Buy new ones, they are not that expensive. But prior make sure they are the problem by inspecting the spray pattern.
Mine were replaced at the dealer because they misdiagnosed the high smog readings.
Guess who paid for that bill..... (hint: it was not me)

Last time I took the car to any mechanic.

Your issue sounds more like it is not injector related. Not sure how bad they get when the car sits for so long but if not they last a long long time. Mine were originals at 180K miles.
They outlast the FD it seems as the FD was replaced at 155K miles.

- Cheers!

 

Edit: accidentally posted same message twice

 

I tend to shy away from mechanics as well unless I cant do the job myself. I don’t think they know how to work on older cars now a days.

Luckily, one of my friends dads is a life long Benz mechanic, he recommended that since I had pretty much been cleaning out gunk in the fuel system back to front (tank to EHA), and the symptoms are reducing I might want to look at the injectors next.

Since they are cheap I guess It can’t hurt to replace them and see what happens.

what other components would you look at for these symptoms?

 

You may want to try some ( Liquid Moly Diesel Purge ) best used by filling your full filter with it the starting and running at different throttle setting (not driving)
It that is not possible add two can's when you tank is almost empty (1to2 gl.) and the a gallon of fuel to mix it up then drive it
It's done wonders for my diesels over there years

 

As Dolucasi mentioned, it doesn't hurt to just install new fuel injectors. I've actually got a set sitting on the shelf that I plan to install one of these days.
SInce your fuel system has been pretty gunked up, I'd also recommend you run a bottle of Redline Si-1 through your car.
It's a lot more powerful than Techron and will dissolve a lot of that gunk.

 

I haven't done it myself but there are posts about using brake cleaner to clean the injectors. It seems the procedure works well. Of course it is recommended to replace the injector seal whether cleaning or replacing them.

 

Good suggestions all around except some do not recommend running cleaners thru the system for whatever reason. I ran BK-44 (?) thru once and nothing changed. That was 4 years ago.
I figured since the Mercedes Dealer is selling them it is safe.

With your symptoms I would hook-up a fuel pressure gauge and measure the system pressure upon start-up and see if the pump is struggling to get the pressure up to spec. The symptom suggests a problem there.
And why would a new/cleaned EHA have a positive effect? Well the EHA is actively increasing fuel flow during warm-up so perhaps that changes the dynamic.

I assume you know where to hook it up on the Fuel Distributor. Even if that is not it, you can observe if you have any fuel leakage paths by observing how fast the pressure drops after you shut off the engine.

 

You could try cleaning them in a ultrasound bath.

 

Thanks for everyone’s input! I might not try another fuel system cleaner I think I may have used it too much if that’s a thing and it hasn’t helped. Its possible that using them has broken some sludge loose and caused a clog that just won’t burn out.

Dolucasi, I’m not too sure about “how” the EHA would improve things but it was the only thing replaced at the time and the car starts easier and idles a lot less rough.

Once I find time I will pull the injectors to inspect and go from there. New ones are about 20 bucks on auttohausaz

 

New injectors are a bit of a crap shoot, even genuine Bosch. That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy new ones, just that they'll need testing before fitting, and extra ones may be required because of the failure rate.

You might try the ultrasonic bath idea. I had a set cleaned at an injector specialist, my friend worked there so it cost me a bottle of wine for the owner. I was told they were cleaned and set back to spec. No idea what that means, and to be honest I dont think theres any setting that can be done. Maybe just cleaned a spray pattern tested. It was a place that does injectors for diesels, if that helps you.

 

Regarding cleaners, I steered clear of those for ages, wanting to be cautious and hearing bad things. However I believe MB recommends them for periodic use due to deposits on the back of valves etc, at least on the M116/M117 that I'm more familiar with. MB dealer gave me one once when I was having problems with a hesitation. It was MB but made by Wurth.

 

Kent Bragsna shows you how to clean them on youtube - back flushing is the only way to do it .Check out his video on Mrecedes Source .

 

I just watched the video by mercedessource it looks like the rubber seal in the injectors can dry out especially over time and cause air leaks. Dry rubber parts has been the cause of most issues with my 2.6, pulling to inspect seems to be the best route to check for that and any gunk.

Below is just a heads up on the severity of dry rubber parts in case someone finds a 190e that sat a long tine and want to know what to expect, I’ve made most of these repairs already:

my valve cover gasket split in half when I replaced it, poly v belt was severely cracked and hardened, throttle cable bushing snapped disconnecting the gas pedal, a few rubber suspension bushings are dried out (tie rod, sway bar link), and my front flex disk and shift select bushings were dried out in addition to brittle vacuum lines and hoses

 

We now have other problems on th horizon .This fuel additive in the petrol called - Ethanol is to be vamped up .More and more is being introduced in to the fuel for petrol engines .So along with rubber items out side of your engine going rotten ..this Ethanol will rott out every item of rubber inside the injection system -fuel pumps along with rubber tubes...So we will need to use an additive to counteract the Ethanol .So for i have found a few one is from Lucas called Safe Guard Ethanol Fuel Additive . Do a Google search on it .

 

MB has never recommended fuel additives for the W201. In fact, they recommend against it. Most gasolines already have cleaning agents in them. I would also never put anything for a diesel engine in a gas powered car as that will do damage. You might try Stabil which is different from the typical additives. That's what I use when I store my W201 for a number of months due to weather. It prevents gasoline from turning to varnish. Maybe that can help to loosen up the varnish that may still be clogging your fuel system.

 

Oh man! Looks like ethanol increases operating temperature for gas engines, last thing these cars need is more heat smh.

I’ve used stabil before, I might actually try that again and see what it does. I don’t have a day off for a while to take my time removing the injectors but I’ll try to get some pics to post when i do.

 

Use Stabil or equivalent when storing my cars for winter and my snowblower etc. It seems to work as advertised but I dont think it would help to neutralize the effects of ethanol. As far as I know premium gas does not contain ethanol at least in Canada and thats what i use in my 190E.

 

Thanks Laura I was talking about using the stabil just to help clear sludge, you are right it wouldn’t help counteract ethanol. I shoulda been more clear.

 

Edit: double post

 

I have been using Chevron Techron in my p-car 2-3 x yr with no probs. IIRC- the Techron is the only additive authorized by Porsche.

 

Last time I visited dealership I was told if I only used Chevron with Techron I will never experience fuel injector issues (after the injector replacement)
That was over 3 years ago. I only put Chevron premium with techron in the tank and have not experienced any issues so far.

So I second that emotion.....

 

 

Hi, I just used a kit and pump I got on ebay and Youtube. I worked perfectly. 2 of my injectors were spraying a partial cone. The kit lets you back flush the internal screen and the spring area behind the exit port. The pump allows you to push the recommended paint acetone or paint thinner through to see the spray pattern.

I only have 100k on the motor, but I am tuning the injection pump with a wideband and want to make sure i wasn't compensating for an injector problem. I was able to fix or verify all the other variables, but without this pump and kit, I could not be sure of the injectors.

Now that I have done that, the motor was a bit richer, which made good sense. I am getting good repeatable measurements, so I do not need the pump and kit -can't imagine I will ever need it again. It cost me about $180.

Are you interested?

 

I decided to leave my injectors alone because the hex nuts where seized and I didn’t want to round them. I’ll hit them with some PB blaster this weekend and try again.

Instead I went ahead and dropped in Stabil 360 which helps protect against ethanol and did another oil change because I had mistakenly listened to the autozone guy who’s computer said to use 5w30.

I changed the oil to 15w40 and the car has been starting on first attempt and the idle is way way smoother. Forgive my lack of mechanical expertise smh but would that make THAT much of difference

 

The right oil does make a difference in these cars. M103 engines need a heavy weight oil, out here in CA 20w-50 is a popular choice.
I always get a laugh out of autozone employees-"Computer says it requires THIS" This is the same computer that will ask whether you have a manual/auto transmission when you just want wiper blades

 

The right oil does make a difference in these cars. M103 engines need a heavy weight oil, out here in CA 20w-50 is a popular choice.
I always get a laugh out of autozone employees-"Computer says it requires THIS" This is the same computer that will ask whether you have a manual/auto transmission when you just want wiper blades

Yeah very annoying, I’ve found with these older cars no one really knows what they’re talking about, not even my local mechanics unless they specialize in MB, that’s why I come to Benzworld!

 

You should be using whatever oil is recommended in your owner's manual.

 

Those recommendations in practice only last for the first 100K miles or so, once the cars are at 200K miles and worn, one is forced to and recommended to use thicker oil.
Most use 20W50 in california, 15W/40 would be the low end. Anything less just tends to burn oil quickly.