Well that was not a whole lot of fun, but it's done. In good old Mercedes tradition, the top of the left side fuel pump/level sender on my 2014 wagon cracked and was leaking at 70K miles. Gernan plastic - sigh... Smell of gas outside the car, especially when the tank was full. Opening the access panel revealed the top of the pump holding a cup or so of gasoline. I ordered the Pierburg "OEM" pump to save a few bucks and a pair of the O-rings because you have to open the right side pump too to do this job. I was concerned that I got the wrong part because the Pierburg looks VERY different from the one that was in my car, but it worked just fine. It has these three posts that stick up that didn't really look like they would fit under the access cover, but they did!

I can report that the $20 Chrysler lock ring tool from Amazon works just fine - and you will need a LONG breaker bar. It takes a LOT of force to remove and replace those things - I don't see how you could do it without the right tool, I really thought I was going to break something before it let go, and getting it back on wasn't much easier. I tied a string to the old cross-tank hose before I pulled it out, which was helpful in getting the new one in place. Was still a struggle to get it to go through the tunnel to the other side - a long skinny arm would be a big help - I have big fat meaty arms. Took me a good 40 minutes of futzing with it. After that just a matter of wiggling both pumps back in place without knocking the o-rings into the tank and plugging the hoses and wiring back in. Took me about an hour and a half with stops for caffeine and head scratching. A bit more work than it looks like at first glance.

Today is "play with gasoline day" for me, as I am also replacing the fuel injectors on my Mom's Volvo V70 (2.4l n/a I5). One crapped out - died electrically which is highly unusual for those cars, the local auto parts store only had one, so I replaced it to get her back on the road. Now the other four have arrived, so back in I go. That is an easier job at least!

This doesn't seem to be a common failure with these facelift cars, unlike the cracking right side cover on the earlier ones. There really was very little to be found on it in web searching, I came across a how-to video because a guy was replacing his whole fuel tank due to having hit something and putting a hole in it. Or, these cars aren't old enough yet and everybody will get to do this in the next few years, LOL. This car has been a Florida native it's whole life, so lots and lots of heat, which German plastic never appreciates.

Kevin Rhodes
Port Charlotte, FL / Westbrook, ME

 

Was it a typo ?
Left side is not a fuel pump, it is a fuel filter they call jet suction pump
Right side is the fuel pump.


If you do a search on W212 forum on how-to for fuel filter/pump , you will find this : https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...er-change.html

Was the original fuel filter a VDO one on your car ?
I hope in the long run your Pierburg OEM won't trigger a code, like someone who used a Hella OEM. It was a slightly lower fuel pressure compared to genuine fuel filter.

See post 49 https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post8589635

 

The parts places all seem to refer to it as a pump. And it really is - it's just not an electric pump, it's a venturi effect suction pump powered from the other side. Doesn't matter, I replaced it because it was leaking (and I should post a picture of how cracked it is around where the hose connects - it's pretty bad, that whole cup area was *full* of gas). If it's also the filter, and that means I have a nice new filter, all the better! Wish I had found your writeup before I did this, but it wasn't THAT bad a job, just annoying getting the hose snaked through the tank, and dealing with gas is always unpleasant. Mine was nice and clean, as was the gas that came out of it.

No idea what the original one is, though it was a genuine Mercedes part (presumably original to the car at 70K miles). I just looked at it enough to get the part number off of it, which cross-references to the Pierburg. Which below the lid is the same, just the lid is different. Seems to be working just fine. If not, FCP-Euro lifetime warranty, so I will buy a genuine one and replace this one with it if it ever causes an issue and get the refund on this one. I saw the Hella version on another site, but that seemed suspiciously cheap - less than half the price of the Pierburg which was already a decent savings off genuine. Things that seem too good to be true generally are. I feel like the Pierburg might actually be a better design, less prone to cracking as it is a simpler shape and seemed a little beefier around the hose connection. Maybe the Polish are better at plastic than the Czechs?

-Kevin

 

Sounds good, lets hope all goes well
Wow, the Hella cost 1/2 less ....dang.
When you one day can/will read the fuel filter (low pressure) using scanner for 1st and 2nd gear WOT, do share yah.
I would like to see how a new Pierburg compares to the genuine VDO ( if my car ) in terms of pressure behaviour.

 

It was ~$290 for Genuine Mercedes, ~$216 for the Pierburg, ~$112 for the Hella. That seems too good to be true.

I have an iCarsoft scanner if that will do it, but there will be no full-throttle any time soon as I am in the insurance evaluation period for Progressive Insurance with thier silly Snapshot device plugged into my ODB port. Driving like an old lady until they ask for it back in a few months. Hoping for that "safe driver" discount. But happy to do it at some point after that.

-Kevin

 

Holy cow, your insurance company watch client to that extend with OBD logger.....

Okey dokey, hope you got the safe driver discount and then 6,000 RPM yeahhh !!!