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Need WIS instructions for 2001 E320 4matic rear engine seal replacing
Hey everyone. I've got an Ebay WIS I bought a few years ago but now having difficulty getting it to load onto a pc for some reason. Does anyone have a copy of the WIS instructions for rear seal replacing? I'm looking for specifically the part of the instructions that direct to replace the back plate and to let the sealant cure for xx amount of hours.
I've basically hit every button here and haven't found any workflow or anything specific for a WIS of any sort. Did I understand your advice correctly? I've subscribed and set up a profile but no access to WIS so I've sent them a request through their contact page asking for the WIS diagram/procedure for the rear engine seal replacement and gave them my VIN#. Fingers crossed.
Last edited by CanuckMerc; 08-16-2023 at 03:08 PM.
you are one digit short for your correct VIN, but i did check a 210.282 and my overview suggest that this job is not for a driveway job. The job details covers about 20 pages with special tools, transmission removal procedures and parts other than the bearing that I am concerned with supplying the removal install instructions. you can remove the thank yous
Hey Plutoe, thank you! That's pretty cool of you to be concerned for someone else's safety and show it. I'm not doing the job Long story:
I bought the rear seal and intended to do it until I realized there's no way for me to get all four wheels off the ground and especially on a dirt driveway. I brought the car into an indy that advertised they're ability on European models.
However, only two months have passed and the car is leaking again and I know it's from the rear seal.
After inspecting the mechanics invoice two things appeared to me:
1) They marked 2 hours to remove the seal and replace it.
2) There is no backing plate/retaining plate part on the list of replaced parts. There's no notation for resealing the backing plate/retaining plate.
I immediately suspected that they didn't check procedures before fixing and pried out the seal and hammered in a new one.
I contacted the indy shop and they told me they wouldn't honor any warranty on their work because I had brought the replacement seal in for them to use (factory Mercedes part). I told them it wasn't the seal that has gone bad, it was the procedures. They said they'd call me right back after talking to the main mechanic...and they never called back.
So I took the car to Mercedes to have them do an audit repair (take pics to show the original plate was still there and wasn't removed to reseal) however they tried jacking me up with a BS line of "Did you know your oil pan is leaking and will cost you $700 to repair?" I took the car away from them immediately and found another different indy.
That indy believed that the work wasn't done at all. They put the car up on the hoist for an inspection and noted that all the original bolts on the housing are still there, rusted in place. I don't believe the original indy scammed me, that's a heck of a thing to do on a major repair for 1400 but I do believe they didn't check and adhere to procedure so I've started a claim with Mastercard to get the 1400 back. I've sent them the invoice showing 2 hours to remove a seal that should just pop out with the plate removal and I've shown there's no new plate on the parts list, along with no new torque bolts (which I'm telling them is procedure as well).
What I needed was the WIS instructions that clearly indicate to remove the backing plate/reseal it and let it stand to cure for 3 to 4 hours so I can send that to Mastercard so they understand what has caused this fix to go bad in two months time.
I apologize about the VIN, brain sometimes has a tick when I'm doing emails at 6am. If I've made an impression on you it's to let you know this job will not be done by me, I only need the pages that direct about the backing plate and resealing.
So we're onto shop number four now. Number three (five star reviewed in Yelp) calls me back and we're discussing the job of redoing the rear seal and what I suspect was done incorrectly. I tell the owner the shop pried out the rear seal instead of removing the retaining clip/backing plate. He say's what's that? I've never heard of it before. I explain it's part of the procedure to remove and replace if not replaced, then resealed. He tells me he's never even seen a part like that, tells me he doesn't have the experience with vintage cars and shoves me off on another shop.
I can't access my WIS, the USB has a red light on it instead it's normal blue light so if anyone has a copy of THAT page in the WIS that describes the part of the procedure to remove and replace that backing plate, can you please send it to me?
I've got shop number 4 booked for next week and I've requested a call from their owner to discuss this job before the car comes in as there's no point if it's going to be another shop that doesn't know the procedure for this fix.
Mine leaked slowly too. Repairing it was prohibitive to me given the car's age and value. I poured in a couple bottles of this stuff. No problems and only the occasional drip. Only problem is you have to put more in every or every other oil change.
Thanks for the tip but I'm stuck on fixing this because it's already been paid for. Because it wasn't done correctly, I only get my money back, if I get it repaired correctly. I've got a dispute case on this with the credit card company.
No worries, I got the procedures steps just sent to me now.
Last edited by CanuckMerc; 08-31-2023 at 08:48 AM.
And here are the steps in case anyone else needs them. Pretty critical job requiring a beforehand knowledge of the procedures, if not certainly requiring the tools. If you didn't read this first, you're not going to replace that seal properly.
I've done the rear seal on 2 M113s and 1 M112. It isn't a particularly difficult or mysterious job. One misleading statement in the WIS instruction AR03.20-P-3063B, Step 3, states "The crankshaft radial sealing ring (2) at the end cover (1) cannot be exchanged. This end cover (1) is fitted at the factory and therefore must be replaced". That sentence must have lost something in translation. Yes, the end cover should be removed before removing the seal (I think this is because the end plate is fairly "fragile" and would like be damaged by prying out the seal), but in the hands of a decent tech the end plate can be removed following AR01.40-P-8913B and the seal extracted on the bench. The endplate is reinstalled without the seal. The only tricky step of installing the seal is getting it position. There is a WIS instruction, AR01.40-P1000-06A, that shows the specific pattern to follow when applying sealant to the endplate. WIS instruction AR03.20-P-3063 shows specific procedure and placing of the seal when installing it into the endplate (after the endplate is reinstalled and using the correct tool). The seal is to be placed 1mm below the face of the endplate. That is tricky because the tool doesn't press it in far enough (yes I have the factory tool). I had to modify my tool slightly to get the proper depth (a lathe is handy here). Sorry, I don't have electronic copies of those docs and my scanner is down - maybe someone else can post copies. Hopefully this helps.
Hey Vince, I've posted the procedures, 4 pages above.
I appreciate the input, yes I didn't think this was an overly difficult job either. I saw someone had accomplished the feat on a concrete driveway and thought I could do the same but my dirt driveway wasn't going to oblige. The job is 100% procedure based. If you read and research the job beforehand you stand a good chance of having this done right....if you didn't read the procedures, I'm of the belief that there's almost zero chance of getting this job right. I've also seen on Youtube, a few Russian garages that did exactly what the shop did to my car, drop the transmission and pry out the old seal, hammer in a new one. So I know that not all indy mechanics are good students in that they won't do the reading and homework before they begin the role.
My point was to highlight a confusing statement in the instructions. The endplate do not have to be replaced as part of the seal replacement. I can be removed and reused There are WIS instructions for doing just that. One other bit of info - the tool is $500 at the shop price. Unless a shop does these often they are not likely to invest in the tool.
Thanks Vince. That point was already noted here in the thread. The end plate is suggested to replace but has to be removed regardless. And if a shop claims to be expert in European cars then they'd better damn well have that tool. If a customer brings a project to you and asks if you're competent to do it and you don't have the tools, (which includes a WIS to research the job beforehand) you're a liar and you're scamming a customer. End of story. I've been a professional, working in multiple locations and countries, bush league isn't about your ability, it's your attitude. So far, I've encountered bush league here where I live now.
Last edited by CanuckMerc; 09-02-2023 at 09:42 AM.
You and Vince a heck of lot more wrench than me to call it a minor job and for even considering it all, much less without the resources of a decked out garage. Minor job to me is changing the oil or air filter or tire. Respect!
When my wife and I made the decision to move out to this mountain home in the middle of no where five years ago, I did it knowing I'd have to learn a **** ton of stuff. Thanks to this forum and places like youtube, I've learned a **** ton. I'm no mechanic, or a plumber or electrician or a computer tech or a carpenter but you learn because no one else is coming out here to do it.
I've not only fixed everything that's gone wrong with my 23 year old rusted Mercedes, I've replaced the suspension all the way around, and 80% of the suspension hydraulics (because of my mistake), so I'm not afraid of taking on anything. Plus it's 23 years old, I cut myself some slack on fearing mistakes. Just read and research the job beforehand. Know what tools you'll need, what the procedures are, what the torque value's will be etc. It's not hard to do that.
And it's why I'm pissed about this because that's the level I'd expect from someone I'm paying to do a job.
I keep reading about the rust problems. I got lucky with mine - it's been lightly used and garaged in Atlanta, so it's never seen salt. No rust problems, even on the exhaust and barely the rotors.
Update. Car repaired at a much better shop. They've taken pictures and clearly the original repair did not follow procedure and as feared, the first shop left a hammer strike in the collar around the rear seal.
They also broke the handle off my oil dipstick but I never mentioned that before because I didn't want to sound picky....buggers.
08-16-2023, 11:06 AM
Long story:
