RobCDI

Accessing or cleaning the interior is not an option due to the design unfortunately. The cheapest option for a dirty actuator is buying an emulator :/

Ah I see, I was assuming the carbon buildup was shielding the central rod, making it seem further away and out of spec. 0 kOhms would be rod all the way inside the actuator, 2.7 kOhms would be fully extended? My 1.4kOhms (fully inside) and 3.8 kOhms (fully extended) reading was i thought due to Carbon buildup

The actuator isn't sticky, there is just dirt inside the actuator(from dirty oil) which is increasing the electrical resistance reading on shaft movement. Unfortunately you cant repair the actuators due to their design and you cant buy just the actuators (you have to buy the whole egr) I took a drill, hammer, and grinder to the EGR actuator, I don't think its possible to service it without destroying it.

I think you may be misunderstanding. The EGR piston gets clogged with exhaust soot and gets sticky. I have cleaned that completely with a 2 hour soak in oven cleaner, it moves completely freely and looks shiny and new. The actuator is the component that plugs into the wiring harness, i currently have it off the car. Im seeing high resistance with the actuator on a work bench. i tried filling the actuator completely full with contact cleaner through its vent hole and running a drill connected to the actuator shaft to try and spin it up and clean any gunk inside the actuator. This gave no luck. Before i spend $100 and a 2 week wait on an emulator ill try drilling a hole in the side of the actuator to see if i can clean it that way

Long story short i got some dirty oil into my EGR actuator and now im getting p0409. Between pins 3 and 4 im getting 3.8k Ohms resistance where the specs call for 0 to 2.7 kOhms. Is there any way i can take apart the actuator to clean it?

I was going to preemptively sort out the egr last summer but I was lazy so I didnt. Running the car in really cold weather clogged my egr So i filmed a video on the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to deal with the smart 450 cdi EGR valve issues. It doesn't require many tools or any complex mechanical activities, all you need is a bit of patience and about 1 hour.

Double post********

Final update, It turns out that the clutch was just wearing, I adjusted the actuator by feel, (loosened the 3 bolts) moving it closer to the clutch. Now the car is working flawlessly. In future i will either have to change the clutch plate if it naturally wears out with use, or if the rod pushes through the fork ill weld a nut on the end of the actuator rod.

My 2006 CDI with 190,000km has started having shifting problems. Im going to run through my diagnosis in order to hopefully help others that develop this problem. Problem: Car was shifting fine, then it was making a creaking noise with shifting(lubricated it), then it was intermittently failing to downshift followed by 3 bars (temporary solution, switch the car to neutral, turn off and restart the car), Now the car is failing to shift gears about 50% of the time, and when the car is stopped in first gear it makes a strange vibration(no clutch drag). I drive on a lot of dusty gravel roads, very dry environment. Common problems are clutch actuator wiring, clutch actuator issue, or clutch fork wear, where the actuator rod pushes on the fork. As of right now, a new actuator is $450 cad shipped, new fork is $85. Diagnosis: Ill drive the back of the car onto ramps, get under the car and see if the clutch actuator has slipped(unlikely), then I will put penetrating oil on the 3 clutch actuator bolts. Ill unplug the electronic plug for the actuator and check the wires for fraying. Then I will mark the position of the actuator on the car with permanent marker. I will hit the head of the '3 actuator bolts' hard with a hammer a few times, then take my propane torch to try and heat the areas the bolts thread into. Ill gently try to remove the bolts and not snap them, if they don't come out, ill re apply penetrating oil and repeat the hammer and heat process until they do come out. Once the actuator is off, ill examine the actuator rod for signs of wear(if the rod has punched through the fork). Ill take a pic on my phone of the fork through the hole and see if the fork is in ok condition. That will tell me what my problem is (im going to guess wiring fray due to bumpy roads, clutch actuator sluggishness due to lots of dust getting in, or lots of clutch fork wear). I will give the actuator a good cleaning and regreasing (if this fails ill order a new actuator) If the rod has worn a hole in the fork I will try to weld a washer on the actuator rod to increase contact patch between the rod and the fork. Ill update this post until the problem is fixed.

I would like to roate my egr core 180 degrees to blank it out, if my egr system is not already clogged at 180,000kms. Does anyone have any tips how to remove the core?

This seemed like a good and fair review. If im not mistaken there is nothing else like the smart diesels. Its odd to think that the smart car is now becoming more of a collector car. in 2025 the canadian 450s will all be eligible for collector plates(due to smart no longer selling cars for 5 years and them being 15 years old).

The red interior looks really good. I have always wanted a car with red interior white exterior

I know a good amount about cars and a good amount about smart cars but this problem has me puzzled. The passenger side of the engine bay is making a loud ticking/rattling sound. -constant tick at idle(about 2 ticks a second) -At speed it sounds like a rattling chain. -When i turn left the rattle gets worse -When i turn right the rattle gets quieter The sound has been getting worse, a few days ago; at idle it started making a click every few seconds(randomly, not on a timed cycle). I thought it might be the timing chain, tensioner, exhaust heat shield loose, exhaust gasket leak. I didnt see any soot in the engine bay but i will inspect further today. Any ideas? Ill upload a video later today

This sums up my experience. Every bolt i would look at would take me 60 mins of heating, hammering, quenching, brushing with wire brush, then eventually snapping, drilling out, easy out would just slip/get near breaking point, then re-tap the bolt hole... On to the next one x 20. The bolts are all in hard locations too just to keep me on my toes. Im glad i didnt take it to the dealership, they would have charged $1700+ for the work.(Base labour and coolant change is over $600) I snapped one of my carbide steel drill bits off inside one of the snapped coolant pump bolts so that will be there forever and i will have 1 less bolt holding my coolant pump on. The bracket for the alternator tensioner is broken and the bolt is seized(im taking it to a welding shop today). While the alternator is out im going to give it a good cleaning so it hopefully lasts longer. There are two bolts that hold the "bottom triangle link" to the "strut" on out mcpherson strut front suspension. They are both loose on my front passenger side, it makes the car feel very unsafe to drive. I snapped my brake bleed bolt(rear driver side) I will be drilling out and replacing soon, i have bleed all the other corners so the braking feels unstable at the moment. After i have done that I will start preparing the car for winter.

That is really smart to grease bolts. Im not sure about the bolt, i haven't done any work on the engine. Do you mean the nut im seeing from the wheel well(in pic) isnt the one to rotate? The pan does look very bad in the pic but its just dust/road grime/leaking coolant/penetrating oil. I gave it a wipe down and the whole area looks much cleaner. Last summer i thought my oil pan gasket was leaking so i took it off, painted it, resealed it then put it back. It turns out the oil filter wasnt on tight enough and that was leaking. Next time i take the pan off ill get one with a drain plug. Ill upload a video later just for curiosity sake

My only hope is that the higher bolts that are harder to reach are out of the elements so will be corroded less. The mount cracked along the orange/red line. I cant find any mechanics to work on the car in a reasonable time frame so ill just keep heating/lubing/hammering the bolts one by one, i might lowwer the rear sub frame so it is hanging off the front center bushing

http://www.fq101.co.uk/how-to-guides/fortwo-450/engine/177-water-pump-change Following this guide seems easy. All the bolts are rusted and the whole area is covered in dirt and rust. Even the first bolt(pully tensioner) after penetrating oil, hammer whack, and heat is taking a huge amount of force and isnt moving, i have a feeling i will accidentally snap it if i push harder. Im now considering taking the engine out. I have 2 full days to get this done I got one bolt out(ac tensioner bolt), the bolt that holds the alternator tension is stuck, i put so much force on it it snapped one of the arm of the slide it move across to clamp too. Im going to pressure wash the side of the engine tomorrow and buy a compressor, air impact wrench and hoses to help get these rusted bolts off

I was going to do it today but the pump was late and i decided to get a new belt too. Thanks for the advice again, do you have any tips for making the removal easier? Also would you recommend new bolts to hold the coolant pump on($15 for bolts). Mercedes Quoted me $500 labour to change the pump, it gave me more determination to get it done myself. I plan on cleaning the area with a wire brush, then hitting the bolts with a hammer, then heating with a propane torch, hitting them again, then ill try and get them out with my ratchet. I have used penetrating oil a few times already So far im $20 coolant, $25 new belt, $115 water pump,

Your prediction was correct, the coolant pump seal has gone. I ordered a new one @ $100 over night shipping. Im praying for no snapped bolts

The car is sitting on flat ground. The lowwer drain bolt it tight and not leaking I dont think there is any irreversible damage, all the major moving parts are oiled. At worst there would have been a small air lock for a short time, it could have caused some heat related damage but there is a very small chance. I think it is most likely a high pressure air lock that blew out a seal or the coolant pump seal itself is leaking

Thanks for the info, its 1am now so ill give it a good look over tomorrow, The only 2 bits i took off were the lower coolant plug and the expansion tank cap. I should have taken off the coolant temp sensor but i was feeling lazy and didnt. Im a bit worried. In this diagram(451 CDI, similar to 450 cdi) , 5 is the coolant pump, 7 is the thermostat. It is clearly leaking from the right side of the engine, im thinking it will either be the temp sensor or the water pump, if it is a temp sensor oring I will be very happy. If its a coolant pump i will be without a car for a week(cant work) and down $300-$500

I did a basic coolant change(drain out of bottom,jack up front of the car, fill with new coolant untill is comes out, tighten drain bolt) and now I have a noticeable coolant leak. I'm guessing I airlocked the system and somehow cause a high pressure pocket to bust a gasket. It is dripping from the corner of the out pan next to the oil cooler. Does anyone have any ideas where it could be coming from?

thanks for the info, i plan to use it to reduce the noise that has already gotten into the cabin, the smooth glass roof reflects a lot of sound

I drove a lexus suv the other day, it was really quiet and seriously impressed me. When i drove my smart later that day I was trying to pin point where the sound leaks were. The loudest sound while cruising is road noise from the tires, then wind noise from the tailgate, doors, and side windows. Im going to take off the plastic door panels and cover them in sound absorbing mat($35 and easy), Put some sound absorbing foam like in the pic below on the inside of the roof(glass roof with vinyl wrap over top) and on the back of the seats($15), a second rubber/foam door seal all around the lower part of the doors($10). Total $60 cad. Im not sure what i will do about the road noise from the tires. My last car was a straight pipe mx5. No sound insulation with a convertible roof, 3500rpm at 90km/h. It was crazy loud and i grew to hate it, when i first got my smart it was a breath of fresh air for my ears.

The metal looks really thin and would be hard to weld. It might be easier to just straight pipe it or put a new muffler in.