d2Benz

I have a 96 E320. My C.E.L is on and my mechanic said the the EGR pipe from the intake manifold to the EGR valve is clogged.
Does anyone know the best way to unclogged this pipe.
thanks

ohlord

the egr.Purchase a tool called snake bit or get a piece of old speedometer cable and lock it in a drill and spin it down the tube.A shot of crc mass air sensor cleaner sprayed down after you twist and clean it ,will finish the job.

Did you check the condition of the vac lines to be sure they were not triggering the code?

d2Benz

Thanks Ohlord, I will share with my mechanic... I will post response as soon as I have it...

d2Benz

I've made efforts to clean the passage, but no luck yet...
Does anyone know the length of the EGR pipe???

I'm about to purchase the "Snake-Bit EGR cleaner.. I want to make sure the 12 or 21" bit will be long enough to dislogged the pipe...

ohlord

and you can call and I will give you a newer procedure that I developed to clear the egr flow malfunction.
Easy,quick and works.No more flow code.

d2Benz

PM sent

d2Benz

I've tried to clean the carbon with drill + speedometer cable. No LucK.

HeLp!!!

vinceC

In some cases the pipe will have to be removed to clean it. The plugging occurs at the manifold end. Pulling the pipe out is a pain but with a patient approach it can be done.

d2Benz

When you said "patient approach" ... How many hours of dismantling are we talking about???
Any DIY on this that you can share?

I understand that this issue is mostly common OR only on 96's....

HELP!!!

d2Benz

I've been spraying CRC mass airflow cleaner in the egr pipe, and I had some carb. cleaning fluid in there too.... I thot maybe this can dissolve the carbon deposit AND make it easier 4 the next speedometer cable + drill attempt.

Now, incase I couldn't dislodge the carbon deposit. Have I created a "Pipe Bomb" by having the fluids inside the pipe???

Am I endangering myself by attempting to drive the car without draining the fluids?? If so, how can I drain OR suck the fluids...

This is frustrating. Car drives well, other than decrease in Miles per gallon usage in gas. PLUS, I live in an emmission inspection state..and I've failed...got my next date schedule for Octorber.

Any help will be appreciated.

Cheers!

vinceC

No amount of spraying or gook will fix it. It happens to all M104 engines regardless of displacement or year.

When I say patient approach I mean an hour or so for myself; for others it may be three hours. I don't know your skill level or how well equipped you are. It isn't complicated. Just look it over carefully and go for it. Or pay a shop to pull and clean or replace it.

ohlord

you can since the egr tube is so much longer than the solution I gave you for the M112 and m113's move the hole closer to the manifold so the cable can dislodge the carbon block.

And don't say no amount of spray will fix it. In 90% of the times we do the drill and cable and spray process it works. Beats taking everything apart and usually cures the problem in ten minutes or less. Even faster on a m112 or m113.

vinceC

The OP has stated that he was not able to clear the clog with the cable/spray method, which logically puts him in the 10% category that needs to take some other action, right?

ohlord

why I suggested moving the cable hole closer the the manifold.So he can dislodge the blockage.
If not then go to plan will be the time involved solution you pointed out.

d2Benz

for your input guys. OhLord, I've got to call you, since I don't understand what you meant by move the cable closer to the manifold.

vinceC

I think Ohlord means to fabricate a tool like the one in the photo. You have to pull the crossover pipe coming from the air filter, prop open the intake butterfly, insert the tool and turn the cable with a drill. The end of the EGR pipe will be visible looking down into the intake.

d2Benz

thanks for the clarification...

d2Benz

OhLord & VinceC,
THANKS 4 your input and suggestions.. My mechanic went the longer route of removing the pipe and cleaned it out yesterday. Now I'm back on the road again with NO C.E.L.
OhLord I appreciate your takin the time to talk to me about this...U are da best!!! Cheers!

ohlord

I wish the old M104 did not have that long pipe, the m112 and M113 have the short alum pipe and my tip I talked you through works almost 100%. The M104 has that long pipe and if badly plugged requires what we talked about with your mechanic.He sounds like one great tech to fall back on when something is beyond your tool or diy comfort level.

fredvillanueva

After Trying and trying the roto-rooter with speedo cable from the EGR Valve end of the pipe, I decided that this method wasn't working. So I found the tab that is held in place with a hex bolt on the oil filter housing. The metal tab holds the EGR pipe in place. When that was loose, I was able to remove the bolts at the butterfly end, and look into the pipe from underneath my car. SURE ENOUGH the egr pipe was clogged with 6 inches worth of soot. I began digging into it with a tiny screwdriver, then once I dug a good 2 inches or so, cut a short piece of speedo cable and attached it to my Dremel tool. That got into about 4 or 5 inches of the blockage. Then I went back to the Valve end of the pipe, shot carb cleaner into it again till it was full. Then I took the longer speedo cable and slowly drilled. After repeating this procedure a few more times, the carb cleaner worked it's way through, and I pushed in the speedo cable just to make sure she was clear.

I would say that the job would have taken me 90% less time if someone had mentioned removing the screw tab on the oil filter housing, because then, the pipe would have been loose, and I could have seen where the blockage was right away. Just finished this job and want to give back to this awesome website. Next up, accumulators.

handyman john

Just for laughs and sobs.....

I think I had this issue (1998 e320, not sure what engine I have) and my Indy MB mechanic charged me $500!

Details:

part number: 112-140-04-60, $176.
Labor $320 !

Also just looking at the invoice, he has also quoted replacement control arm bushings on this car for $735. Anyone ever do that job?

citruspilot

As a future preventative measure for this problem add a can of Seafoam to your crankcase every time you change your oil. It helps to keep the EGR system clog free and will not hurt the engine. Plus it helps prevent engine sludge and varnish from building up in the crankcase.

I had a 97 E420 that had a CEL that kept coming on. I'd clear the code but it would come back after a time. (I could not pass the NC state inspection either.) So I took the car to the MB dealer and they told me that my EGR system was clogged, hence the light. Their solution was to take the engine apart, clean the ports in the heads, and quoted me $3,000 to repair it! After I picked myself up off the service drive the MB service writer pulled me aside and told me that I should try the Seafoam. I even talked with one of their master techs and he suggested this too. (I had just bought the car and was highly pissed off about this unforseen problem.) So I added a can of Seafoam to the crankcase and drove the poop out of it for about 60 minutes. The CEL soon after cleared itself once the computer did its "driveability check", passed the test, and never came back on. (I even put a can in the gas tank which was showing about 1/4 tank at the time. That helped clean the fuel system too.)

Now my situation probably was not as bad as yours but adding Seafoam will help prevent it from happening again. I am sold on Seafoam. Afterall it saved me $3,000! Some in here may argue that I'm crazy. But it worked for me with not one side affect. At the time the 420 engine had 143,000 miles on it. I ended up driving that car to 175,000 miles and never had that problem again.

Jeff

albertdchan

I realize this is an old thread but hope it may be helpful to future users:
Have a 96 m104 w210 with 220k; EGR tube was clogged at intake side. It was far too thick to work with a brake cable from the intake mani end-- it only got pushed up further into a tube. Didn't have a speedo cable. I was able to shoot solvent into the upstream end, by the EGR valve. Let it sit for a while. The inflator had a plastic nozzle for filling beach ***** and things, which fit tightly into the upstream end of the EGR pipe. After a minute or so varying around 40-60 psi no pop so I unhooked the filler nozzle. Vaporized carb cleaner shot back out out so be careful. I shot more into it, let it sit a bit, and repeated. After another minute or 2 at 40-60 psi, I heard a gratifying pop and the tube was fully clear. I briefly entertained future unclogging from the EGR valve end without unbolting the manifold end, but I'm afraid of particulate matter shooting deep into the manifold so I think it's worth the extra time getting under the car and unbolting the tube from throttle body. From the prevention standpoint, I may try the driling out with a brake cable from the throttle body end guided by bent 3/8" copper tubing.

YMMV and good luck

445

How did you clean the EGR .. can you please PM me the procedure please. Thanks in advance

Ghostsamurai25

Ohlord please chime in with the update egr cleaning technique you mentioned a while back. It would be very useful to a few of us that need to clean ours now. Thanks and much aprreciated.