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My 2007 GL450 w/ 210k miles has had a recurrent error code/CIL pop up for the past few years. When it first came up, the error code was P2004, which indicates a "tumbler flap on intake manifold is broken." I found a few good resources online that show the issue, talk about it and suggest ideas to fix it.
So I tried to get a looksie into the engine bay to make a first stab at diagnosing. From what I could see and feel, I don't think the lever arm is cracked. I was able to move the tumbler flap freely from left to right, so it's not jammed. I did see one of the joints was out of the arm socket. I've attached a photo of what I saw. So, I'm thinking that's what's causing the error code. I'm wondering if I can pop the joint back in the socket with everything in place. Is there a adjust the vacuum solenoid arm up.down to better position it with the lever?
You might have gotten lucky with the arm not breaking, but popping off.
However; the reason it popped off is probably carbon buildup to the point where the flaps can't move, and rather than break the lever arm the joint pops off instead.
With enough heat cycles applied, eventually the arm will bend and pop off again, or break - but there are metal replacement arms available. It might be easier to undo the vacuum pot to pop the lever back on, then fasten the vacuum pot. Good luck.
Indeed, this looks like it may be one of the few times in my life in get lucky...
I was able to move the flaps by applying light pressure on a screwdriver as well as by hand. The arc of the left/right motion felt moderately smooth with not too much resistance. It didn’t feel inordinately difficult, so I’m thinking the flaps are moving freely. I can’t explain why it would pop off...perhaps not attached properly in an earlier service. At this point, I’m just trying to figure out how I can pop it back in place with minimal engine takeapart. It seems like the so,enosis arm is too low. Is that something that I can adjust by hand, to better position and align it with the lever arm so that I can pop it back in?
Sorry...just reread your post re: u doing the vacuum pot. Is it just simply removing 2 bolts holdin it down or do you think I’ll have to undo some wiring/hoses? Thanks!
Guess I spoke too soon about getting lucky...I got the two pieces attached by manullay adjusting the vacuum arm upward with a plier and screwdriver. It felt secure. I drove the car and sure enough, it detached once again. I reattached and pressed on both sides screwdrivers, to see if it should “snap” back in but I didn’t feel anything. I idled the car and all looked good until I revved to 2k rpm and once again, it detached.
Nothing appears broken in the levers or arms, but it appears the ball and/or socket have worn down to the point where it doesn’t stay attached. However, looking at the way it detached, it appears the lever arm is above the vacuum arm. If vacuum arm pulls the lever up and it slips, I would expect it to be above the the lever, not below. Could this be an indication of a bad vacuum switch, perhaps operating in a way that prevents secure attachment to the lever?
So given that the lever wouldn't stay attached, I resigned myself to the fact that manifold would have to come out. I ordered the URO intake manifold repair kit and two new gaskets and proceeded to disconnect electrical cables and some bolts and it was out. Tumbler flaps move smoothly. I don't feel any play in the movement. The solenoid sounds squeaky. The URO part comes with a new one. After so many miles, everything was pretty grimy. There was an oil overfill at a point in it's life so that no doubt contributes to the high dirt level. I'd like to clean everything up and see if anyone has any recommendations for cleaning material before I button everything up.
Spent some time cleaning up everything. I suspect the mess was from the oil overfill as it was all over the place. Remaining steps: replace the faulty lever on the intake manifold and reinstall.
Completed reassembly and fired vehicl up. Followed a video that described how to remove the manifold by disconnecting various cables to free up space. The manifold gasket would fall off during install, so I used 3M spray adhesive to ho,d in place. P,us, I had someone hold the back part of the manifold with string suspended from the hood latch. That helped immensely. Next hard part was getting the vacuum hose attached to front of manifold.
Next step will will now be to drive around a bit and then retest at smog.
10-26-2017, 08:08 PM
