black smoke= ring blow by?

[Ryan S]

i have a 03 sprinter 2500, 220k miles and i took it in today to a dealership for the recall on the turbo, i asked about how to fix it from puffing black smoke so badly, the main tech says it's ring blow by and it's normal and i should buy a new one lol, then i asked about the glow plug indicator staying on, he told me i need a 5 thousand dollar head put on the motor, it really sounded like he was just trying to push me onto buying a brand new van or something?! i've heard something about the egr valve going bad on these vans, why the hell wouldn't he tell me to start there before saying i need to consider buying a new van?!

[talkinghorse43]

Black smoke is too much fuel or not enough oxygen in the charge (too much EGR). Low compression, which could result from worn rings, would result in white smoke because the charge in the cylinder would not be hot enough (compression heats the charge) to ignite the fuel.

[Douglas Hicks]

Originally Posted by talkinghorse43

Black smoke is too much fuel or not enough oxygen in the charge (too much EGR). Low compression, which could result from worn rings, would result in white smoke because the charge in the cylinder would not be hot enough (compression heats the charge) to ignite the fuel.

Does Talking Horse's reply give you confidence about using that dealership for repairs to your van?

[Ryan S]

talking horse has a valid point, only reason i took it there was because the recall work was done for free, yet they call and tell me they couldn't get the tranny cooler lines off, so i gotta pay 300$ for two new high pressure oil lines, what a joke

[talkinghorse43]

Although you wrote turbo recall, I assume you mean intake manifold recall? If the latter's what you mean, then I don't think removing the tranny cooler lines is part of that procedure. If not part of the procedure (recommended by MB) and they removed the AC condenser, intercooler, and radiator for better access, then seems to me that work should be on their own nickle. There is a copy of the official intake manifold recall procedure on this site if you need it to show them.

[Colorado_Al]

Oh man. This manifold recall is really turning into a nightmare for a lot of folks. I think I'm going to skip it on my 03 which is running well.

[WAYNERODD]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

i asked about how to fix it from puffing black smoke so badl

Ryan, You need to get that black smoke issue fixed.

If the problem turns out to be a over-fuel condition & you keep driving it you can cause major damage to your engine.

If the idle is rough you may have a injector issue.

P.S. Find another dealer to service your Sprinter!

Hope this helps, Wayne

[Ryan S]

correct, it's for the manifold, they told me a new egr valve costs 900$, is there a different way to avoid this cost??

[WAYNERODD]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

correct, it's for the manifold, they told me a new egr valve costs 900$, is there a different way to avoid this cost??

Clean it for free.

Buy this one before it's gone.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03...Q5fAccessories

[Colorado_Al]

Originally Posted by WAYNERODD

Clean it for free.

Buy this one before it's gone.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03...Q5fAccessories

That guy on ebay sells those for $380-$440 all the time. Once one sells, he lists another. He's sold 17 in the past year.

I keep thinking I might pick one up from him and keep my old one as a spare.

I would try cleaning yours first anyhow.