ML 270 cdi inlet manifold removal

[des.ellis]

Hi All
I've been having power problems and smoking with my ML 270 cdi. The EGR valve has been removed and cleaned but upon removal I could see the inlet manifold was also full of black carbon crud (I am surprised it is running)
I need advice on removal of the said inlet manifold.
Can anyone help?
Cheers

Des.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Not a 5 min job I am afraid. Unless you have the time, competence and tools to undertake the task, then I would have someone do it for you. You will have to get under the car at some stage to undo the bolts holding on the heater rail. Hard work my friend and they are torex bolts too. The fuel rail, steering pump, fuel filter and associated wiring will need removing too.

 

[BlackC55]

Its an **** of a job and should be undertaken but someone with some skills. I am not a fan of doing them. It takes a couple of hours for a good mech to R&I.

 

[des.ellis]

Thanks guys,
Luckily I have the time, the tools and the competance so I will give it a go when the weather warms up again.

Ta
Des.

 

[Gazz270]

i did mine a few weeks ago,i didnt find it that bad of a job really,just take your time,i set aside a full day,probably going to pull it off again over xmas and remove the swirl flaps i noticed mine were a bit loose and i can now hear a bit of a rattle around the inlet manifold when the bonnet is up,might be worth checking them while manifold is off,

Gazz

 

[Mikey B]

ML W163 Inlet manifold swirl flap

I have seen a number of threads regarding the swirl flap.

Mine are worn and leaking oil down the side of the block.

One post recommended doing away with then all together and plugging the holes with a nut and bolt.

It's one way of stopping the oil leak but removing them will surely reduce the low end torque.

I may be missing something, does it work?

Much cheaper than the £600 plus I was quoted by my local specialist.

Mikey B

 

[tony jr]

Did mine done about 6 months ago. Not a difficult job but takes alot of time (took me about 6 hours) I was surprised by the number of things you have to remove - not designed to make it easy! I fitted a new manifold rather than try and clean up the old one that was solid with gunge. The cost was around £300 for the manifold from my main dealer - the guy on parts said he always keeps 3 on the shelf (what does that tell you about how common the problem is?). I also decided to replace the motor that controls the swirl flaps at the same time - I could'nt sleep thinking that would fail when I had put everything back together again and would then have to go through that to replace the motor (since found you can with difficulty replace the motor from below). This is not a job for the faint hearted and you need to remember to put everything back. All in all £600 from a local indi sounds like a good price if it includes the manifold considering the time involved.

 

[Sudesh]

I have seen a number of threads regarding the swirl flap.

Mine are worn and leaking oil down the side of the block.

One post recommended doing away with then all together and plugging the holes with a nut and bolt.

It's one way of stopping the oil leak but removing them will surely reduce the low end torque.

I may be missing something, does it work?

Much cheaper than the £600 plus I was quoted by my local specialist.

Mikey B

I have never removed the flaps on an ML, but have done on previous BMW's and it did not reduce the performance at all.

I may be wrong but the flaps themselves I believe are not cause of the oils seepage down the engine block, it's more than likely the seals around the very edge of the manifold where it mates up to the engine block. The flaps actually sit slightly back into the manifold.

 

[tony jr]

If I remember correctly oil leaks from the holes that the swirl flaps pivot in through which they link to the connecting rods that join to the inlet port motor - they have o-ring seals that wear over time and eventually they leak and oil runs down from the bottom of the manifold and also into the inlet port motor causing premature failure. I was told that originally MB sold all the spare parts to repair the manifold but they latter decided that it made more sense just to replace with a complete new manifold due to the high labour charges involved.

 

[the1beard]

oil runs down and onto the stepper motor.
this will eventally cause the motor to blow and then cause fuse to blow too

my advice is if you have the oil leaking get the manifold replaced before it shorts the motor

cost me £870 all in at local garage witout the stepper motor

 

[tony jr]

Take a look at this thread on a different forum it shows alot of detail with some good pics

ml 270 2000 manifold - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums