Information posted on an RV site from a fleet operator of Sprinters that might be of interest.
Mike
Well I'm not going to "bad mouth" the Sprinter, but there are things that go wrong with them just like any vehicle, Mercedes pedigree aside.
Pay close attention to oil consumption, if you find the engine is using oil in the range of say 2 litres (quarts) per 10000 km (6000 miles) there may more than operator error when checking the oil. Mercedes has equipped these engines with 2 different types of oil dip sticks, red and yellow. If yours is red check it at operating temp after sitting for a few minutes. If it is yellow check it cold. If you already know this and the engine still uses oil there is a chance that it is being passed through the seal in the turbo, both into the intake and exhaust side. In the intake side it will foul the boosted air temp sensors, both new and old versions as well as carbon up the intake and EGR passages. In the exhaust side it can lead to fouling of the variable actuator veins in the turbine housing of the turbo. This can lead to sticking of the variable geometry veins and lower or higher than expected boost and trigger codes, or cause enough strain on the actuator servo motor that it will blow the power input fuse for the ECM.
So far we have changed the turbos on the first two vans we bought, both for sticking guide ring rollers for the variable vein mechanism in the turbo (plus passing a hideous amount of oil).
Change your transmission fluid REGULARLY, the manual says once at 140,000 km. Do it sooner say every 100,000 km or 60,000 miles for the rest of its life. The fluid is expensive but use the fluid they call for. If your van does not have an auxiliary trans cooler DO NOT add one, none are approved and if your transmission fails you are SOL as far as warranty goes. Some do have factory ones, but they (Mercedes) say it cannot be added.
The "pusher fan" in front of the A/C condenser, there may be a good chance it is wearing a hole in the condenser at the lower left (driver side) corner. Pop out the grill to check it and if it is rubbing remove the nuts from arm at the bottom and add a washer between the fan arm and bracket.
There are other problems I deal with on a regular basis but may not apply to private owners. Things getting broken such as HVAC temp controllers, door latches and hinges, interior lights, mirror switches and so on. I am a mechanic for a fleet operator and we have six Sprinters, two 2005, and four 2006. The oldest ones have 250,000 km on them now and I have become very familiar with them
in the last year and a half. If you have a specific concern that you do not want to ask here, pm me. I'm not the quickest at responding, but I will get back to you.
Mike
Well I'm not going to "bad mouth" the Sprinter, but there are things that go wrong with them just like any vehicle, Mercedes pedigree aside.
Pay close attention to oil consumption, if you find the engine is using oil in the range of say 2 litres (quarts) per 10000 km (6000 miles) there may more than operator error when checking the oil. Mercedes has equipped these engines with 2 different types of oil dip sticks, red and yellow. If yours is red check it at operating temp after sitting for a few minutes. If it is yellow check it cold. If you already know this and the engine still uses oil there is a chance that it is being passed through the seal in the turbo, both into the intake and exhaust side. In the intake side it will foul the boosted air temp sensors, both new and old versions as well as carbon up the intake and EGR passages. In the exhaust side it can lead to fouling of the variable actuator veins in the turbine housing of the turbo. This can lead to sticking of the variable geometry veins and lower or higher than expected boost and trigger codes, or cause enough strain on the actuator servo motor that it will blow the power input fuse for the ECM.
So far we have changed the turbos on the first two vans we bought, both for sticking guide ring rollers for the variable vein mechanism in the turbo (plus passing a hideous amount of oil).
Change your transmission fluid REGULARLY, the manual says once at 140,000 km. Do it sooner say every 100,000 km or 60,000 miles for the rest of its life. The fluid is expensive but use the fluid they call for. If your van does not have an auxiliary trans cooler DO NOT add one, none are approved and if your transmission fails you are SOL as far as warranty goes. Some do have factory ones, but they (Mercedes) say it cannot be added.
The "pusher fan" in front of the A/C condenser, there may be a good chance it is wearing a hole in the condenser at the lower left (driver side) corner. Pop out the grill to check it and if it is rubbing remove the nuts from arm at the bottom and add a washer between the fan arm and bracket.
There are other problems I deal with on a regular basis but may not apply to private owners. Things getting broken such as HVAC temp controllers, door latches and hinges, interior lights, mirror switches and so on. I am a mechanic for a fleet operator and we have six Sprinters, two 2005, and four 2006. The oldest ones have 250,000 km on them now and I have become very familiar with them
in the last year and a half. If you have a specific concern that you do not want to ask here, pm me. I'm not the quickest at responding, but I will get back to you.