ML270 AMG Woes - My first MB! - Maybe my last!!

[ripface]

Hi All,

My first post, my first Mercedes!

After many years of running Pajero's as my utility vehicle (Had five in the last few decades) I decided on a change and after looking about decided that a ML270 would fit the bill nicely. Something a bit different with a few more toys than the Pajero. Had a look about and settled on a 2001 ML270 AMG with 125K on the clock and full service history. Picked it up at the weekend and drove it up the road.

On the way home the "Oil Hi" warning light came on. Funny ... it didn't do that on the test drive. Pulled over and checked the dipstick, right enough it was over the top by some margin. Hmm, not the best place to be syphoning oil from the engine at the side of a busy motorway in the dark and the pissing rain (even if I had a syphon tube to hand). Had little option but to continue the journey home.

Next morning removed a litre of oil from the engine before the level was down to between the indicators. Hmmmsville. As part of the bargaining procedure I mentioned that there appeared to be a small oil leak, and I suspect that the previous owner decided to "top it up" before I returned to pick up the car. Guess he just plopped a litre in without checking the level. I've also noticed now that the car will drop into "limp home" mode and I have to stop and restart to get power back.

Some Quizzy Questions:-

1. Will driving 100+ miles with an extra litre of oil in the sump have caused any damage?

2. Would this have caused the vehicle to enter "limp home" mode?

Got some other issues that raised their heads post-purchase.

1. Front offside CV joint is "cricking" on full lock turns - Is this easy to replace for a ham fisted wanna be mechanic?

2. The central locking has a mind of it's own, sometimes it works ... sometimes not. The fobs seem fine and I replaced the batteries and resync'd. Any clues?

3. The windscreen washer bottle was empty. On filling it up it dumped it's contents back on the road via the nearside headlamp washer. Removing the bumper cover (Nightmare!!) revealed that not only was the nearside washer unit body split in two ... the offside was in a similar state. Can't seem to find a supplier for these anywhere. Any ideas?

4. I have a D900 Universal OBDC/OBDC2 Scanner, but it does not seem to want to play with the ML270? Has anyone else had success with this device on this car?

Thanks,
Ripface.

 

[ripface]

Thanks

Thanks to the kind moderator who moved this to hopefully a more appropriate forum area!

Can anyone help on any of the points?

Thanks,
Ripface.

P.S. My lovely wife investigated the telescopic nozzles for the headlamp wash system, and we have now worked out that someone had been there, done that and reassembled in the wrong order. Hopefully by the weekend we will have sussed this out and got the system back working. Thanks Darling!!

 

[dokalj]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum!!!

Have you tried Euromerc for the washer bottle?

Where abouts are you based, I would advise going to see an indie from the forum.

Have you asked the seller about your faults?

 

[SamML270]

i doubt the extra oil would cause any damage to the engine. Iv had this on mine and no problems at all. Garage drained out the excess oil after about 500 miles as i thought it would just burn away so waited a while. It didnt so took it back and no problems since.

 

[Matc88]

the central locking is a common problem, lock on youtube for bouncing mercedes lock.

i have the same problem.

 

[flango]

Hi and a warm welcome to the forum and ML ownerership, worse car I ever owned, bet you'll be back in a Mitsubishi before the years out. My ML was a complete money pit, never again. Sorry I'm sure they all weren't as bad as mine

EDIT:

Mine was ML 320

Agree a good going over by an Indie would be prudent

 

[A210AMG]

^ Just to 50/50 the above I loved my ML, kept it for over 3 years and loved every trip in it.

Mine was a petrol ML350 though and petrol prices stopped my fun.


Try ebay for the bits as people advertise these cars now braking them. also as someone mentioned a trip to a local independent garage for them to check it over could be worth while.

They will (for a fee) also plug it in and have any codes read,

Hope you get it sorted and enjoy the car.

 

[m1br]

Hi All,

My first post, my first Mercedes!

After many years of running Pajero's as my utility vehicle (Had five in the last few decades) I decided on a change and after looking about decided that a ML270 would fit the bill nicely. Something a bit different with a few more toys than the Pajero. Had a look about and settled on a 2001 ML270 AMG with 125K on the clock and full service history. Picked it up at the weekend and drove it up the road.

On the way home the "Oil Hi" warning light came on. Funny ... it didn't do that on the test drive. Pulled over and checked the dipstick, right enough it was over the top by some margin. Hmm, not the best place to be syphoning oil from the engine at the side of a busy motorway in the dark and the pissing rain (even if I had a syphon tube to hand). Had little option but to continue the journey home.

Next morning removed a litre of oil from the engine before the level was down to between the indicators. Hmmmsville. As part of the bargaining procedure I mentioned that there appeared to be a small oil leak, and I suspect that the previous owner decided to "top it up" before I returned to pick up the car. Guess he just plopped a litre in without checking the level. I've also noticed now that the car will drop into "limp home" mode and I have to stop and restart to get power back.

Some Quizzy Questions:-

1. Will driving 100+ miles with an extra litre of oil in the sump have caused any damage?

2. Would this have caused the vehicle to enter "limp home" mode?

Got some other issues that raised their heads post-purchase.

1. Front offside CV joint is "cricking" on full lock turns - Is this easy to replace for a ham fisted wanna be mechanic?

2. The central locking has a mind of it's own, sometimes it works ... sometimes not. The fobs seem fine and I replaced the batteries and resync'd. Any clues?

3. The windscreen washer bottle was empty. On filling it up it dumped it's contents back on the road via the nearside headlamp washer. Removing the bumper cover (Nightmare!!) revealed that not only was the nearside washer unit body split in two ... the offside was in a similar state. Can't seem to find a supplier for these anywhere. Any ideas?

4. I have a D900 Universal OBDC/OBDC2 Scanner, but it does not seem to want to play with the ML270? Has anyone else had success with this device on this car?

Thanks,
Ripface.

So you bought a mega mile, twelve year old used car and are basing your opinions of Mercedes ownership on this?

Oh boy.

 

[ripface]

Thanks

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies, appreciate it!

Hey dokalj, thanks for the welcome. My washer bottle is fine, it's the headlamp washer units that are leaking. I'll try euromerc to see if they can supply replacements.

Hi SamML270, I feel better knowing that this is unlikely to have caused any problems with the engine. Phew!

Thanks Matc88, but it's not the bouncing lock issue. When I sync my keys, they work for one lock only. After that they do nothing when lock or unlock pressed. Ive seen that the AAM can be faulty and I'm going to try reseating the connections, once I work out how to get to it!

flanaia1, sorry you had a bad one ... although I'm not off to a great start both myself and my wife really like the ML270. Hope our experience is more like A210AMG. : )

m1br, I didn't voice an opinion of the ML270 ... just asked for some help with the problems. I've bought higher mileage and older cars in the past with no issues, my last Pajero was a 1996 and is still going strong.

Is the water pump easy to replace, as it's now started chirping? Jeeez, hope my pockets are deep!!

Cheers,
Ripface.
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[niketpatel71]

ripface are you in or around london mate?

 

[ripface]

Hey

Hi niketpatel71,

Nope, couldn't be *much* further away in Alford ... 25 miles West of Aberdeen.

: ))

Cheers,
Ripface.

 

[SamML270]

yours doesn't sound too bad When i picked up mine as the Mrs had decided THAT was the car she wants even though i knew it was definitely not in a good state, i have had done so far:

Oil and filter change (wrong oil used by previous owner)
Fuel filter change ( i doubt it had even been changed in its life)
Air filter change
Poly filter change (Never been done in its life)
Crank case breather filter change (Never been done in its life)
Thermostat change and coolant
Brake fluid change (Never been done in its life)
Brake pipes change as they had all corroded
ARB bushes and clamps at a big cost from MB as no one else supplies the clamps
Stabiliser links x 2
Ball joints x 2
Wheel bearings x 2
2 rear tyres
front brake pads
4 wheel alignment

Still needs doing:
Front shockers are in a shocking condition
2 x parking sensors
accelerator pedal wobbly
Rust on the body and front/rear bumpers need a respray

And apparently this car passed its MOT only 6 months beforehand!! Thats a load of cr*p!

Moral of the story - never let a woman look for a car, tell them what they are going to have.

 

[ripface]

Making me feel bettter ...

Hey SamML270,

You just saying that to try and make me feel better?

: ))

Just put the headlamp washers back together last night, checked 'em today and they are both still leaking out the end. I was sure I'd got this licked this time. The body seal is ok, but where the extending arm protrudes from the top of the main body water leaks out.

Anyone any ideas on how to sort that?

Going to play with the lekky seats today. I charged up the battery with my optimate yesterday, and now when I switch on the seats the two lights come on steady for a few seconds but then start flashing. From the back of the car I can hear a relay "click" when the flashing starts. I'll check the fuse on the battery, and the electric cooling fan.

Ho hum, ain't I got fun. Anyone interested in piccies of the headlamp washer when I have it apart ... again?

Cheers,
John.

 

[SamML270]

Hey SamML270,

You just saying that to try and make me feel better?

: ))

Honestly im not The thing has cost me to date about £900 in parts and counting, i don't even know the labour charge yet as the garage has not sorted out the bill

 

[ripface]

Uh oh!

Bummer,

It's a nightmare when that happens. I tend to buy older cars and trucks with high miles, and I guess you get what you pay for in this life.

The ML270 is still sitting at the end of the driveway in disgrace. Spent three evenings on the headlamp washers alone, and the damn things still leak. I think they've been "hacked" by someone previously and I'm sure that there is a seal missing somewhere, but finding any information about these is a nightmare. They seem to be quite a rare beast!

Cheers,
Ripface.

 

[dokalj]

Have you asked your local MB dealer for a parts breakdown to see if you are missing a seal?

 

[ripface]

Hmmm

Yeah, kinda come to the conclusion that something is missing in the picture. I'll try the local Stealer and see if they can send me an exploded diag that includes all the springs/seals/nozzles etc.

Cheers Dokalj,
John.

 

[dokalj]

Yeah, kinda come to the conclusion that something is missing in the picture. I'll try the local Stealer and see if they can send me an exploded diag that includes all the springs/seals/nozzles etc.

Cheers Dokalj,
John.

Persist!!! It will pay off and worse case scenario you may need to endeavour down a different path to find a similar part which is capable of doing the job.

 

[MarkF]

Welcome to ML ownership.

I have had mine for over 6 years now with 127K on. The only major job I have had done on mine was the inlet manifold replacement which is common on these.
Apart from that a MAF sensor, front bal,l joints brake pipes, regular servicing and plenty of TLC. The car has been fantastic in all that time. I keep thinking of replacing it with one of the later model ML but every time I put it in for its MOT it keeps passing so say will keep another year.

Find a good indi to look after the car. If you do they are great cars and will give you plenty of fun times.


Mark

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

We've had our ML270 almost 9 years and it's so good we couldn't let it go when we replaced it. Fantastic cars.