mas

Since it looks like I am going down the EGR road, research has led me to installing an egr blocking plate and/or removing the solenoid and turning the cartridge 180 degrees. My question is, which one do I do? No CEL on the dash but at times the car goes into limp mode (is it just a matter of time?) If I go blanking plate, would I still remove the EGR valve and give it a clean? And since I am there, do the 180 thing and not bother with the blanking plate. Is one easier than the other or is it the case of 'since I am already up to my elbows may as well..."

would poor fuel mileage be associated with this situation?

Something new, it has happened twice in the past week, while going through the gears, the acceleration seems to slow down once it hits 3000 rpm. At slow speeds, I can hear the turbo in the background. So far twice, both times the next time I drove, the engine when through the gears normally. What gives?

I've had the Exxon Valdez spill below the Smart last May, the fuel attendant used an oversized nozzle which did not have an auto stop. There was spillage at the filler cap area and while the attendant was getting the kitty litter I peaked underneath and noticed a good steady stream of dripping diesel coming from the middle of the belly pan. We are talking about a meter diameter spill circle here. I paid and got out of Dodge. A few kilometers later there was a construction stop for a few minutes, when I left, I noticed the wet spot on the pavement. Drove to my destination for another 30 minutes and when looking underneath I just noticed a drip or two. My conclusion is two fold; I had dropped the tank to removed the fuel pump for a fuel troubleshoot (it was electrical) but left the filler pipe connected to the tank since I could not remove it therefore I do not know how it is connected, did I loosen something at the connection when trying to remove it? IDK An other possibility was fuel getting through the vent. In some cases there are 2 vent lines at the filler neck, one goes back to the tank and the other vents to the atmosphere. I can not confirm this since I never removed this part. Since then, I stop at the first click when filling and I have never had another environmental disaster.

I am sure that the light initially comes on just to let you know that the bulb works. if it stays on, that is another matter to hopefully never discussed here:)

When starting the 2005 cdi cabrio, I have 2 of the 4 lights come on. They are found between the tack and clock. The red seat belt light is a no brainer but the orange fuel light is a question mark. I've driven SmartyPants all the way down to 21.3 liters and nothing. The warning light comes on for a second or two after starting. I went through the manual and it doesn't even show the light bar behind the 4 way flasher/door locks. Any comments?

I called my closest MB dealership service department (must have been a slow day), initially they gave me a generic code, it did not work, called back and they asked for the last 4-6 digits of my VIN, I was on hold for a couple of minutes and they came back with the right code.

thank you root admin and directors, this site is a staple for me while having my morning coffee. I'll be there when you need to pass the hat.

I thought I would include my '3 bars" issue here since this old thread was the most appropriate. It happened twice last week (auto and manual mode) and the similarity was it did not want to auto shift down from either 6/5th down to 1st. In both cases I was coming to a red light from high speeds and just taking the foot off the pedal and let it coast down and auto shift but alas no, the 3 bars showed up, did not stall but did not want to go in any gear. Did the Microsoft thing, off/on and back on my merry way. Since then, I have been either shifting down or tapping it into neutral in similar situations. What should I look for? No codes.

Gentlemen (Oh, gals too), New to diesels, the 450 is running fine, economy in old school language is 65 miles/gal (mixed driving). My question, is it normal for the first start of the day that you get a 'strong' diesel smell for the first seconds? thanking you in advance, mas

I have the same hole in mine when the previous owner changed the starter that way. I am not getting any fumes inside the cab so I think he did a pretty good job at sealing it.

Another option would be to go to a auto parts store (my local one is pretty good size) and ask the attendant if the both of you can go to their hose department (3 shelves full in this case) and find one that has a similar bend in it and cut the end/s off. They discontinued one of the hoses on my 35 year old Caddy, but we did find a similar one on the shelf, the bend was off a bit but close enough.

is there an image of the acorn nut available?

Got it, thanks.

When I initially got my first Smart (Sept/23, more to come?), since I knew nothing of the car, I did searches and learned as much as I could. In respect to the engine, it is stamped MB right there on top but who in fact makes the engine. One search mentioned Mitsubishi, while a European colleague mentioned that Renault makes the engine 450 cdi for MB. Can someone chip in and give me more detail on the engine origin. Thanking you in advance. mas