jcjmw

Should we have a Do Not Do It Yourself thread? As an example of why we should have such a thread, I will share the below “fictional” story entitled “My Holiday with MAP.” For my peace of mind and because I am still try to psychologically recover, I am not willing to admit that the below story is true or that I am dumba$$. I hope you all learn from me and laugh at my stupid-a$$. I am also considering this thread as part of my healing process. Enjoy and Merry Christmas. I am going back to drinking.
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My Holiday with MAP

If you have to change the Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor (MAP) in your W211 E55, I strongly suggest that you have a qualified mechanic do it. The below story could be reasons why I make such a suggestion. Also, the below story might be true (b/c if I admit it's true, then that means I need some really good drugs and to see a psychiatrist).

My story starts with a failed emissions check. I was completely surprised, as there was no CEL. When I got home, I hooked up the OBD II Scanner and, sure enough, there was a “pending” code of P0106 for a bad MAP. I researched MAP, its location, installation and so on. From mbworld.org, I knew the easiest way to access the MAP was to remove the S/C. However, I wanted to replace MAP myself without removing the S/C. I knew doing so could be a little difficult….but seriously, it’s just a sensor. I am a good looking guy and chics dig me, so how hard can this be? I am also pretty good with tools and at car maintenance….how hard can it be? I should be able to defeat and replace MAP. Man, was I stupid! In my story, I will also provide tips referenced as “FU#.” Ok, lets get started on my fun holiday with MAP.

1. I got a replacement MAP from a local auto parts store (which led to FU#A and FU#B).

(FU#A: Never, never, never trust a high school kid at an auto parts store. If you get your MAP from a local auto parts store, make sure the high school kid behind the counter actually knows what he is doing…..you might end up NOT knowing that what you got was NOT the MAP but some other part. Then, you have to go to the dealer and get the correct part. This led to FU#B.

FU#B: Never, never, never leave your house angry over MAP. This might cause you to angrily jump into your wife’s car, heading to the dealer to get the correct part, FORGETTING that you are still in your boxer briefs and not realizing it until you are in line at the dealer parts dept. Glad the parts dept did not have any customers at the time).

2. Had to have 2 beers. Due to FU#A and #B, I needed it.
3. Removed the air tubes and intake.
4. Removed the torx (or is it called star?) bolts on the passenger side surge tank. The bolts are different sizes, so I marked where they came from on the surge tank.
5. Disconnected the hose by the firewall that was connected to the surge tank.
6. Taped up / covered the holes / openings due to removal of the surge tanks.
7. Removed the TB held in by 4 allen bolts and covered up the hole / opening due to removal of the TB.
8. At this point, I am 20 minutes into the procedure and all is looking good. I decided to give myself a pat on the back with a congratulatory drink of my third beer ….which lead to FU#C and #D.

(FU#C: Never, never, never put a vase between yourself and your beer. Also, never, never, never put that vase on top of your tool chest, especially after you promised your wife to wrap the vase as a gift for some snooty couple you do not like. If you do, you will end up knocking down that vase when you reach for your beer (but the beer was saved and not a drop was wasted on the ground) causing that vase to break into countless pieces under your car. Which will cause you to waste time cleaning up that vase, instead of defeating MAP

FU#D: Never, never, never forget that a vase can break into tiny, microscopic pieces. In fact, those little motherf!@#$% pieces can cause a lot of pan when you think that your thin golf socks can protect your feet……wrong! You will then waste a lot of time with a tweezer getting those little broken vase pieces out of your feet. This of course forces you to drink more and re-focus / re-group after a nights rest to go after MAP the next morning).

9. At this point, I decided to resume the next morning due to FU#D.
10. The next morning I removed the bolt holding in place the oil dipstick. I then loosened the oil dipstick from the bottom of the engine (which gave me room to access the MAP. At this point, I felt I was about an 1 hour away from finishing and replacing MAP. I then decided to have some breakfast…without knowing about FU#E.

(FU#E: Never, never, never forget that the oil level in the engine is higher then the hole where the dipstick connects to the bottom of the engine. Once you loosen the oil dipstick from the bottom of the engine (to get better access to the MAP), the oil will slowly seep from the dipstick hole. You also might not realize it until after a heavy breakfast where you feel, very, very slow. That is when you see your own personal Exxon Valdez / BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill on your garage floor and also on that metal protective pan underneath the engine / transmission. Oh, what joy it was to clean that ***** up!!!)

11. After resolving FU#E, I took a good look at MAP and saw the 2 bolts holding it to the bottom passenger side of the S/C.
12. I took my stubby ¼ driver socket, connected it to my very thin ¼ extension and attached my 7 mm socket. I then wiggled my tools so that it had a good grip on the left bolt of MAP (the bolt closest it to the firewall). I easily removed that bolt. Ok, 1 bolt down and 1 more to go.
13. At this point, I realized….oh *****!!!! Now, I know why everyone says its best to remove the S/C to remove the MAP.
14. There was no room to access the right bolt of MAP (the bolt closest to the front of the car). The problem is made worse by the MAP itself. There are like these plastic wings or extensions on the MAP that covered / limited your access to the bolts holding that sensor to the S/C. I spent the next 2 hours trying everything to access that right bolt. This led to FU#F.

(FU#F: Never, never, never work on your car without one of those metal extensions with a magnet at the end. There is a gap / space that is underneath the S/C. When I was trying to loosen that right bolt of MAP, I lost count the number of times a socket or whatever tool I was using fell off and rolled out of my sight underneath the MAP / S/C. Thank goodness I kept all those magnet extensions that I got as gifts over the years.

15. At this point, I think the automotive gods had mercy on me. I could reach that right bolt with a very long, thin flat head screwdriver. On a fluke, the screwdriver somehow broke off, yes broke off, that black plastic wing / extension over that right bolt. I realize what I am saying does not make sense, but if you know or remember what the MAP sensor looks like, you will know what I am talking about (and no, I will not post pics, I am still recovering and any pic of MAP will bring back nightmares).
16. I could now fully see the top of that right bolt. I then remembered a neighbor having this very unusual open end wrench. It is a 7 mm open end wrench, non-offset, very thin and long (about 10 or 12 inches long). With this wrench and now seeing more of the top of that right bolt, I could now apply enough pressure on that right bolt with the wrench to slowly and I do mean slowly, painfully so, rotate it counter-clockwise to loosen that bolt and FINALLY remove MAP.

I hope you had a good laugh at the above “fictional” story and my dumba$$. This story is also a reason why I think we could us a DNDIY thread, for idiots like me. I am going back to drinking….I switched to wine, as beer brings me back memories of MAP and MAP is still haunting me like those 3 ghosts in the Scrooge / Christmas Carol story!

E55Dimon

I think we've all had encounters like this, and learned from them.
Well written, I lol'ed at the vase part. Thats the way she goes..

Jakpro1

Really sorry you had to go through this one. No way around it. MAP is just a super beotch! I ended up going to a special tool store and scoring a 1/4" elbow socket that just barely did the trick. (not just any 1/4" elbow will work BTW, it's got to be built into the socket itself....elbow added will be too long to work in the cramped space)

DIY'r BEWARE on the MAP!! Could not be in a worse position.

My buddy Ken is an incredible Benz mechanic and he cringes when MAPs come in for changing.

Vader13

These types of threads are good and humbling but most big shot e warriors will just use it against you as pwnage.

Bramage

Nice write up.. I hope you recover.. May I suggest a beer?

PS, when I pulled my SC, it took 3 hours from the hood opening to the hood closing, and that included tapping a new sensor, a nozzle, and replacing sc snout and TB... Next time, you might want to do it the "Hard Way"

mikey33

Was a nice read till i got tired lmao

sneakyneon

Funny Story!
A side note to those reading this, If your the kind of guy that would forget to put your pants on before leaving the house, I suggest you not attempt to replace your map sensor.

Bramage

^ come on... you have done it too.. we all have!!

mikey33

Lol, I do not forget I do it on purpose

turbovan

Nice story.

So did you manage to get the new one in?

PTE

Very good true to life school of hard knocks!! There are a lot more out of range MAP sensors than we know about. My Home garage shop innot large . But I have some small stuff here that makes sense. Bench grinder, bench drill press, & a good Blue nose wrench (torch!!) . So on so forth. I have had to head of to SEARS & SAWBUCKS, to buy a hand wrench so I could grind on it heat it to bend it to fit a tight space bolt location. Sometimes it is an 1/8th turn at a time and seems time consuming. But the end result is pride in workmanship. Go enjoy ypur car and you now know not to volunteer to help a buddy with the same type of weekend FUN
_PTEngineering

stevebez

Yeah DIY .... my main starting point is do not start if...

a) you are in a marginally irritable mood.
b) ANYONE else around ... including family
c) dont have the right tools

Expect the job to take twice as long as you think it should. Also if something goes wrong - sit back - regroup, dont rush in to fix what just went wrong.

Take your time .... and be in good shape to be able to manouvre comfortably in the tight / awkward spots... yes you need to be DIY fit. (I need to do some work here...)

And then, only then, might it be enjoyable...

So its a bit like golf most of the time you get the job done but not as well as you would like, but sometimes you hit that great shot that makes you believe you can repeat it, time and again.

hmmm....

jcjmw

Some time has passed, so I can now talk about it. Yes, I was able to get the new one in......thankfully.

Tom_Boy

Great advice.. Can't tell you how many times in my life that points #1 or #2 have F-ed me up! Even though I chased down all the special tools needed before hand, you can't allways get the 'special knowledge'!

tbal

bump, that had to be one of the most entertaining DIY threads I have ever read. LOL

On the side note, is it really better not to DIY the MAP?

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

This was a fantastic story. Really enjoyed it.

jcjmw

If u do replace the MAP, it might be better to do it via the method of removing the S/C. If I had to do it again, I would hv went that method or taking it to a shop.

Yuille36

We definitely need such a thread, maybe name it "Don't try this at home, take it to the dealer"

Benz-O-Rama

Hilarious. So much better than reading the "i just smokd a mad quick stang, yo" threads.

Well done.

lawguy

I thought it was hysterical reading too. Only by virtue of having lived through other similarly painful experiences myself.

Thanks for sharing.

tbal

The CPS is quite the ***** to do aswell. Just the positioning of the CPS makes it hard, but doable with Patience. Took me longer to install that sob, then how long it would take me to replace the SC clutch lol

izzyz28

Once you do it you could do it again in ten minutes though. Definitely buy a 12"++ 1/4" extension and a 1/4" universal joint, and use some electrical tape to lightly tie everything together so you can position the angle of the socket just right without it flopping around. Take the airboxes off too or you'll want to eat a bullet. Took me 40 minutes the first time, not too bad.

I'm gearing up to install new front rotors and pads(stock rotors have 112K on them.....DESTROYED). Anyone know what size socket I'll need? I've heard the rear calipers take an E14. Are the fronts the same?

ahmad0658

Nice write up

Sign me in for this code, I have it already.

Anyone has a pic of the sensor MAP and its location under the hood?

ahmad0658

Can someone tell me the serial number of the MAP sensor. Urgent guys

jcjmw

A 005 153 50 28