OM642 Turbo actuator fault or stuck Vanes?

[W1ghty]

I agree but I am not spending nearly 3k to fix the car. A properly reconditioned Turbocharger is perfectly acceptable.

But are you going to clean and check the actuator first before paying for a new turbo to be fitted ?

 

[DSM10000]

Look on ebay for a used unit ,turbo with actuator , few hundred quid tbh

for eg Mercedes CLS320 turbocharger OM642 3.0 V6 | eBay

Not interested in used. You have no idea of the condition. A fully reconditioned unit will come with a 2 year guarantee

 

[DSM10000]

Try the Actuator David I had this on my W211 and £90 on a recon actuator solved it. I remember them saying to make sure the actuator had the same ‘G’ number on it.

I will have time to look at that tomorrow
Have been rather busy this week with "stuff"

Who ever said that early retirement gave you all the time in the world was misguided!

 

[m80]

Disconnect the link to the vanes and you should be able to fel if the vanes are moving freely.
On cycling the ignition you should see the actuator go through a full travel.

I've fitted a couple of new after market turbo cartridges. The latest cost me £156 delivered. It was to solve oil passing the seals for MOT emissions, otherwise I wouldn't have replaced it.
Anyway there is a slight lag and on occasion I can just hear the spooling. Otherwise it gets on with it.

 

[DSM10000]

Disconnect the link to the vanes and you should be able to fel if the vanes are moving freely.
On cycling the ignition you should see the actuator go through a full travel.

I've fitted a couple of new after market turbo cartridges. The latest cost me £156 delivered. It was to solve oil passing the seals for MOT emissions, otherwise I wouldn't have replaced it.
Anyway there is a slight lag and on occasion I can just hear the spooling. Otherwise it gets on with it.

The actuator no longer moves with the ignition.

It was doing so.

I need to check the fuse when I can get the lid off of the fuse box!

It doesn't want to come off after releasing the catch

Does it then slide forward? There is something stopping it moving to the left.

 

[m80]

The 211?
Mines an estate but I would imagine same/ same.

Front is right of dash near steering wheel.
I used a wideish scraper to prize in and then persuaded the clips to release with a flat driver.

In the estate area to n/s I removed the side cover.
and to the fore is the fuses and relays, behind a plastic pull off cover.

I'm still learning the 211 but don't think there are more fuse location.

 

[W1ghty]

The actuator no longer moves with the ignition.

It was doing so.

I need to check the fuse when I can get the lid off of the fuse box!

It doesn't want to come off after releasing the catch

Does it then slide forward? There is something stopping it moving to the left.

Just checked my W211 fuse box (by the brake fluid reservoir ) , so , as you face the front of the car , the catch on the left (with a lock unlock symbol) needs pushing towards the windscreen.
There is another sliding catch on the front right of the fuse box , also push this towards the windscreen , this will free the lid

 

[W1ghty]

The 211?
Mines an estate but I would imagine same/ same.

Front is right of dash near steering wheel.
I used a wideish scraper to prize in and then persuaded the clips to release with a flat driver.

In the estate area to n/s I removed the side cover.
and to the fore is the fuses and relays, behind a plastic pull off cover.

I'm still learning the 211 but don't think there are more fuse location.

Engine bay box buddy , by the brake fluid reservoir

 

[m80]

Aha,
that'll teach me for being nosey. 2 tabs back and it came out easy enough.
Getting the bl88dy thing back on, well.

 

[W1ghty]

Aha,
that'll teach me for being nosey. 2 tabs back and it came out easy enough.
Getting the bl88dy thing back on, well.

Well played Sir , Action This Day (so someone once said )

 

[Deleted member 159894]

I took my W211 to my mechanic with a turbo problem.

He passed me on, he could have put a new turbo or actuator in but said that would only cure the symptom, something made the turbo go and it would most likely happen again.

 

[clk320x]

I took my W211 to my mechanic with a turbo problem.

He passed me on, he could have put a new turbo or actuator in but said that would only cure the symptom, something made the turbo go and it would most likely happen again.

Unusual.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

Unusual.

Is it?

 

[DSM10000]

Just checked my W211 fuse box (by the brake fluid reservoir ) , so , as you face the front of the car , the catch on the left (with a lock unlock symbol) needs pushing towards the windscreen.
There is another sliding catch on the front right of the fuse box , also push this towards the windscreen , this will free the lid

Many thanks for the information!

I took my W211 to my mechanic with a turbo problem.

He passed me on, he could have put a new turbo or actuator in but said that would only cure the symptom, something made the turbo go and it would most likely happen again.

I see them as a wear and tear item.

Considering the thermal loads and rotational speeds they are subject to it is hardly surprising that bearings, seals, variable vane mechanisms etc wear out.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

Many thanks for the information!

I see them as a wear and tear item.

Considering the thermal loads and rotational speeds they are subject to it is hardly surprising that bearings, seals, variable vane mechanisms etc wear out.

That’s how it was put to me when mine went, made some sense at the time, I bought a recon turbo and actuator and sold the car soon after.

 

[DSM10000]

Is it?

I wonder what your mechanic was suggesting as a likely cause?

Bearing failure within the turbine could be caused by poor maintenance with infrequent oil changes and /or the incorrect specification of oil I suppose but at higher mileages such items will just wear out even with the best of maintenance.

Any moving part, especially those subject to high thermal loads etc will have a finite life. It is quite a feat to manufacture a part that can take such loads and still work reliably for well over a hundred thousand miles.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

I wonder what your mechanic was suggesting as a likely cause?

Bearing failure within the turbine could be caused by poor maintenance with infrequent oil changes and /or the incorrect specification of oil I suppose but at higher mileages such items will just wear out even with the best of maintenance.

Any moving part, especially those subject to high thermal loads etc will have a finite life. It is quite a feat to manufacture a part that can take such loads and still work reliably for well over a hundred thousand miles.

I can't recall, he did explain but I suddenly felt very sleepy and wasn't fully concentrating.

Maybe something to do with oil getting very hot and causing blockages somewhere? The jist of it was that he had replaced turbos for people in the past but the cause of the problem remained and they needed doing again 3 months later. The guy that he referred me to was cheap and had a workshop full of taxis in various states of repair.

 

[Larkone]

I can't recall, he did explain but I suddenly felt very sleepy and wasn't fully concentrating.

Maybe something to do with oil getting very hot and causing blockages somewhere? The jist of it was that he had replaced turbos for people in the past but the cause of the problem remained and they needed doing again 3 months later. The guy that he referred me to was cheap and had a workshop full of taxis in various states of repair.

So as a mechanic he fixed the symptom but not the root cause. I would find a new mechanic that is more honest.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

So as a mechanic he fixed the symptom but not the root cause. I would find a new mechanic that is more honest.

No.

As a mechanic he advised me to go elsewhere as he didn't want me back whining in the future.

 

[DSM10000]

Update.
A rebuilt Actuator from Turbo vanes was fitted by my Indie. He had to reset various adaptions via Star before it would run correctly.

Having driven about 5 miles toward home it went into Limp home mode again.

There was no CEL but scanning with iCarsoft gave the fault code shown in the attached image.

Could the EGR be blocked due to the actuator not having been working correctly for the last 3 weeks?