Roger, how about suggesting one of your favorite Sprinter Techs takes a 'holiday' in Guyana; lovely scenary, pretty girls, stranded tourists ;-)
Thanks to everybody who has done their best to help.
We will now either be limping towards Suriname with our fingers crossed or else towing the damn thing there!
We hope for better luck with parts and diagnostic computers etc there. Though I seriously doubt I will find a more amenable, enthusiastic and talented mechanic than Dane (if this wasnt the first Sprinter he had ever SEEN when he towed off the gas station forecourt, I'm sure he've fixed it long ago)
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The MAGIC DOCTOR A?????
To all those who have suggested calling him:
I'd love to. But making an international call to a US specialist from here is not really a practical proposition. Even assuming it doesn't cost me a small ransom, I won't be standing by the vehicle with a cordless phone able to check engine parts and answer queries. I would shouting to be heard over the reggaton and 8 other conversations going on in a international call shop 2 miles away.
So, Does this magic man have an email?
Does he ever visit the forum?
If so, before it's too late, PAGING DOCTOR A; please help a stranded couple down here in Guyana.
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY:
As anyone who looks back through the last week or so of DaneNobby's posts will see we have tried, checked and cleaned all we reasonably could.
The error codes persist (0404) and point toward a problem with the EGR. We have, however, no other reason to suspect the EGR of malfucntioning.
Dane thinks it much more likely we have a rogue sensor telling the ECU there is a problem with the EGR when there in fact isn't.
We have tried Alex's EGR Bypass circuit on the ECU pins. Some pins were not where they were said to be. As far as I know no-one got back to us to help and clarify that. Hence we gave up and removed it. Then we tried Fred (fdhamlin)'s direct resistor in the EGR plug method. Thanks for trying to help, Fred, but no joy with that either.
It has been suggested it may be the catalytic convertor. But, taking to heart Vic's warnings about not going crazy tearing apart good parts of my engine trying to find a mystery fault, I'm NOT wild about going down that cut and look route.
Maybe, just maybe, before we reach Brazil but I doubt it.
Dane thinks the most likely cause is that the turbo actuator lever has gotten old/tired and now springs too far up out of it's designed range of motion. Then when it's supposed to be pulled back into place and let the turbo work; it cannot be. Thus, our current best solution (don't laugh) is to have put a small metal bracket over the top of the turbo actuator lever; not pinning it down totally just preventing it coming right up out of it's normal range of motion and locking the turbo into inactivity. Now we can drive very slowly to Suriname.
We've tested it driving around town.
It still occasionally goes into limp mode but much less often. When it does that turning the engine off and on sorts the problem for another 20 mins or so at least. I hope like hell we aren't damaging the engine by forcing it to keep running when it doesn't want to. Still, if no-one out there comes out with some brilliant advice then WHAT ELSE CAN I DO to get to Suriname?
Before it enters limp mode the engine will rev up to 3800 RPM going flat out accelerating from a standing start along a flat open road (we are HEAVY). The MAP goes over 30, the LOD goes up to 85% and/or 99% at times. IE> All appears to be functioning as it should.
So, everyone: LAST CHANCE TO CHIP IN & AID A FELLOW SPRINTER OWNER IN DISTRESS.
A day or so after the weekend, I limp mode it's recalictrant arse to Suriname and pray I don't kill it. I hope someone there can do/find/order what I couldnt here.
Can anyone suggest a better course of action/solution this weekend?
Dex (at then end of his rope in Guyana)
FWIW. vic