89 260E idle surge

May 8, 2004 | 11:00 PM

Stunnd

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From: Pennsylvania

1989 260E

89 260E idle surge

I bought a 1989 260E recently that has 108,000 miles on it. I thought it was a good deal, but it's turning into a money pit. It currently has a problem where the idle just surges randomly on its own. It is an intermittent problem and the 3 mechanics I've used haven't found the problem yet. Some new parts include a throttle body, fuel pump, fuel lines, fuel distributor, fuel filter, starter, and overload relay. The MB dealership also claims it needs a valve job. Has anyone ever experienced this surging idle before? This is my first Benz and I'm quite discouraged.

May 9, 2004 | 02:31 AM

Edgar

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could possibly be due to a fault in the oxygen/ lambda sensor that's causing the surge when idle. Had the same problem, which was rectified when the sensor was replaced!

May 9, 2004 | 07:41 AM

Stunnd

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From: Pennsylvania

1989 260E

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try.

May 10, 2004 | 07:21 AM

blackbenzz

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haters crazy

I had the same problem with my 260E and replaced the same parts you did and it ended up being O2 sensor.

May 24, 2004 | 08:30 PM

Stunnd

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From: Pennsylvania

1989 260E

Were you simultaneously having an issue with the idle surging sometimes and then stalling at other times? I'm hoping the oxygen sensor fixes both of these issues that I'm having. I expect to have it replaced this week.

May 25, 2004 | 09:48 AM

Stunnd

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From: Pennsylvania

1989 260E

One mechanic is telling me that unless the Check Engine light is on, then it can't be the o2 sensor. It's about a US$300 job to install the sensor, so I'm just going to have it replaced and see what happens. Was your Check Engine light on while you were having the same problem?

May 25, 2004 | 01:02 PM

blackbenzz

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My check engine light was not on (bulb may be bad, i dunno?) and I had a slight stalling problem but the car would never shut off, it would just studder. Now my little bro hit a speed bump going too fast and broke the exhaust in half

Now I gotta fix that