1991 300E 2.6, 1992 400E, 1995 E320 sedan (RIP), 2001 E55, 2009 SL550
Joined
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139 Posts
Finally! Fixed the bloody thing!
I know many are frustrated with this particular trouble code. And seems everyone suggests and tries the same stuff. I did too. But, after all the usual suspects were inspected/replaced (purge valve, etc) with no change, I finally followed suggestions and improvised the smoke machine method: I took a long puff on a cheap cigar, exhaled forcefully into the purge line leading from the engine bay (disconnect at purge valve) to the charcoal canister, and (after about 5 rounds of this), the slightest wisp of smoke was visible in the area above the charcoal canister.http://www.benzworld.org/forums/imag...es/bowdown.gif
So, I pulled the whole assembly out of the car from the area adjacent to the wheel well, and repeated the same smoke blowing method on the work bench. Quickly spotted the source. Leak was from the seam of two portions of the float valve case. Super glued and added RTV around the entire seam and next morning when it was absolutely dry, puffed away again, and nothing. No smoke leaking. And now 2 weeks and hundreds of miles later, the CEL is still off. Code reader shows no code imminent. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif
This was for my system, as detailed in the attachment below, which is one of 3 versions, I believe. The part with the leak is #420 (found above the #420 in the second image), a "float valve" which I think works in a rollover accident to keep fuel from spilling all over. Maybe, maybe not. It isn't so important that you figure out which version is yours, but that blowing smoke helped locate the problem, and it was an easy repair. And yes $1 price of the cigar trumps the $500+ cost for a new part any day. So, easy fix, easy to find, once I got up the determination to find the bugger.
Hope this helps.
I know many are frustrated with this particular trouble code. And seems everyone suggests and tries the same stuff. I did too. But, after all the usual suspects were inspected/replaced (purge valve, etc) with no change, I finally followed suggestions and improvised the smoke machine method: I took a long puff on a cheap cigar, exhaled forcefully into the purge line leading from the engine bay (disconnect at purge valve) to the charcoal canister, and (after about 5 rounds of this), the slightest wisp of smoke was visible in the area above the charcoal canister.http://www.benzworld.org/forums/imag...es/bowdown.gif
So, I pulled the whole assembly out of the car from the area adjacent to the wheel well, and repeated the same smoke blowing method on the work bench. Quickly spotted the source. Leak was from the seam of two portions of the float valve case. Super glued and added RTV around the entire seam and next morning when it was absolutely dry, puffed away again, and nothing. No smoke leaking. And now 2 weeks and hundreds of miles later, the CEL is still off. Code reader shows no code imminent. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif
This was for my system, as detailed in the attachment below, which is one of 3 versions, I believe. The part with the leak is #420 (found above the #420 in the second image), a "float valve" which I think works in a rollover accident to keep fuel from spilling all over. Maybe, maybe not. It isn't so important that you figure out which version is yours, but that blowing smoke helped locate the problem, and it was an easy repair. And yes $1 price of the cigar trumps the $500+ cost for a new part any day. So, easy fix, easy to find, once I got up the determination to find the bugger.
Hope this helps.
