nlpamg

haha, thanks! well, I'm not there yet! working on it though...

yeah, people are just too quick to say "I'll contact my attorney" or "you'll be hearing from my lawyer" here in the U.S. but usually, nothing gets resolved most of the times and the only winners are the attorneys.

Glyn M Ruck

Phew! - that's great news - at last!!!. Phil - how can a piece of filler pipe cost a $1000!!! What exactly do they want to replace?

Glyn M Ruck

Sorry - we went over the page & I did not see your request for a diagram - posted it anyway to ask the question.

This is the best I have - I'm sure John can do better.

LILBENZ230

Okay I have a file with all the receipts and work orders regarding my car. Here is what the one about the filler neck says, even though it doesn't list anything but 1 part number for a "fitting" :

Short Test - Perform
203-470-19-20 Fitting
Test Program
Fuel Tank Filler Neck, Replace

Necessary to verify customer complaint, necessary to perform SDS quick test. Found code 2044-001 purge system. Very slight leak in system(P0456). Necessary to perform electrical program test. Found all electrical components are working like they should. Necessary to perform smoke test for evaporative system. Found fuel filler neck leaking. necessary to R&R wheel to gain access. necessary to R&R left frear fender liner to gain access. Necessary to clear fault code after repair and perform road test. check engine light did not come back on.

mig888

Problem solved. Happy motoring, Phil .

nlpamg

thanks so much mang! I REALLY appreciate it. as you saw, this was a loooong thread

I gotta give Jose some maaaad props. he removed and replaced the throttle actuator/body in less than 15 minutes. MAAAAAD skillz.

the car idles significantly better/smoother. the real test will be tomorrow morning, but I think that solves the rough idle/crazy surge in the morning

nlpamg

thanks man! the "fitting" looks like it carries an MSRP of $330. I think I'll hold off for a bit

nlpamg

Here is the debriefing from the dealer's invoice:

With regards to the service B that was performed
I assume that the boot being torn isn't really a problem. what the hell is the flex disc?

with regards to the CEL:

so I take it that "max pressure loss within spec" means that the car is fine and the CEL is just an annoyance.

with regards to the rough idle:

nlpamg

I really have to give a HUGE HUGE thanks to you guys.

Jose, John, Glyn, Ed, MJ, LILBENZ230, Frank, everyone that has participated in this thread, I really thank you immensely.

This is the spirit of the forums. I love MBWorld, I've met some great people through MBWorld. I've gotten a lot of great help and advice from here as well... No matter what car I have, this will always be my home and favorite forum

Glyn M Ruck

The boot being torn will lead to ultimate failure as dirt gets in & grease gets out - no hurry here. The flex disc or flex plate is what the starting ring gear mounts to in the absence of a flywheel with auto cars. Effectively the TC is the flywheel. It will make a noise long before failure but I wonder if all the messing about at start up has not hastened it's demise.

LILBENZ230

The "fitting" can be had for $247 at getmercedesparts.com, fyi.. not that you want to spend that if the car is actually fine. I'd be worried about a cracking flex disc, though - Glyn what's the cost of replacing that going to look like?

nlpamg

yeah, that's where I got the MSRP from

what's the technical term for flex disc? where exactly is it located? I've been trying to find it on getmercedesparts.com, but I haven't been able to.

thanks!

Glyn M Ruck

Item 56 is the flex plate assembly.

Glyn M Ruck

Means gearbox out - after that it's plain sailing.

LILBENZ230

So at an Atlanta dealership that would be a repair that would cost about $46 million. I should be able to swing that if necessary.

Glyn M Ruck

Cost similar to a clutch job

LILBENZ230

I was just messing around about the prices, though Atlanta dealers are fairly steep. I don't hear much about flex disc issues on this forum so I suspect Phil's car will probably be fine.

Glyn M Ruck

Phil - Merc simply list it as a ring gear for the whole assembly

Part No 2710300012 001 RING GEAR

Regarding the filler neck - If the cap facing is not damaged then the filler neck should be repairable if you can locate the hole or crack - it could be welded (AFTER REMOVAL & PROPER DEGASSING - ALLOWING ALL FUEL TO EVAPOURATE) or repaired with a fuel resistant epoxy or similar. Don't just throw it away. Dealars never repair anything any more. They are just parts changers. It is not a critical failure part.

Glyn M Ruck

I Know Yes - we see the odd one fail. Very seldom - but if a crack has started then it will fail. I would like to know how the dealer diagnosed this unless they went into the bell housing with a boroscope??? They might be talking nonsense or using the wrong term for some other stupid plate. At least they would have had to have the starter motor out to see a crack.

johnand

+1. Not sure if our cars have one, but they may be referring to the Guibo. (Spelling?) BMW's have one. It is a rubber dampener that installs between the transmission output shaft and the driveshaft. It is sometimes referred to as a rear flex disc.

Phil, glad you finally got to the bottom of this. You sure handled it well considering how frustrating it must have been.

nlpamg

that's what I was thinking. they just did a visual inspection underneath the car, how would they even be able to look inside the transmission?

hopefully that's cheaper to replace than a real flex disc.

thanks John!

nlpamg

here's an update, the car started great this morning and continued to have good idling. looks like the new TB solved the problem.

Glyn M Ruck

Phil - John makes a very good point. Mercs have a "flexible joint" in their speak at both ends of the propshaft - One bolts on to the diff pinion shaft & the other on to the output shaft of the gearbox. See diagram. Maybe the dealer means the flexible joint onto the pinion shaft when they talk about the rear flex disc. You had better check exactly what they mean. I hope they mean the propshaft joints - They are dead easy to replace. I'm delighted that John chimed in here. I think we might well have a simple definition problem. I'm far more inclined to believe that they noticed a cracked "flex disc" on the propshaft. I'm sorry if I might have jumped to conclusions here. To me, by definition, the flex plate/disc is what I explain above. Climb under the car & take a look at both ends of the propshaft - see if you can see a crack anywhere on those flexible joints.

2104110415 001 FLEXIBLE JOINT PARTS KIT, (FRONT)
1704100115 001 FLEXIBLE JOINT PARTS KIT REAR

Glyn M Ruck

I'm really pleased for you - I wonder if one of us would have picked this up if we had been able to listen to the unit. I doubt it somehow. I wonder why we did not get a P2100 series code thrown up for the throttle actuator??

hieracity

congrats man!

is there anyway for me to tell bymyself if the butterfly flap "fluttering" unnecessarily?