T1N Mercedes Sprinter Van Maintenance - Dodge, Freightliner
TURBO RESONATOR REPLACEMENT
The stock turbo resonator finally split open several years ago enough to start leaking oil. I replaced it with an aftermarket Dorman brand resonator that was recommended as a stronger alternative. What I missed though is that the o-ring that comes with the Dorman part is crap and will fail and leak within a few years, and that is exactly what happened. The Mercedes brand o-ring is said to be superior.
Good o-ring - Mercedes P/N 013 997 84 45
Someone measured the stock Mercedes o-ring 1.7" ID, 2.1" OD and 0.2" Width
Those measurements coincide with a #327 o-ring. Why not use a quad seal (X) o-ring? They offer superior sealing in many ways to a standard o ring.
Chemical-Resistant Viton® Fluoroelastomer O-Ring, X-Profile, 3/16 Fractional Width, Dash Number 327
AUXILIARY ELECTRIC COOLANT PUMP
Since the connector is different, and I cannot find a mating connector for the old pump, I may hack the connector part off the old pump, and solder that to the wire leads that come with the new connector.
FUEL LEAKING FROM HOSES AT HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP
There are 2 very short hoses attached to the high-pressure fuel pump. Mine were leaking diesel fuel onto the motor, quite a bit at some point. Squeezing the stock crimped on hose clamps temporarily stopped the leak, but I knew that these hoses would need to be replaced.
SKU | Description | Qty | Unit Price | Amount |
1 | $11.75 | $11.75 | ||
1 | $11.75 | $11.75 |
13-15mm fuel injection style hose clamps are needed to replace the crimped-on hose clamps that aren't reusable.
WHERE TO BUY
TRANSMISSION SERVICE
The transmission will last longer if the fluid and filters are changed every 40-60k miles or so. The original T1N MB NAG1 transmission service interval was once at 80,000 miles and done. Of course that proved to be very optimistic.
I buy the kits from EuroParts-SD.com either the FUCHS OEM fluid or the PENTOSIN fluid (which is supposedly newer tech and better...)
The kits come with the replacement gasket and filter.
Something else that needs to be serviced occasionally is the transmission electrical connector. It is prone to leaking, although the newer revisions are improved over the older leaky ones.
SERPENTINE BELT IDLER PULLEYS
The serpentine belt idler pulleys (bearings) will eventually wear out. For me that seems to be about 100k miles. They start to make a racket when it's cold in winter. The idler pulley on the tensioner can be replaced without replacing the whole tensioner.
The OEM setup uses one grooved and one smooth pulley. Europarts-SD recommends using 2 grooved pulleys.
Buy 2 of these pulleys.
Part Number:Â 000 202 09 19
This is the serpentine belt tensioner pulley. Buy 1 of these.
Part Number:Â 38018 TENSIONER PULLEY
REPLACE ENGINE AIR FILTER
I've been using the HENGST engine air filters, and all has worked well so far.
Part Number: 003 094 83 04-HENGST
REPLACE CABIN AIR FILTER
I use the HENGST cabin air filter. So far so good.
Part Number:Â 901 830 04 18-HENGST
OIL LEAKING FROM UNDER ENGINE COVER
FUSES ATTACHED TO BATTERY
There's a small fuse box attached to the battery with several high current fuses. The type of fuse used here is a MIDI fuse. The bolt hole distance is 30mm. I haven't had any of these fuses blow, but it's a good idea to have some on hand in case I do something stupid, and there's one empty slot that I intend to use for the starter battery ch
WHERE TO BUY
REPLACEMENT AIR VENT GRILL
TROUBLESHOOTING
These are some of the issues I've had that I was able to repair.
Engine stalling when coming to a stop
Engine would cut off when warmed up and coming to a stop like at a light or stop sign. Letting the engine sit off for a few minutes before trying to restart would get it working. The problem continued to worsen to the point where it would take much longer to start again, and wouldn't start at all from cold.
The solution was to replace the crankshaft sensor in the engine. This permanently solved the problem.
Transmission won't shift above 2nd or 3rd gear.
The solution to this was to replace the solenoid valve PCB inside the transmission. The sensors had metal built up on the surface. Cleaning it may have worked, but the replacement part was not too expensive.
Coolant leaking from the driver's side of the engine.
This was a bad oil cooler block. Replacing it and the gasket fixed the prob
