Oh nooooo! Black Death - why oh why!

[madmatuk]

Hi guys,

I thought it best i create a new thread about this newly discovered Black Death on my 2003 110CDI Vito. Hopefully there are some peeps that frequent these forums that can give me some advice/tips..

The current state of the injectors after a few hours of chipping away is as below :

Next stage is some further tapping away ( Gently i understand ) Then some sort of solvent to remove the remainder.

I have been advised against using oven cleaner solutions like, mr muscle, cilit bang etc, as they contain chemicals that damage the engine Head.

Any ideas of a safe solution i can use? I Cant find Loctite Carbon cleaner anywhere

Cheers guys.

 

[bob6600]

Beat me to it! I was about to post a thread on this as I have it on my W210 and have ordered the parts from MB. I ran the engine hot and cleaned the bulk of it away, came off quite easily with hot engine (left engine running but the blow back got to me after a couple of mins).

I have decided I am going to tackle this myself and have been reading many, many threads on this. Looks like oven cleaner is a no no, and forte air intake is a yes yes but a bit expensive.

My main concern will be keeping the area clean and not allowing any bits to fall down when cleaning the seat (do not have airline), was wondering if an air can will be suffice. Good luck!

 

[Danny DeVito]

If u use an air line you may possibly end up with a face full of muck. A vacuum works well with a bit of garden hose taped onto the end. But mind not to use your household one or you may end up in the doghouse and smelling it for weeks after.

Is that serious, about the oven cleaner may damage the head ? Any evidence of it ? I cant see a bit of chemical stuff doing much to a thick metal cover, i mean it gets really hot from the engine. I wonder...

 

[carat 3.6]

Keep soaking it in coca cola, the proper full sugar one. Belive it or not this will soften it if left long enough.

 

[madmatuk]

THanks for the response guys,

Danny, went to Tesco to look at these cleaners and reading the do's and dont's, the majority state do not use on aluminium, however the cilit bang one doesn't ( says not to use on aluminum on-line though ).

Carat, how long is long with he Coca Cola? few hours or days?

Bob, i share your pain, when you looking at removing the bolts, would love to know how you get on lol

forte air intake, where is this sold, cannot find it locally... But it seems pricey online - like you say at £15 quid a tin!

 

[Danny DeVito]

I would assume that it says not for alu due to possible damage to your lovely pots or something. I think if it would burn a hole in it they would be using it for ....well...making holes in aluminium. I never tried it, maybe someone else has

 

[Stratman]

Oven cleaners contain sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as caustic soda. It dissolves aluminium to finally produce aluminium hydroxide and sodium.

Best not to use it.

 

[mersum1es]

forte air intake, where is this sold, cannot find it locally... But it seems pricey online - like you say at £15 quid a tin!

Forte - Air Intake Cleaner - 400ml &pound12.36 Oils, Fluids & Additives FORTE - Sealants, Additives & Accessories

be happy, in Finland that stuff costs 60€!!!!
And forte works not so good for really hardened tar (I wonder anything is?), syrup/liquid tar it sweeps away...

About the airline usage; if the airgun is put in the glow plug hole during the operation, there is no fear that stuff goes into mug.

 

[E270 Owner]

Lol coke is a joke.......

Use Carburettor cleaner with diesel mixed together, clean with a paint brush after leaving for a few hours, also brush it all over after the main mess is cleaned to clear the residual gunge.

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/2211...ixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla&crdt=0

I removed 3 seized injectors after a customer had tried to remove them with a Mercedes hydraulic injector removal tool, left to soak for a week then removed them normally, the carbon was a soft oily mess that wiped off the injectors easily, and the injector recesses were easily cleaned up with a rag and stick

 

[carat 3.6]

Carat, how long is long with he Coca Cola? few hours or days?

Lol coke is a joke.......

Seriously, it does work. You need to let it soak in for 2 - 3 days though, it wont disolve it completly but it does work.

 

[Stratman]

The active ingredient in cola drinks for this case is phosphoric acid. You'll find it in higher concentrations in some rust treatments.

 

[E270 Owner]

Seriously, it does work. You need to let it soak in for 2 - 3 days though, it wont dissolve it completely but it does work.

The active ingredient in cola drinks for this case is phosphoric acid. You'll find it in higher concentrations in some rust treatments.

Just use the correct chemicals

Coke was mentioned in a Mercedes technical bulletin (iirc) for removing the crud but it was found not to be as effective as "proper" chemicals to completely clean the affected areas.

 

[madmatuk]

Heh guys, A wealth of information is coming in and i love it!

I will get some of that stuff E270, mix with diesel you say and soak, great stuff

I have made a lot of progress today using contact cleaner, and Gunk cleaner. So far so good.

What you think...

More to do but getting there

Cheers all.
M

 

[bob6600]

Wow thats really good! Was this on a cold engine?

Hopefully will clean mine up this weekend and will post some pics. Although I've read it's only worth cleaning if you are to change the seals soon as it will only coke up again

 

[madmatuk]

Yup this was a stone cold engine.

I am yet to find the leaking injector though. Fired her up earlier, doused injector bottoms with wd40 and not a blip, awfully weird. I have cleaned it up more since, so in daylight tomorrow i will investigate further.

My plan is to try and fix the problem, and keep a regular eye on it - so i dont have to do all this again

 

[E270 Owner]

You will need to get the engine up to full working temperature then check for leaking seals as it softens the crud up and the leak/s become easier to see.

Whilst it's warmed up you will find it easier to clean the crud/gunge/carbon off.

I usually hand clean with Carb cleaner/diesel and stiff brushes in various sizes down to a tooth brush.

Then degrease with engine cleaner and stream clean/power jet (with the engine off), if the injectors are loose enough to remove.

If an injector/s is stuck I soak it for at least a week with Carb Cleaner/diesel then remove it/them.

A bad case of the "black death"

\/ \/ \/

 

[bob6600]

Is the engine 'chuffing'? I can out my hand over no. 1 and no. 3 injectors and could feel the blow by.

 

[madmatuk]

Cheers for the info e270_owner, i will try this.


Bob i have not noticed any chuffing, i am going deaf i think though. I will start her up and let her warm up a bit and check again. I will post updates soon

 

[madmatuk]

Guys an afterthought...

Is there a special socket bit for removal of these stretch bolts, or is it a standard bit?

Any idea the size needed? i only have a limited set at the moment.

Regards
M

 

[bob6600]

I believe it's a torx 40