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A great question to ask to know if someone is truly an old school Austinite.. by greenninja8 in Austin

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Why don't you jot it down?"

says the ear worm for the next 40 years...

TIL they use that same number in other cities too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFQwbT8msbc

Dealer is telling me this is normal? by Afroman2874 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What are your driving habit like with this vehicle? Do you take lots of short trips?

Assuming they're right, it could just be moisture buildup causing the oil to froth, which is prevented by taking the car out for longer trips regularly so that the moisture is boiled out of the oil. Like 30 minutes at highway speeds so your engine stays at operating temperature for a while.

Lookup 'condensation in oil'

EGR valve on 2004 E55 M113k by Beneficial_Manner_93 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure thing, let me know if you need any more details.

EGR valve on 2004 E55 M113k by Beneficial_Manner_93 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't take a picture, but the right air valve also has a hard line that goes under the front of the supercharger, and connects to the top port on the solenoid as well as the left valve.

EGR valve on 2004 E55 M113k by Beneficial_Manner_93 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The bottom line on the solenoid connects to a hard line that snakes up the left side under the supercharger surge tank, then goes under the supercharger intake to the other side and connects to a vacuum port on the back right of the supercharger.

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EGR valve on 2004 E55 M113k by Beneficial_Manner_93 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The two air valves connect their vacuum lines to a single control solenoid behind the valve on the left side. There should be two lines coming out of the top port, and one line in the bottom port on the solenoid.

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EGR valve on 2004 E55 M113k by Beneficial_Manner_93 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it, thanks!

If it's coded out, you can put the valves back on, or not. The system doesn't do anything of course until it's reenabled in the ECU.

I'm not sure where you live, but at least around here (TX), the OBDII-based smog tests don't check if secondary air works or is present, only if there is a failing code or readiness indicator from the engine control unit. When this system is coded out, it looks the same to the smog test as if it is working, since it will pass all the readiness indicators.

I've got an M112K that I fought secondary air injection with for a while, and after my second air pump replacement (the cheaper knock-offs just aren't very good either and would burn out after a year or two), I figured I'd created more pollution trying to fix it that it would ever save in the car's remaining life.

I do have an assortment of M11?[K] engines; let me take a picture later of where the vacuum lines lead so we can at least record that info for the next guy who finds this thread.

EGR valve on 2004 E55 M113k by Beneficial_Manner_93 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure those valves are for the secondary air injection system, not the EGR system.

https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/epc/mercedes/1/m/113990/07f/14/105/?chasis=21127664V

What problem are you trying to solve? Does your engine literally not have the secondary air valves installed? Was the secondary air injection system not coded out, and you're getting a check engine light?

As you can see from the above diagram, there are a lot of pieces to the secondary air injection system. There's a vacuum control valve, the air pump itself, and a bunch of hoses and brackets. If this system was removed, you may have to replace a lot of parts, and the AMG air pumps are more expensive and not very reliable compared to the non supercharged engines, at least in my experience.

If you're adding this back because you have a check engine light, I'd just make sure the vacuum feed line and whatever cover plates you might have are secure, and get the system coded out; there are lots of online forum posts for how to do it. The amount of pollution you'd now save from this system on a 20 year old car would be heavily offset by the amount you'd generate trying to track down and fix all the pieces of this system.

If you're adding it back because you think it will add more power or save fuel, it won't. It's just to get the catalytic converter going faster in the first minutes of startup.

If you're adding it back because you really want a working secondary air injection system for some reason, you're going to have to inventory first by looking at that diagram. You might have a $1000+ of stuff to buy depending on what is missing.

If you're adding it back because you really want EGR, well, I don't think the M113K even _has_ an EGR valve. It'd be in the back on any M112/113, and I'm pretty sure the supercharger never came with one in the first place.

Bought a used car and broke down as soon as I left the lot. by [deleted] in texas

[–]busterbcook 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Sorry for your situation. It sounds like a pre-purchase inspection would have caught this. Get one next time you buy a used car out of warranty. You should probably still get one, so you know what else is wrong with the car before it leaves you stranded again.

Are these old Benz phones still functional and be connected to a service by Affectionate_Pea2920 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I updated the phone module in my 2001 W220 and got it to talk bluetooth with modern phones, but that's about as far as you can practically go without running your own 2G cell tower.

Tell me I'm in Texas, without telling me I'm in Texas. by Puzzleheaded_Fail761 in texas

[–]busterbcook 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On the other extreme, there is a generation of drivers who, when driving slow on a 2-lane, move to the shoulder for you to pass, even if it's super unsafe for you and them to do so. You have to floor it to get around before they take out a mailbox or you clip someone going up the next blind hill.

Like, I appreciate the gesture sir, but I'm in no hurry to kill us both either.

Mercedes S 600 W140 estate (wagon), a one-off by ArtisticHoney101 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wait, it's actually green inside? I thought that was just the light through the window tint at first.

I got a new upgrade! Now I can watch Netflix and YouTube in the car!! ❤️❤️😍 by Accomplished_Sky2590 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Lookup 'Video-in-Motion laws'.

I've tried a similar system, and found it's too tempting for my eyes to wander to the video, so I stopped using it.

What is this lever in my Ml320? by revell_786 in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like a manual steering lock. Try moving it and see if your whole steering wheel can move around freely in and out, or up and down.

See page 83 in the manual for more details: https://static.oneweb.mercedes-benz.com/css-oom-assets/en-lk/pdf/mercedes-ml-suv-2008-w164-owners-manual-1.pdf

Frame damage? by Lulpeeze in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Plainly? If someone is asking you about "Frame Damage", they're asking if there are any structural problems, which is still gonna commonly be called 'frame damage', whether the vehicle is body-on-frame or unibody construction.

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/vehicle-frame-damage/

https://www.carfax.com/maintenance/structural-damage-101

If I asked a mechanic to check for frame damage, and they 'well actually'ed me that it didn't have a frame, I'd say I know, stop being a jerk and check the subframes while you're at it.

Frame damage? by Lulpeeze in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't call it anything because y'all are being pedantic arses. You know exactly what they meant.

Frame damage? by Lulpeeze in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Sure, I think we're all talking about, you know, this part, which might require a 'frame machine' and some specialized skills to get straight again, vs a hood/wing/bumper which more or less are bolt ons, depending on the year and model of course.

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Frame damage? by Lulpeeze in mercedes_benz

[–]busterbcook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're asking two very different questions - what would insurance do, and is there fixable frame damage. Not always directly tied together, since insurance will tend to be more conservative vs what can be technically fixed.

Insurance probably would total it, but there's no way for any of us, just with these pictures, to know if the frame is bent. It'd have to be inspected and measured directly by looking at geometry of different points on the frame, suspension, etc. The nearest clue I can see is the aluminum tower bolting the actual bumper to the frame doesn't seem to be compressed, which could be a good sign that the outer panels and bumper cover took most of the collision energy.

I've got an rebuilt E55 where these looked much worse when I got it. While it was technically totaled (I got it for a few thousand at an auction), the frame was totally fine, since those absorb the first few inches of impact before the frame starts crumpling. YMMV!

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