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This is for the removal of the Fuel sending Unit, Drivers side, on a 2006 CLS55 AMG It will probably be the same for other cars in the CLS, and E Class, or more.
If you fill your tank and get the fuel smell and it leaks through the drivers side rear wheel well, and you like DIY, this is for you.
It took me about 2 hours of sweating and swearing to complete this task, however, it may have taken half that time if I knew a few things ahead of time. Hopefully, this little DIY will address those few things and more for you. Read it all through first, because some steps are not perfectly in order. =0)
Items needed/recommended:
1. Rubber gloves/surgical gloves, keeps your hands free from the constant contact with fuel
2. Hose clamps 3/4-7/8, small. Got at Kmart for about 2 bucks, you will need 3, they come in a pack of four, in my case.
3. 8mm socket to remove the little bolts/screws from the plates covering the units
4. 211-470-51-94 Mercedes Benz SENDER UNIT ordered from http://www.factorymoparparts.com/211-470-51-94.html cheapest price I could find about $445 delivered.
5. Much of the info for my task was attained here: http://www.installuniversity.com/mb/w203/w203/fp.html
Which gives an excellent DIY, however, much is NOT the same as this car but similar. An excellent idea to read ahead of time for the pictures are similar to this car.
First be in a well-ventilated area, as you will be inhaling gas fumes for a while.
Remove your rear seats. There is a tab on the outer edge of the seat cushion on each side, within a hole that you push, then wiggle the edge of the seat up and the outer edge will pop up, releasing the other front side, then out it pops.
Peel back the insulation on both sides and you will see a plate with several little 8mm bolts. Remove them and you will see on the driver’s side sender, and on the passenger side the top of the pump. Both have a doughnut shaped black ring which if you want to avoid some pain, get the tool to remove it. If you want, you can use a blunt object and hammer to tap the tabs as I did to loosen it till you can turn it on your own. (The hard part is re installing later on the passenger side, as it is “spring loaded” and will pop up as you attempt to turn the big “Doughnut” back on) Remove the electrical connections first so you don’t damage them while removing the ring. See below…
The sender has 2 electrical connections and the fuel line. The DIY I linked above talks about removing the bottom electrical connector and running the car till it stops. Well, I tried and it ran for about 5 min. and never stopped so I removed both connectors and ran it for another 5 min. and it never stopped. Just expect when you remove that line there will be fuel that sprays out, I put a large old towel around it and lots of paper towels and let it spray away into the large towel. It worked fine.
On the Passenger side there is only one electrical connector, remove it, and then remove the black ring.
Now you will see the pump which is 2 sections attached as in the photo. I didn’t bother replacing this as it was still in working order.
Remove the electrical connection on the forward drivers’ side of the pump, there are 2, and you only need to disconnect the one, because it’s from the sender that you will be replacing. I kept the connectors on the spring cap connected so I wouldn’t become “Confused”. Then remove the “Quick disconnects”, they are black and look like ones in this picture:
Here is what took me so long, figuring out how they “Disconnect”, you push in at the outer bottom of the connectors, then wiggle it free, it should then pop off. Remove both. Now, before you go and pull everything through the gas tank, tie something, I used an old boot lace, to the connector, so you can rout the new lines back through the gas tank.
Now, remove that gas line from the sending unit and of course, it will spray gas, but be ready with your towel, don’t worry, it will stop spraying eventually. Now you can remove the black doughnut and pull out the sender. I think I was able to remove the doughnut first so that if it sprays too much, I could pull out the sender and push the fuel line into the tank, which I did, but it didn't spew too much fuel after all.
Here are the lines from mine, after I cut/pulled the connector off, you will need the original 2 connectors. I used a razor and carefully cut the peeled them off the old lines. The Sender you get, like mine will have different connector, just pull them off, cut the clamps first of course, then twist and pull. Unless you are lucky and you actually get the same connectors on your unit, then you can skip this step. Then you can re-clamp the old connectors. (hence the new hose clamps).
Now, you can see 4 hoses and one electrical line, the 2 hoses are for the connectors, the big one slides into the top of the pump housing, make sure to note that location before you pull the sender out with the lines! the thin hose I just gathered lays in the bottom of the tank, because that’s where mine is and it’s working fine…that’s right, I didn't note where that little one was before I pulled it out, so, it’s on the bottom of the tank, if anyone knows of a correct location let me know, but anyway, it’s still working wonderfully.
OK, now, tie what you used, (in my case a bootlace) to pull the lines through to your new lines. As far as what connector goes on what, I believe it wouldn't matter, so I just used the longer line to the furthest connection. Pull the lines through and connect to the pump. Re install the spring loaded “Cap” on the top of the pump being gentle with the gasket and screw the doughnut back on.
This is where, if you haven’t swore a lot in the past, it may just start up again….Unless you have the special tool and it makes it all easy, I wouldn't know.
NOTE: As far as the gaskets, mine were in perfect shape and I just reused them on both sides.
Your new sending unit should be gently re fitted within the gasket, Install the black doughnut. Then re attach your connections and fuel line, use the new hose clamp, Now, drive to the nearest gas station and full it up to test for leaks. Don’t screw the covers on till after you check for leaks. You will then most likely need to clear a couple codes, if no leaks, re install the rest and go get a beer, you’re done.
09-30-2014, 02:54 AM
DIY CLS55 AMG Fuel sending unit replacement
