF . I'm no mechanic and maybe he is right but I don't think so. Any advise appreciated or failing the car being repaired it will be sold as spares or repair but is a cat C (minor damage to one rear door and rear arch). HELP!!

 
Get it diagnosed by a Star. Yes MAF faults do bring up codes. The codes are not "MAF is faulty" but it will have self adaptation codes. There is also live data that can be looked at to see the MAF values to see if they are out of spec.
 
Blockage.

Does the engine run on all 4 at idle?
 
If its in Neutral it does but if its in drive it hunts,also when I changed the maf even though it was a cheap ebay one when it was in drive it didn't hunt. This is why I'm leaning towards the maf. If there is anyone that lives remotely near to IG9 post code would it be possible to try a Bosch maf from another 96/97 E230.

Thanks
 
Also I can get a pierburg sensor insert that will go in the Bosch housing for £98 are they any good and is that a reasonable price ?
 

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