Starter checkup wiki? How to lower engine wiki?

[dank1945]

I'm trying to check the state of the wiring to my starter motor, is there a wiki on the procedure to lower the engine or how to do this without lowering the engine?

Thanks

[CANMAN]

Did you replace the main engine ground that I mentioned in your other post?

It is very difficult to access the spade connector to the starter.

First of all don't go poking in there with metal tools with the battery connected, there is a heavy duty 12 volt cable running directly from the battery right beside the spade lug. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!

Lowering the engine won't help, the starter is on top of the engine but buried under the AC pump, and coolant hoses.

There is a 1 inch gap between the fuel rail and brake booster vacuum line and the metal subframe that you have to work in.

You will need a very bright light and a pair of 12 inch straight medical forceps available from princess auto and a long skinny common screwdriver.

Not only is it a bitch to unplug the connector it's a bitch and a half to get the damn thing back on, so don't try unless you are sure of your abalities and you can afford to have the car disabled for quite a few hours.

Canman

[dank1945]

Thanks Canman,

I haven't done that yet. I've been away for a few weeks.

The car is not in use yet, I'm trying to work out these bugs before I insure it and license it. I have another daily driver.

The intermittent starting issue continues to exist. It seems to me that it is related to the battery. I have checked all grounds (I'm planning on replacing the tranny ground and the battery ground cables with more beefy cables), cleaned them up, put dielectric in them, etc. Nothing changes the issue.

The car is new to me. The previous owner said he replaced the starter because of this issue, (didn't change it) and that the car will usually start after 3-4 tries. If the starter engages and turns the engine over, she fires up immediately, and runs very smoothly.

I do get a code with my ODB reader, related to the glow plug circuit A. I am trying to find out what that means, but again, I suspect it's related to the battery. I put the load tester on the battery back in December and it tested OK, but when I leave the battery sitting for a couple of days, the voltage is down to 12.2 approx.

Supposedly the battery is from 2013, but I suspect the owner went down south for 6 months a year, and it sat unused for that time, so it could be partially sulphated, or whatever.

Today I'm trying with a huge deep cycle battery from my toyhauler in parallel with the smart battery, to see what happens.

I have everything you describe to get at the push-on connector in the starter, and I trust my abilities to get it done, except for a proper car lift to raise the car high enough to work under it, and do what I need to do. I will do it though, as I have a fuel filter on its way to me in about a week, and I'll need to prop the car up to do that job.

Cheers,

Dan

[CANMAN]

Dan,

I replied in your other post, I don't think the issue is your battery.

It's still a good idea to replace the grounds, but in my opinion, the starter the PO put in is defective and it needs to be replaced.

You can buy a set of engine lowering bolts from Mercedes, don't remember the exact cost, around $120.

Although I haven't done a wiki on lowering the engine I can give you some links and advice.

I did do a wiki on replacing the fuel filter.

So when you get the car up in the air for the fuel filter you may as well drop the engine.

Also probably should look at the intercooler for signs of chaffing against the housing.

Canman

P.S. The glow plug circuit A, code means you have a bad glowplug, use an ohmmeter to check, resistance should be about 0.6 to 0.8 ohms.

Edited February 2, 2016 by CANMAN

[tolsen]

Decimal error on your glow plug resistance values Canman?

[CANMAN]

Thanks Tolson,

Edited.

Canman

[TheHandyHobbit]

..................You will need a very bright light and a pair of 12 inch straight medical forceps available from princess auto and a long skinny common screwdriver.

Not only is it a bitch to unplug the connector it's a bitch and a half to get the damn thing back on, so don't try unless you are sure of your abalities and you can afford to have the car disabled for quite a few hours.

Canman

Exactly. I had a couple of intermittent starts last year just like dank1945. A couple months ago it left me stranded. Luckily, the next day, It started for me after about 40-50 attempts and I scooted off to see Glenn. Just like you said, it is definitely a "Screw-Ball" job...........forceps and a long flat blade screwdriver just to get at the spade connector in it's nasty location just to clean it up and plug it back in. Oh yeah, and definitely disconnect the battery first!

[CANMAN]

Dan,

If you really want to test/clean the spade lug on the starter, this method is more work but gives a lot more room to work.

Jack up rear of car, use axle stands.

Remove right rear tire.

Remove right rear inner fender liner.

Remove alternator and AC belt cover.

Remove AC belt.

Working from wheel well, remove the 2 torx bolts mounting the AC compressor.

Fold the AC compressor out of the way, do not disconnect the hoses to the compressor ( not that there is any freon left in them ).

Working from the wheel well you will be able to access the starter spade terminal.

CAUTION, there is 12 VDC from the battery really close to the spade lug.

Canman

[CANMAN]

It's really not worth it.

There is absolutely no way to access the starter without lowering the engine.

If you insist on proceeding, beware that you don't set the car on fire.

There is a noise insulator blanket on the back side of the firewall, it's flammable.

Cutting with a grinder will create sparks and the blanket could catch fire.

Not counting the time to put the car on jacks, it only takes about an hour and a half to remove the rear clip and other bits and pieces which need to be disconnected and lower the engine.

Canman

[tolsen]

He'll cut his cables and pipes too. Not what I call Smart.

[dank1945]

I decided to play it safe and I have started the procedure to drop the engine: drained coolant, removed rear clip, removed right wheel well liner, removed belts' cover. I spent the afternoon trying to find an alternate source for the bolts to drop the engine, without luck. OEM wants $88 plus HST for the set. Does anyone know of a source for them, they are 12mm x 1.5 mm pitch, and I'm guessing about 12" long is what is needed.

I wonder if Canman or someone else could detail what items I need to loosen up, or undo in order to drop the engine.

I still believe cutting an opening in the bulkhead could work, but for this time, I'm doing things by the book.

Edited February 4, 2016 by dank1945

[tolsen]

Cut a hole, if you want, when you can see what you are cutting into. Your cut hole will create its own problems: Where exactly to cut so not to cut into anything and get maximum benefit. What size of hole do you need. How to close up hole and make it gas tight, sound proof and water tight.

[CANMAN]

No need to drain coolant.

Here is the procedure to lower the subframe.

I'm going from memory here, hope I don't forget a step, fq101 had pictures but it is offline.

1-Jack up both ends of the car so it's level and use jack stands on the Tridon.

2- remove rear clip.

3- remove left rear tire and inner fender liner(may as well remove both left and right tires and liners, left is only one req.)

4-remove 4 torx screws from air intake hose to air box and pull hose away from air box, no need to remove completely. (Left wheel well)

5-engine bay, front rh corner, unclip plastic hook holding wire bundle to chassis.

6-engine bay, rear, disconnect engine ground cable.

7-remove rear belly panel.

8- remove 10mm plastic nut holding black plastic clamp securing left rear brake lines and hoses, back left corner of belly panel.

9- put handbrake in down position.

10- back center of car ahead of subframe, disconnect the 2 brake cables from "cup", pull down on cup and lever cables off with screwdriver.

11- turn the cup 90 degrees to unhook it from handbrake.

12-place floor Jack under bell housing and raise until you start to almost lift car off rear jack stands.

13- remove 4 subframe e-torx bolts and install lowering bolts.

14- carefully lower subframe, because bell housing is not centred it tends to hang up on right side, careful prying there, because there is a plastic fitting for vacuum hose.

When re-installing subframe you have to line up the handbrake rod with the cup when raising the engine.

Canman

[tolsen]

Make suitable holes in both foot wells too when you are at it. Then you can drive without engine, Flintstone style.

[dank1945]

Hey Canman, thanks!

That's exactly what I needed to know. I'm on my way to MB to order the lowering bolts. Found out yesterday at Brafasto that two 36" lengths of metric rod 12mmx1.5mm pitch, with a few nuts would cost $120.

Not worth it, may as well buy the correct bolts from MB.

Cheers,

Dan

[dank1945]

Hi,

Sorry, but i cant figure out how to remove the glow plug cover and dont want to break it. Also, what exactly am i looking for in the intercooler basket that needs to be removed?

Thanks again

Dan

Edited February 5, 2016 by dank1945

[tolsen]

Glow plug cover???

[CANMAN]

Dan, are you trying to test your glow plugs with a multimeter?

There is no cover over them, they are located forward of the wide black cover over the fuel lines.

Need a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the connector off, like a spark plug connector.

Nothing in the intercooler needs to be removed unless you are changing the starter, the 2 bolts securing the starter are in the intercooler shroud.

Canman

[dank1945]

Hi Canman,

I was going to check out for that protrusion that can damage the intercooler, from what I have read somewhere in the forum, and don't know what to look for.

Glowplugs: yes, I want to check the glowplugs with a multimeter. Are they in the same units as the injectors?

Fuel filter: the filter in the car is the water separating type. I wonder: if the water being collected in it freezes in winter, what happens? I bet nobody bothers emptying it periodically, and I don't even know if that can be done without first emptying the fuel tank? I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to replace it with the other type available online that looks like a regular online filter.

Cheers,

Dan

[smart142]

There is a spot for a regular in line fuel filter. It's on the passenger side and goes through a holder. You can find it by tracing the fuel lines.

I posted info about it 6 years ago. I also sourced out the filter.

Send me a pm and I can give you more info.

[CANMAN]

Dan,

What you are referring to is the intercooler shroud chaffing against the intercooler radiator.

To check it you have to remove the intercooler.

Lowering the engine makes removing the intercooler much easier.

You can also remove the EGR valve and clean it (highly recommended).

Removing the rear bumper makes the job a lot easier, you will need an impact gun to get the torx bolts off, they rust badly due to dissimilar metal corrosion.

Like I said in my previous post, the glowplugs are located forward of the wide black cover over the fuel lines (in front of the fuel lines)

You need a flashlight and needle nose pliers.

The fuel filter has a warning light in that little pod between the rpm gauge and clock, if the lights not on you don't have any water.

If you want to drain it, there is a black fitting on the top, the cylindrical knob is a valve, attach a hose to the centre of it and turn counter clock wise to open. Then turn the key to pos. 1 and the low pressure fuel pump will run for 12 seconds, cycle as required.

Having said all that it's not required to drain them, I have replaced fuel filters that were original, installed on the assembly line after 120,000 km ( 4 times past the recommended interval ) and the car still ran fine.

Don't wait that long as one of the jobs of the fuel filter is to protect the injectors by screening out microscopic debris which can erode internal components of the injectors and high pressure fuel pump.

Canman

Edited February 6, 2016 by CANMAN

[dank1945]

Hi Canman,

Thanks for the reply. This 2006 has 208,600 kms, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's never been replaced. The condition of the bracket was very similar to yours in the pics of the fuel filter replacement wiki. I've cleaned up the corrosion and repainted it. I'm waiting for the replacement filters to arrive. Thanks for the explanation on how the sensor works and displays the presence of water in the filter.

I will remove the IC as I will be dropping the engine to inspect/check the starter connections and functioning.

I'm making a last ditch effort to have the four bolts sourced locally through a bolt supply outfit, before going to mB for the $88 +tx pins. I will know by Monday if I'm successful or not.

Glow plugs: as I interpret your description "front" would be towards the front of the car, correct? I will have another look tomorrow.

I already cleaned up the EGR valve, it wasn't too bad. I have also installed a blanking plate and the cheater electronic device on the connector to the EGR. I know, I didn't need to clean it if I was going to blank it out anyways, but it was an afterthought, when I found them on eBay.

Question: I saw the hydraulic ramps you have to raise all 4 wheels off the ground; where did you get those? I'm thinking of making them up myself if it's economically beneficial. I do have the time and tools to do it, and a good friend who is a great welder.

FOBS: I only got one key with the car, should I buy another one now, before the battery dies? If the battery dies, do they need reprogramming, or it's just a matter of changing the battery and you are good to go?

Thanks, and sorry for all the questions I'm shooting at you. I'm really excited about this car, I've been waiting a long time to buy a CDI. It's more of a hobby, as I already have 3 other vehicles plus the motorcycles to play with.

Edited February 6, 2016 by dank1945

[tolsen]

Most work on engine does not require the special Smart lowering bolts.

Fit the longer rear subframe bolts in forward holes when lowering and use wooden sticks to support subframe at rear.

Further details here, post 100: http://clubsmartcar.com/index.php?showtopic=20398&p=255102

Edited February 6, 2016 by tolsen

[MikeT]

Rube Goldberg would be proud!

[CANMAN]

Dan, I got the ramps at Princess auto, they are discontinued, probably because of safety concerns, think giant scissors with 1200 lbs of car on top.

Having said that they are great for getting all 4 wheels off the ground.

If you make a set be sure to include an over center type safety mechanism to lock the hydraulic cylinder from retracting.

If you want I can send you some pictures.

Never put your hand inside to flip the safety latch, the ramps came with a metal rod to flip the latch.

Canman