owencurrier

Hey everyone, sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, i’m new to mercedes and this forum. I have a 2006 e350, and i replaced the intake manifold gaskets, put it back together and am getting misfire codes, camshaft position sensor codes, and manifold runner control stuck closed. Not sure if I broke a sensor when i was removing them, but after a little research i took off the sensors, set the crank to 305 degrees, and could see the circles, which I think means the balance shaft/ timing chain is good. I already had a code for the manifold runner before the repair, but it wasn’t affecting operation. Any ideas on what to do next would be much appreciated. thanks!

CaliBenzDriver

You seem to have created your own mix of problem.
Try to establish a separation for us on PREVIOUS problem vs. NEW problems.
Then we'll have a better chance at dealing with both.


Correct me if i missed something... you went in to fix loose timing ("shaft") issues and came out with an extra manifold issue.

It's hard to focus on how unrelated issues compound to create what you're dealing with.

How old is the CHAIN TENSIONER??

Help us peal back your onion. What options are you considering to deal with this?

owencurrier

Thanks for the fast response, now that i’m reading back my original post i see how it could be confusing. I got the car from a neighbor that didn’t want to bother trying to fix it, they told me it needed new intake manifold gaskets, so that’s what i was after originally. Unfortunately I don’t know what codes were thrown before i did the manifold, but there was a check engine light. The car ran great before i did the manifold gasket, but I was told by the previous owner the dealership said the gasket needed replaced, which is why i did it in the first place.

That’s the only issue i was after originally, then once i finished i got a bunch of misfire codes as-well as camshaft position sensor codes. The only reason i mentioned the balance shaft and timing chain is because it sounds like those are common issues, but the car ran good before i messed with the manifold so i doubt it’s out of time.

No clue how old any of the timing components are, or if they’ve ever been replaced, but since it ran well before i opened it up, my guess is i plugged a sensor in the wrong place, or maybe broke one as i was disconnecting.

Let me know if there’s anything else i can clarify, i appreciate the help very much.

CaliBenzDriver

Okay I am still a bit confused... but I realize that your bad manifold issue was these before doing the intake gasket job, right?


> FORK:
You can attack these separate problems at once or one by one ? Removing intake allows unobstructed access to engine top: camshaft sensors, spark-plugs/boots, PCV/Plugs.

> INTAKE
I believe this W211 Manifold shaft issue requires refurbed unit to get actuator to work again..?

> TIMING:
The timing faults are a big deal by themselves. Many things go wrong to create A-1 chaos:

• the camshaft sensors,
• the loose shaft,
• the timing tensioner,
• ...

Forget about chain stretch replacement should be okay. See if CPS sensors leaked oil already. If not confirm they are timing the camshafts (not dead silent sensor)

If CPS are good stick with TENSIONER replacement. it's responsible for introducing jitter in the engine timing.

The Bosch ECU can hardly deal with loose timing chain causing wobbly out of time camshafts. So it complains about not trusting CPS correlation.

Do that to get your engine will run smoothly like new.
🤞

owencurrier

Correct, the manifold runner or whatever it’s called on the back of the manifold was already bad, and i’ve found rebuild kits for it. my original plan was to do the gaskets, then go back and fix the actual manifold if and when it truly stopped working, as i don’t need the car to be in perfect condition, just running well.

Could it be a vacuum leak or would that not make sense for the misfire codes?

Should I try and swap the left and right camshaft sensors and see if the code moves to the other side? or will that not work because of the sensors not being the same?

Im just looking for a logical next step in diagnosis to try and rule out some things, but since i’ve only had a mercedes for a day, i’m weary to start swapping around sensors, as i don’t want to create more problems.

CaliBenzDriver

Good I like that! You have the repair of the intake plenum under control

The idle misfires are caused by jittery timing issue, not the broken plenum runner shaft.

> CPS :
Everything you dont brake you won't have to fix
The MB plastic connectors love to crumble so to check on your CPS, USE YOUR SCANNER DATA!

Look at what the sensors tell you about the cam timing. This will tell you as well about the sensor working or not.

Then overall now your car may be in good shape soon... unless the soft timing shaft sends this Benz to the yard.

cetialpha5

If you had the manifold, you should just replaced the entire manifold while you were at it as I'm sure it was quite a job to replace just the gaskets. Are you sure the gaskets are on properly? There's not much holding them on in place and they can slide out easily once you drop the intake down on it. You should also change out the oil separator and breather cover as that's what cooks the manifold in the first place. Also did you replace the O rings on the fuel injectors? You're not supposed to reuse them. The camshaft position sensors also go bad and people try to replace them but it's usually the balance shaft but if everything is lining up, could just be bad sensors. Misfires are typically plugs or coils. But if that's out then you're down to possibly fuel injectors. Vacuum leaks are also possible and are sometimes hard to find.

Also you don't really rebuild the manifold. Those kits just replace the lever or the rod but what really happens is that oil from the oil separator/breather cover gets into the intake flaps and gums them up making them difficult to move. When it gets too hard, the lever breaks and you get a code. If you replace the lever then it keeps forcing the flaps and eventually the flaps break off and fall into the engine causing engine damage. You would just use those rebuild kits if you're getting rid of the car soon and it might last a while before the flaps break off, but the real repair is to replace the manifold. No one has really found a way to replace the flaps unless you just buy a rebuilt intake manifold, those are about half the price of a new one but others have bought it and it turns out one company won't honor the 1 year warranty unless you had a real mechanic install it. Otherwise you can just get a brand new one from FCPEuro and they have a lifetime warranty on all the parts they sell.

Left Coast Geek

a 2006 E class is not a W212 as they started in 2010, it must be a W211... so this thread should probably be moved to the W211 section.