Is This The DIRTIEST Air Filter In The World? E-Class 2009 E 320 CDi V6 W211

[W1ghty]

As you can see, the one on the right is blanked off at the grill. Wonder why that is? The plot thickens.........

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Yep, that’s not right !

 

[BillySmart]

Yep, that’s not right !

Yeah, it's a bit odd isn't it. It explains the difference in the filters though. When was your car made Wighty?

 

[W1ghty]

Yeah, it's a bit odd isn't it. It explains the difference in the filters though. When was your car made Wighty?

It’s a 2009 plate but parts show up as 2008 which was the height of the financial crisis when car sales were delayed

 

[BillySmart]

It’s a 2009 plate but parts show up as 2008 which was the height of the financial crisis when car sales were delayed

That's really strange. It's the same model made at the same time but with different air ducts!

 

[W1ghty]

That's really strange. It's the same model made at the same time but with different air ducts!

Maybe one of yours was replaced ?

 

[Jobsworth]

The air filters on the om642 often look as bad as that when they come out. Personally I think they are a bit undersized for the engine. The later type that are incorporated into the plastic lid are even smaller and often are even more clogged when removed. Definitely something to put on the list of items to change more regularly than Mercedes say

 

[W1ghty]

The air filters on the om642 often look as bad as that when they come out. Personally I think they are a bit undersized for the engine. The later type that are incorporated into the plastic lid are even smaller and often are even more clogged when removed. Definitely something to put on the list of items to change more regularly than Mercedes say

Any views on what the op is saying about the seemingly restricted intake tube ?

 

[Jobsworth]

From memory they are all like that. It may be something to do with prevention of water ingestion in heavy spray conditions. Something Mercedes seem to have forgotten with the latest C63 cars. It’s not unheard of to lose an engine to a large splash on those

 

[BillySmart]

Maybe one of yours was replaced ?

It's a mystery Wighty.

 

[spike60]

I service my own 2007 e320 cdi and change the air filters annually, there's a lot of trees where I live and the filters are pretty grotty when they come out. A lot of the stuff in the OP filters looks to be from trees. My car has both intakes open.

 

[W1ghty]

I service my own 2007 e320 cdi and change the air filters annually, there's a lot of trees where I live and the filters are pretty grotty when they come out. A lot of the stuff in the OP filters looks to be from trees. My car has both intakes open.

The op is only driving a 3 cylinder at the moment

 

[BillySmart]

The op is only driving a 3 cylinder at the moment

I am not alone E320 v6 one air intake capped off!?

 

[W1ghty]

I am not alone E320 v6 one air intake capped off!?

That’s funny I commented on that thread as well . I new I’d heard the story before

 

[BillySmart]

That’s funny I commented on that thread as well . I new I’d heard the story before

You've been a great help to me Wighty, as have so many of the other posters, it's well appreciated, if it wasn't for the folk on this forum I would have been none the wiser

I have removed the blanking cap and inserted some steel mesh until I get hold of the proper part. The car is now running even better than it was before. It's funny to think that for all these years this car has probably been running with a restricted airflow!

 

[W1ghty]

You've been a great help to me Wighty, as have so many of the other posters, it's well appreciated, if it wasn't for the folk on this forum I would have been none the wiser

I have removed the blanking cap and inserted some steel mesh until I get hold of the proper part. The car is now running even better than it was before. It's funny to think that for all these years this car has probably been running with a restricted airflow!


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We’ve all been helped by the forums buddy , they have saved me £ thousands !

 

[W1ghty]

Just a thought , could you cut a section from the baffle thingy and fashion it as a guard the same as the other side ?

 

[BillySmart]

Just a thought , could you cut a section from the baffle thingy and fashion it as a guard the same as the other side ?

The wire mesh is pretty ugly, I think I will be able to get the part for the right hand side and it should just clip on. If I can't get hold of a part, (as you suggest) I could cut a hole in the blanking cap and use that. The weather was pretty bad up our way today, so I spent as little time on it as possible

 

[tonysmb]

That filter is shocking, the worst I've seen.

I changed the filters (later type) on my E350Cdi recently, after 14,000 miles simply because I don't buy into this 60,000+ miles for filters. Even at 14,000 miles I was surprised how much 'muck', mainly flies/insects, were at one end of the filters, both filters were very similar. To be fair, most of the mileage was on the continent where it was much warmer, so more insects etc about but it still surprised me.

Many will recall that filters were changed annually / 12,000 miles but many, if not all, manufacturers are moving to much longer time scales / higher mileages and, in my view, this is partly driven by the desire to reduce running costs' in the all-important first 3-years, when many cars are under lease contracts. Realistically, even a fully dealer-serviced 3-year 11month old Merdedes, possibly with 60,000 miles on the clock, will have had 3 oil/filter changes, 1 pollen filter and 1 brake fluid change and a number of 'check this, check that'. Yes, a full service history, but it doesn't amount to much in reality, does it. Once it's over 3-years of age, it's out of warranty and, generally, becomes the owner's problem.

 

[MrGreedy]

I agree with this. Car manufacturers are interested in selling new cars. Everything else is an inconvenience that they have to dress up as customer service and part of their 'drive for improved sustainability' and other twaddle (manufacturers public facing view?) that is a necessary undesirable and often driven by legislation.

After all, they are businesses

 

[ChrisEdu]

We bought this car last year it's a E-Class 2009 E 320 CDi V6 W211 estate. My wife had just past her driving test and gained an automatic licence, the Mercedes seemed a good choice as it was solid, big, reasonably priced. We settled for a one owner car with full MB service history. 7 services in total. The last dealer service was carried out at the end of 2017 with 98K on the clock and the next being due at 114K (that's where we're at).
We bought the car from a second hand dealer and paid a premium due to it being one owner, with relatively low mileage and a full main dealer service history. We also received a free 3 month RAC warranty.
First off, the air conditioning didn't work, so we were sent away to get it re-gassed at a garage of the car dealers choice. The garage gassed it up. but the unit wouldn't run, so, warranty claim number 1, coming in at just under the £500 limit.
Next, it wasn't pulling away very well, it was stuttering and then it would start racing and high revving, sticking in the gears. I took it to my local garage and they reckoned it was the maf air sensor and something else that needed replacing, so, warranty claim 2, a week after the first and again almost touching the £500 limit.
To be honest, the car ran a little bit better. I was also throwing quite a few bottles of various Wynns cleaners into the petrol tank, as the car had been lying about a forecourt for over a year, so I reckoned it was probably a bit clogged up.
Oh, how my newly driving wife chuckled as the serpentine belt shredded, as she tried to steer something akin to a tank, due to the sudden loss of power steering. Fortunately, the clutch had chucked it on the alternator, so we were covered for warranty claim 3, (all 3 claims within a month) again shading in at just under the £500 limit. Hats off to the RAC, many people say these warranties aren't worth the paper they're written upon, but in our case, we really can't fault them.
We have also had a lot of other problems, nothing major though, just the sort of stuff you would expect with an older motor. Anyway, the time came for the next service and I service my vehicles myself. I have seen a many things over the years, but I have never ever seen an air filter as dirty as this. Looking at the service documents, the last time they were replaced was in 2013, 50K miles ago, which seems excessive. I have my doubts though, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same filter that was fitted in the factory! The other filter is filthy, but is clean in comparison, it does actually look like it has been changed at some point.
I have a new respect for this car, despite having a full Mercedes Benz service history, this poor old car has never been looked after properly, it's owner did its best for it, but the filter doesn't lie. MB full service history? What a crock of .......I am surprised the car went at all. No wonder it was having all sorts of problems!
Needless to say, all the filters, oil etc have now been replaced and it's a different car.View attachment 103979View attachment 103980

Looks like the cabin filter I removed from my wife's Volvo.