2010 GL350 DPF/SCR/ADBLUE Delete
 

Hi all, so my DPF failed over 10k miles ago, yes I've been very negligent for driving it that long after and not getting it fixed. But, I've finally decided to purchase a delete pipe from BuzzKen because now the car is going into limp mode. Pipe should be here in a couple of days. I'm well aware that my ECU needs to be tuned in order to make this work as intended. So to the point, what all needs to be removed from the ECU? And also, will I need to cut any of my exhaust pipes for this to fit, like the pipe on the SCR? The delete pipe itself is bolt-on. Thanks

Pipe arrived
 

Delete pipe arrived this morning. It looks like the middle of the SCR pipe is gonna need to be cut in order to get this put into place. It's bolt-on but I'd rather have it welded into place. But, first I have to send off my ECU to @SALES@OETUNING sometime soon to support this mod, probably tomorrow since I'm busy today. Hopefully all goes well after this is done!
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...366d9c635f.jpg

ECM removed
 

Just removed the ECM from the car, which was located behind the right wheel fender. Now, I'm gonna send it off for tuning later today. I really hope this gets tuned correctly. Super excited!
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...1431bba101.jpg

Even though you haven't gotten any responses, thanks for the updates as it's an interesting subject. I'm sure others have been watching, as well. :)

Question... what is that pipe made from (type of steel)? What is the stock pipe made from (Is the stock stainless)? If they are dissimilar, you may end up with some corrosion happening at the joint/weld.

The website I got it from says it's "409 stainless steel" and I changed my mind about the whole welding thing anyway because I didn't want to wait longer than I had to and people with other cars like VW didn't seem to have any issues with it just being bolted into place. But, yeah this whole process is fun so I have to share the updates, so no problem on that :D

It's never too late to do this. DPF is going to go bad in the future anyway. These units cost at least $4k and the labor to replace it is high too :smash: It just makes way more sense to just get rid of it and tune the car for a fraction of the price... If you live in a state without emissions testing that is.

What will the 350 owners do if there is a recall similar to Volkswagen on the diesel engines? I'd imagine this could create a huge issue for owners that modified their emissions systems and deleting their emission control devices? The 320's were considered gross polluters but, if I recall correctly, had a variance on the emission laws with the exception being California and, from my understanding, none were sold there until the urea injection was added on the Bluetec version. Diesel particulates are very nasty.

I have a '98 Suburban with a diesel (no sensors on the DPF, though). I unbolted the soot trap and was able to knock out the guts with a long screw driver and a hammer... bolted it right back on.

Quron has the info and a link in his first post.

In case you couldn't already tell, all of which you wrote is the least of my concerns and your input on this topic is irrelevent considering you have a reliable M157... These BlueTECs can be nightmares and I didn't know that until a week after owning it... At the end of the day as long as the car is drivable right now, I'm fine. I'm not planning on keeping it for very long anyway :duh:

ECU shipped!
 

Alright, so the ECU is off to OE Tuning via UPS! They should have it next week and it should be back in the car by maybe next Saturday. I'll update when I get it back! Really excited :wootrock: But for now, Merry Christmas!
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4cbbc7e028.jpg

I've been posting for around 8 years, in this forum on the issues of the OM642, pointing out they were plagued from the start. I was flamed a lot at first but now everyone sees how problematic the engine can be compared to the gassers. Not saying the gas versions do not have issues, they do, but nothing like seemingly endless issues of some OM642's. You may have found my post to be irrelevant but had you read many of them in the past it may have saved you from buying the diesel version. Get yours running and sell it quickly. As an FYI, if you are searching for MPG's, the GLS 450 has been reported to be capable of 25-30 MPG out of the gas twin-turbo engine and updated transmission.

Unfortunately I didn't do any research about this engine, all I knew was that I wanted a facelifted GL and the 350 was cheaper than the 550 that I initially wanted and I should have stayed with that decision... I'm planning on selling this thing in around 6 months after this DPF crap is over for a X166 GL550 and making it a sleeper. It would be a fun build.

For what it's worth, my 320 has been quite reliable - a couple small things, but nothing related to the engine. Doesn't have the DPF, but that's only one little part of the system. Knocking on wood...

Hope so too. How many miles on your 320?

Getting close to 100K miles. I misspoke above - obviously I have a DPF - what I meant to say is that I don't have the AdBlue system. I looked back through my records and forgot that I did have a couple small engine related things - although, not really "engine"... I had a failed DPF sensor and a glow plug controller - both about 20K ago and relatively simple/cheap. Can't argue with that, though - they were original, best I could tell. I'd chalk those up to normal maintenance.

If you can avoid the timing chain stretch, oil cooler, and turbo leaks, you will be good to go. It seems that while most have serious issues, the early ones seem much more reliable. My brother had an E320 diesel and it was dead reliable until 200k+ miles and then things started to go out so he sold the car. It was flawless until the point where it left him stranded and cost him thousands to fix.

My 450 was dead reliable until it recently developed the worn timing chain sprocket on the VVT cams. It will be cheaper to drop in a used engine than to fix but is fixable. For now, it still runs great but with a CEL. I may drop in a 550 engine for a total cost of around $3k and keep for another 200k miles. Let's hope the tranny holds up. The rest of the car is in great shape. The MBtex seats and dash still look fantastic.

ECU tuned
 

Ok, OE Tuning called me today and said that they have tuned the ECU along with the deletes supporting the delete pipe. I also asked them to disable the swirl flaps and the EGR as well. I should have the system hooked back up on Saturday. I'm super nervous because my luck is bad and nobody wants LIMP MODE. Will continue to post updates accordingly.

Wait wait wait!!! I recently was talking to a friend that only works on diesels and he said the GL350 was a nightmare due to this DPF filter and all this crap the EPA (Clinton/Obama rules) made to be put on diesels. Mine had the DPF replaced by previous owner, $4,000 at around 45k miles I think it was, they self destruct. He was telling me before 2010 I think they didn't have to have all that crap (diesel cars in general), and that's when they were all reliable. Today, a diesel has all this other tacked on equipment for the epa and that's what makes them unreliable and break. He told tell me the first thing his shop does on any new ford diesel, chevy diesel, etc, is remove the DPF and all that crap because the aftermarket makes TUNES so you can remove all that crap and no have check engine lights, etc, but nothing exists for a Mercedes diesel to do this! Are you telling me that's now not the case and we can get rid of all that crap under there now with what you are doing??? I live in a state where it doesn't matter if I have all that stuff either,. No emissions testing for diesels here!!! Please give more info!

No, there are other issues they typically all suffer. The Adblue just adds to the issues.

Uhhhhh
 

As far as I know, we have been able to do this mod for a while.
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My ECU is on the delivery truck and I'm waiting on it to be delivered. It should be back in the car tomorrow morning. If the car acts stupid and goes to limp mode (which it probably will bc my luck is a$$) I'll have to send it (ECU) back to OE. There was a confusion over the phone for what needed to be deleted and I specifically told the guy that picks up the phone "DPF, SCR, DEF, EGR, and swirl flaps" and they had to hook it up a second time because they had forgot something(?)... I never got a call back about it so I just assumed all was well. Probably not. I also asked for the tune they had on the website too. We'll see. If everything is good I'll take it to my Indy to install the pipe.