Hi all,
Just wanted to post my intake manifold recall experience for those out there considering it. I had heard about the recall here on the forum last year, but when I called the local FL dealer, my VIN was not covered at the time. Apparently the recall was expanded because I received a letter in Oct and finally decided to take the plunge a couple of weeks ago.
I called McCoy FL here in Portland to schedule, thinking it would be a few weeks out, but they had availability to do the work sooner than I expected. They needed the van for one day, and asked that I drop off the night before so they could get going on it first thing the next morning. They recommended replacing a rear coolant hose, which they said was difficult to remove without damaging it. This part is not covered under the recall, so I paid about $20 or so (no addt'l labor). Since some of the coolant was coming out, I had them go ahead and replace the coolant with new. Again no addt'l labor was charged. They did ask if the van was running fine, which it was, and mentioned that MB required that everything otherwise be OK to perform the recall. They also offered to replace any missing freightliner badges (which are prone to falling off) I believe free of charge. My front was fine, and the rear badge (base and badge) was long gone and I said don't worry about it.
I dropped off in the evening before close, and was called mid afternoon the following day to pick up. Total out the door cost (hose and new coolant): $50. My moderate RSN was mentioned after the tech test drove, which I was well aware of already (haven't gotten around to getting a DARF). It actually seemed a tad worse for a few days?? but maybe this was more related to recent colder weather. Seems better now anyway. This was a couple of weeks back, and since then all has been fine. The engine is maybe running a little smoother? I'm guessing after 10 years there was probably some gunk in the old manifold. This week I had some other routine service done at Upscale, and took the opportunity to have them check it too, and they said everything looked fine.
Anyway, that was my experience. I waited a bit after receiving my notice partially due to being busy, and partially to not be the guinea pig. McCoy's Sprinter Center has been around (I think) since Sprinters started being sold in the states, so I'm probably lucky to have them close by, and not to be dealing with Dodge or newer MB techs who may not be as familiar with early T1Ns. Just my $.02