New 2006 CDI, needs love.

[zahgurim 1]

Hi!

I bought a 2006 CDI Pure cabrio for my wife yesterday, knowing that it needed a new alternator.
It's my first Smart, though I wrench often on other vehicles.

Pulled the alternator today, without issue. Will order a replacement shortly.
But I noticed the 3rd pulley on the belt (water pump?) has quite a bit of play/wobble to it. 
Time to change that out as well? 

Any place online to download a service manual for the '06?

Thanks!

[Willys 747]

Welcome to the site, unless you speak German there is no service manual to use.....we have a good wiki section for service and repairs etc and there is another technical site called Evilution.co.uk   which is strictly information based with little to no chat. IF you like this site spend the minimum donation, money very well spent imho for those who are new to the car. We here are the best for CDI smarts   simply due to the fact we here seemed to get more CDI .....

As for the water pump, change it, then go after the starter, Thermostat, EGR and inter cooler for wear throughs on the forward side  where the shroud hits the cooler.......then take SAM out and open it up check for bad solder joints, Smaller silver metal box near battery on passenger floor will also have water damage issues........all these things are semi easily dealt with with many threads here to help you.  You will find out unless you have small hands and thick skin it's best to get many things done when you have engine lowered so you don't need to lower it again at a later date...IMHO.

It's a great little car getting once it's tune in 80 MPGs or 3.5 or better Litres per hundred kms driven. IF you drive close to the speed limits. 

Again welcome to the site.    There are many threads relating to all of the usual issues that show up on these cars.  So there is help here and we'll help answer all questions as best we can when you ask for help.

I say go after starter when you deal with the water pump because you can't get starter out without removing water pump, and for the $200 for a new starter, IMHO worth it to save you the aggravation later.   But I'm sure others will chime in...lol

[zahgurim 1]

Thanks for the info!!

 

[zahgurim 1]

I haven't pulled the engine, Have the rear end jacked up on stands to access alternator. Just finished pulling the water pump. I'm glad I did, the bearings in it are toast. Will order both new alternator and pump.

What I'm wondering about is the SAM. I've seen that mentioned before, but don't know what/where it is. Computer system?

And has anyone welded a drain plug onto the oil pan? 
Seems to be a pain in the ass to have to either crack the pan seal or suck old oil out to change it. I work in a fabrication shop, and can very easily weld a threaded nut onto the pan after drilling a hole, and run a bolt and o-ring to seal it up.

[tolsen 630]

Try freeing alternator. Normally quite easy. Due to their exposure to the elements, alternators on Smart cars tend to seize if car has been sitting for two to three weeks and brand new alternators are no better. 

 

You can buy sump with drain plug for about £18 if you live in the EU. 

 

Sucking the oil out with  a Pela suction pump works reasonably well too. 

[Willys 747]

Buy a sump with drain plug in it already if you have the money, cheap really then weld on a crash guard to protect that plug as it is the lowest thing on the car.....very noticable. I have 2 and will be welding guards onto mine. 
Next I would change starter, water pump, thermostat, and elternator with free wheeling hub as Tolsen suggests. I have ran a new alternator for a year solid without any issues at all so far and it has seen all a Canadian winter will throw at it sand and salting. The best way was to take alternator armature out and slightly turn it down on a lathe to crate more space between it and the casing, yes you loose a small amount of charging voltage but it's still very workable.  The Sam is under dash  the thing with the fuses attached. Un hook battery first, then remove taking note where the side plugs were placed. Half are constant voltage the others are switched, it makes a difference...lol.  Research the issues with the SAM they are easy if you can hold a soldering iron imho. The whole car is easy to work on once you dis-assemble it....lol. Assembled it's nearly impossible!  Unless you're a 75 pound 12 year old girl who's looking to be a model  thus starving yourself to stay skinny...lol. There is no room to work on the car if you are a male of normal size....lol.  There are many small issues to deal with to make this car very reliable and economical and enjoyable to drive. imho. I'm a fuel saver now after driving this car and seeing how little it can drink fuel...80 mpgs is easy to achieve if you pay attention. I use a Scan-GaugeII which monitors fuel economy  as you drive.......if you watch this you can get even better fuel economy some days.  There isn't a vehicle other than a tasla or a chevy bolt that gets better fuel economy here in North America.   But you must drive it with some sense of looking for fuel economy not a roller skate go-cart type thing, which you can do and still get good fuel ratings, just not the best.  To each their own.

IF you do wish to get into the engine, it will get expensive so to speak if you do what I am doing, replacing any worn or damaged items even if they could be used again for a shorter time?  I do not want to do this again, I'm old now...lol.  So, I'm basically making it new again. It's still far cheaper than anything I could possible buy that is new or close to new wear wise. imho.

Clutch actuator is another must remove take apart and make new again, and re set up. Inter cooler and EGR is another, simply get rid of EGR or bypass it electrically using an emulator. But it must be cleaned like new just so the flow is there even if it's not used. The inter cooler top hose gets wear damages from wiring that rest on it. The turbo could be worn but you can buy a new chinese version semi cheaply, or replace just the internal working cylinder if you are capable. The ECU gets green contacts sometimes and that is where I cooked mine, beware the capacitors hold a charge and they can discharge when cleaning those pins which fries the ECU.....isn't a cheap buy even used. IF you need to swap out most main electrical items like SAM or ECU, you'll need to know someone with a STAR diagnosing computer system to reteach these new things to the old electrical system. I bought my own STAR or made it up off the internet, it's very useful when working on the car especially electrical issues. Injector nozzles can be changed for new ones now, a noticable difference when you touch the gas  peddle if you are in tune with your car. IF not you may argue the need for them. All of these things have a thread on them here somewhere to get more information on where and who to get things from. Or how best to deal with issues.
Good luck and I hated sucking dirty oil compared to simply dropping oil into a pan...lol.   Again to each their own.

 

[Willys 747]

Forgot......maybe you're lucky and your air-con still holds a charge, mine doesn't, usual issue is worn out seals under car, there is a fix for it so I'm told.  I don't use air, perfer open windows as I live outside of the city and don't sit in stopped traffic. I would be fixing it if I did drive in stop and go traffic. 

[zahgurim 1]

Thanks for the info!


The alternator on this one isn't seized. It looks like whoever installed it the last time clumsily hamfisted it into place, and broke the black plastic housing and wire connector on the end of it. They then tried to use modelling glue to hold the wire connection in place.

The girl I bought it from told me the alternator was dead, and delivered it to me with a spare battery hooked up in the passenger footwell to have enough power to drive it. I'm thinking the glued connection on the alternator broke, and the wires came undone on her.

I have a waterpump and alternator ordered. Will be sure to be carefull when reinstalling.

One other question: 
On the lower engine case right beside the oil pan seal, is what looks like a hole full of thermal paste and a couple brass coloured prongs going into a wire. Some kind of temperature sensor? That connection is looking haggard. Good idea to refresh the paste?

Thanks again for all the help!
 

[Willys 747]

Make sure you get the upgraded thermostat so you'll get far better heat out of the engine for use in the winter months....believe me it works far better over the stock unit,   research that thread...for part numbers here somewhere.   I don't know about that connection, picture?   My entire engine is in pieces at the moment.....but will peek at my spare engine to see if it's easily visiable where it's hidden.....or where on the disassembled engine for it.

 

 

[smart142 605]

21 hours ago, zahgurim said:

One other question: 

On the lower engine case right beside the oil pan seal, is what looks like a hole full of thermal paste and a couple brass coloured prongs going into a wire. Some kind of temperature sensor? That connection is looking haggard. Good idea to refresh the paste

 

That's probably Mercedes idea of an oil pan heater.

Did a cord come with the car? If so it plugs into the front of the car and that ''thermal paste'' should heat up.

[LooseLugNuts 557]

check aliexpress for oil pans with drains...they are fairly cheap i bought 2 and i think they were under $50 delivered to my mailbox (yes..they fit in a mailbox)....also super easy to change takes about 15 minutes if your bolts arent rotted (maybe 20 minutes if you have rotted bolts and extractor sockets)

[LooseLugNuts 557]

23 hours ago, zahgurim said:

One other question: 
On the lower engine case right beside the oil pan seal, is what looks like a hole full of thermal paste and a couple brass coloured prongs going into a wire. Some kind of temperature sensor? That connection is looking haggard. Good idea to refresh the paste?

Thanks again for all the help!

 

post a picture of that

 

picture is worth 276 words

[zahgurim 1]

On 2/19/2020 at 7:47 PM, LooseLugNuts said:

 

post a picture of that

 

picture is worth 276 words

Here's a pic of the lower bit, with thermal paste? Possibly a sump heater? It's directly beside the oil pan, one of the pan bolts holds it in place.
We didn't get a cord with the car for plugging it in, as mentioned. Honestly, not too worried as this will be wifey's summer car. She has a 4x4 WD21 Pathfinder for winter driving.

I just got parts in, installed the water pump and alternator yesterday. No issues with that. Just reinstalled the sump pan, am letting the sealant cure before refilling with oil. Will refill the coolant and burp it.
Here's hoping this is all it will need for now, and we can get it ripping around shortly.

[LooseLugNuts 557]

yep..that is/was a block heater

 

i wouldnt touch if youre not going to use it

Edited March 9, 2020 by LooseLugNuts

[zahgurim 1]

Oil filter got here late. Got it installed, oiled up, coolant in and burped. 
Got it out of the garage today, and ripped around the yard a bit. 

Took a pic for the wifey. Got back in to start it up and drive back into the garage, and had the single bar of death on the speedometer. 

Pushed back into garage. Removed battery ground for 15min to see if it would reset. Single bar still showing. 
Checked wiring on passenger footwell silver box, no issue there. 
Wiggled fusebox under driverside dashboard, and bar dissappeared. Got car started, was able to put roof up. 
While running, wiggled fusebox a bit, and engine died and bar reappeared. Wiggled some more, and able to restart. 

So...  tomorrow after work, I'll pull the fusebox and check all wiring connections.

 

[Leadwing 565]

I would be reluctant to raise or lower the roof of a diesel smart in colder temperatures.  If it's up, leave it up ... if its down, leave it down until the weather warms up.  The plastic rear window isn't very flexible at lower temps and could crack.

[Willys 747]

IMHO, your SAM has issues, lol...sorry not laughing but seems obvious.....unhook neg off battery before attacking this.  Check every plug and each pin and wire for any signs of corrosion or heat damage....I bet you'll find something somewhere. There are lots of posts showing how to now.  Get a good soldering iron that is 60Watts so it can easily heat up the joins that are damaged and even use solder sucker etc to remove old solder then replace with ne, best way imho.

 

Good luck and please take pictures, we always like to see the horrors people find...makes us feel better after it has happened to us.....sorry dark humour..lol

The pics will help us help you.

 

[BWM 87]

Did you remember to push the unlock button on your FOB.

I know it sounds dumb but by doing so it tells the imoblelizer to allow you to start the car.

It will disable your system automatically after about 10 minutes no mater what and requires the reset buy unlocking the doors using the remote not the dash button.

It's just another idiosyncrasy of the Smart car.

Should that not work clean the grounding wires in the engine bay area even if they appear clean mine took 3 separate cleanings in a week to get them working.

Don't forget the battery ground bolted to the floor under the carpet.

It may still crank and not start as corrosion is just enough to prevent enough voltage to complete all required.

Double check the clipped on braided ground cable from engine to body ground as it's also a problem creator.

[zahgurim 1]

Got it sorted after work yesterday. Pulled the fusebox (SAM?) down from the dashboard, checked for loose wires, unclipped connections and reclipped. One was loose. All sorted now, reinstalled and wiggled box around, problem is gone. Drove it around a bit on the property, seems well.

Good to know about the plastic window in the cold. Car is garage stored, and will be a summer vehicle.
On the subject of the window, it seems a bit "foggy" and unclear. It's not yellowed, just unclear. Does it have to be replaced, or is there a product out there to pollish it up to clear again? 

Thanks for all the info!

[Willys 747]

On the window, I'd try furniture type polish on it first just to see if that may get any residue off it as it won't scratch it, then it's your call I'm afraid......I have never had any luck polishing plastic window on my Jeep tops etc. They always had to be replaced by a tent repair or boat top  guy. They simply cut out the old plastic and sew in new. It never is as nice as the original but it's definately better to see through.   It would also be far cheaper for you to take the top OFF the car instead of them dong it IF you are capable, after watching a few how to youbube videos...lol. But if not comfortable pay the money.  From what I have heard for convertable tops it can get interesting.....I've never done one.   IF I had one I would have a go or look carefully at the job then decide.....if they can do it , imho, I should be able to also.  I just don't have the industrial sewing machine.
There are products on the market I believe that may help clean it up a bit now a days, but I bet after cleaning a layer of polish would help keep it semi clear.....it all depends how bad it is and how peticular you are, or she is...

 

[LooseLugNuts 557]

nice looking car...my 2005 cabrio looked exactly the same black on black

 

some atv places sell plastic polish ...

 

my window was cracked i found a local lady with an industrial sewing machine to sew in some new boat window stuff ...it looked ok for the price (i think it was $80 or $100)

Edited March 18, 2020 by LooseLugNuts