Sprinter gurus

[The Enemy]

For the past few days after the van has been sitting off all night, upon start up, starts at first key, but it seems like it is stumbling. I know that the number 2 glow plus is out but would that cause the hard start? Today after letting the engine warm up to about 140 took off to go down the road, coming out of the parking lot it hesitated and then blew out a puff of white smoke, then it was fine. All of the fluids check out ok, dont notice any external leaking from the injectors, anybody else ever have this problem before?

 

[ebsprintin]

I haven't seen this, and I'm not a guru, and I'm in a newer sprinter. I don't think you've had time to see how it cold starts since the puff of white exhaust?

eb

 

[The Enemy]

After some thorough searching, we have found that if you originally have the number 2 glow plug bad, and another one goes, there will be start up problems of the hesitation, and the puff of smoke is caused by the burning/build up of the excess fuel.

 

[Jack_Berry]

yep. had that problem in the diesel mb and tdi i have/do own. get that plug repl. get them all repl. since that is 40% of the engine service is advised. depending on miles on the van maybe repl the harness also. relatively easy on the mb and tdi. never looked into the sprinter engine bay.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Enemy..don't forget to change control module...Do it all as a unit. If you can online parts are a lot cheaper...and change them yourself...

 

[The Enemy]

Yeah the vans at 280k. Going to replace the whole glow plug system, its all original

 

[Steady Eddie]

Had that happen myself Nick. It was about 5 degrees, would not start after many tries. I held the key in start position after the first try, then it tried again, on the 4th or 5th try it started. I have #2 glow plug out as well, over a year now. Anyway, after warm up it did do the white smoke for a long time. I couldn't get over 60 mph either. I turned it off and when I restarted it all was fine. The EGR value gummed up when I tried to start it cold. I do have the glow plug relay, and 5 new glow plugs. Problem is, I don't want to replace the head when these fine techs breake it off when trying to replace them.

 

[Jack_Berry]

Yeah the vans at 280k. Going to replace the whole glow plug system, its all original

i don't know whether to congratulate you on the time or yell at you for lack of pm.

 

[skyraider]

I was at a Dodge dealship yesterday for transmission flush and all on my tuna can van and ask a saleman about Sprinters. As luck would have it he was not a fan of sprinters. To make a long story short, I think he would put them on a coral reef for the fish to enjoy. Anyone else have better stories on Sprinters maintenance wise and such,,good and the bad.........sky

 

[greg334]

I was at a Dodge dealship yesterday for transmission flush and all on my tuna can van and ask a saleman about Sprinters. As luck would have it he was not a fan of sprinters. To make a long story short, I think he would put them on a coral reef for the fish to enjoy. Anyone else have better stories on Sprinters maintenance wise and such,,good and the bad.........sky

Sky,
The real problem is a dealer like that, their ignorance of the product would force me not to use them for any reason at all. After several bad experences with so-called great dealers, I came to two conclusions;

The dealer doesn't care about the customer

people have lowered their expectations on being properly treated.

The problems behind the sprinter and its service is the same behind the Cummins service - poor dealership management and mechanics assume the vehicle (engine in Cummins case) is like the sh*t they are used to working on. Many mechanic whiz through the training and use their apply the "knowledge" to fixing a problem without comprehendnig the actaul design or why things are the way they are.

Going through MB training, they stressed a lot of things about the design of the vehicle opposed to the design of an American vehicle. It seems to me that if a German car can acheive a million miles long before an American one can, it say something about the anal attitude the German designers have.

 

[piper1]

A salesguy badmouthing a product he can no longer sell.....tells you all you need to know about the validity of the comments right there.

 

[RLENT]

Enemy..don't forget to change control module...Do it all as a unit.

I would not change the relay/glowplug control module, unless one or more of the circuits are bad. As far as I know, a bad control module will not cause a glowplug to go bad - the reverse however, is not true.

The death of a glowplug does not necessarily mean that the control module has been damaged or is bad. Sprinter glowplugs can fail in one of two ways:

1. internally shorted

2. shorted to ground

No. 2 above will take out the corresponding circuit in the glowplug control module, No. 1 will not.

I do have the glow plug relay, and 5 new glow plugs. Problem is, I don't want to replace the head when these fine techs breake it off when trying to replace them.

Then do it yourself .....

Just make sure you get the engine plenty hot (better to do it in August rather than January if possible), stick something over the front of the radiator to block airflow to heat it up .... using small 1/4 drive tools slowly work it out by taking it to the point that it starts to bind (and no further) and then screw it back in. Repeat as necessary. You may have to fire the vehicle back up to raise the temperature of the head. Take it slow and don't use excessive force.

 

[greg334]

Rlent,
I can see why they do break off the GP.

How does the CM act when it is bad? Does it not light the GP or does it just sit there and do nothing?

Anyone got a few extra they want to give away - bad ones that is?

 

[RLENT]

I can see why they do break off the GP.

Oh yeah - having changed all 5 of mine myself, I can absolutely see it.

I had one that was very much dicey ...... you know: you're running it out and you get the big squeak ....

How does the CM act when it is bad? Does it not light the GP or does it just sit there and do nothing?

I can't definitively answer what all it might do - but this I know:

When a glowplug shorts to ground it will almost assuredly destroy the circuit it is on (on the older 5 cylinder sprinters, it would be one of 5 such circuits in the module)

The rest of the circuits will still work - but the destroyed circuit will not (so if you have replaced the bad glowplug on that particular circuit, it won't energize and glow)

It will light the check engine and throw a DTC (regardless if you have replaced the glowplug or not)

IMHO, the design of the module is not the best (circuits should be protected)

Anyone got a few extra they want to give away - bad ones that is?

I think I still have my old one ..... lemme know if you want it.

 

[Jack_Berry]

i know from experience that a grounding can take place with caarbon build up on the plug touching the cyl wall. have you ever reamed the holes?

i recently did the plugs in the tdi and the 4 plug was clumped with carbon. reaming tool ordered.

 

[Heffard]

I just had engine light issues on 2008 while under load in OK. Found a Dodge dealer where mechanic was wanting to tear down engine to find problem. They were inconsiderate and slow.

Limped the truck to Indiana, delivered the load, and found another dealership. Service department guy were professionals, and were very thorough.

Took three days to get it fixed, finding two related problems, then having a mechanic to break a part on install, they bought my hotel room, and gave me a most awesome vehicle as a free loaner.

The service manager had good things to say about the sprinter. Just like any other vehicle, they have problems, but biggest seems finding good people to work on them.

Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

ya know, no matter what type van it is...there is nothing like a mechanic/tech that knows what they are doing...
Old fashion diagnostics is a lost art form these days..if the computer doesn't say it is broke , it ain't broke!

 

[highway star]

Old fashion diagnostics is a lost art form these days..if the computer doesn't say it is broke , it ain't broke!

Ain't that the truth! I had a problem with my powerstroke making a HUGE sucking sound and not running well until it reached operating temp. I went to a dealership I'd used in the past that had a decent diesel guy. He'd left and they had someone new. A genuine, certified laptop jockey. He said there was nothing wrong. I was in the van with him and pointed out the sound and lack of power. He just shrugged and said the computer showed no problems. It was a broken air line that was discovered by another mechanic working on an unrelated problem. Why aren't these guys taught that not everything throws a code?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

lots of things won't throw a code....you can hear it, smell it..but it ain't broken according to the computer...

I actually had one say he wouldn't touch it till it did!!! Go figure!