Sprinter PM results

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
You did 104,000 miles as a solo! WOW! Way to go OVM.

That is ALL miles...

Dakota: I don't remember them ads?...

So far I have an engine that does not burn excessive oil..has no oil leaks of any kind and original EGR no less...
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
@ almost 590,000....appointment with dealer in Rapid City...

Glow plug and controller time....seems they have about a 2-3 yr lifespan?

Turtle told me off a fuel line that split on him in Iowa last month and the PIA he had with it..as it had split from aging...

As a PM matter...I am having the 2 lines replaced as they are inexpensive and easy to do...
almost 110,000 miles on this fuel filter as well...

The AC will be pushed back till end of March..I am budgeting $2,500 for this job....I will likely have the entire system replaced...not going to nickle and dime it to death....
I am NOT going with the cheap off market parts...as I feel them cheap MOPAR stamped parts are forgeries...

I probably pay more but OEM parts have served me well...
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
My tech in RC is retiring this month....:(

I was just talking to the parts dept gal in RC..about the engine or in fact a new engine in crate...

Cost....$12,800 there and about..

In Birmingham AL...it was $16,400....

the RC dealer will drop ship an engine with me paying the additional shipping costs anywhere in the lower 48...depending on where yours decides to let go and IF you are going to go new as opposed to a rebuild...might be good to keep in mind...
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
This summer has been interesting to say the least....
Had the AC system done....compressor/dryer I bought online and saved $700....then 1 line and condenser replaced..
Then a problem when I unloaded in Nagales...seems one of them potholes jam my right front in an indescribable way....seized caliper....BUT the brakes needed done anyhow(302k) so it pretty well the cost of a new caliper out of the ordinary...a new hot and cold controller/fan speed cont. on the dash.....
Tranny and rear end service too...
and 4 new Michelin LXT's all around..
so everything is done that I know of repairs and PM...good to go..

Total around $4,300 complete...

Oh yeah..almost forgot...$8.99 for 1 new wiper blade....lol
 

aileron

Expert Expediter
Ken,
What are you going to do about those rust spots? Let me know, because mine shows them also, so this year I have to take care of that.
 

purgoose10

Veteran Expediter
OVM,

So it looks to be about 10c a mile for maintenance this year. Really less than that since doing an A/C job.

That's good.

Gregs 750,000 is also great.

Do you think that kind of success and overall miles can be done with hired drivers???
 

bobwg

Expert Expediter
Ken,
What are you going to do about those rust spots? Let me know, because mine shows them also, so this year I have to take care of that.
I have rust spots on my Sprinter too on back door by window, hood is real bad, and real bad along bottom of windshield, drivers door, and other spots, went by Maaco to get an idea what kind of price they would give me to treat the rust spots and repaint they said would be around $2,500 they said no guarantee that rust spots wont come back other body shops i talked too also said no guarantee on the rust spots
 

purgoose10

Veteran Expediter
I have rust spots on my Sprinter too on back door by window, hood is real bad, and real bad along bottom of windshield, drivers door, and other spots, went by Maaco to get an idea what kind of price they would give me to treat the rust spots and repaint they said would be around $2,500 they said no guarantee that rust spots wont come back other body shops i talked too also said no guarantee on the rust spots

Don't know how bad your rust problem is but they sell stuff called rust remover, rust killer or something like that in the Auto parts stores that sell body repair stuff. You brush it on and leave it for awhile then wash it off. I've used it and it works well. About $7 bucks for a small can.

After it dries go back and spray primer on it.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
OVM,

So it looks to be about 10c a mile for maintenance this year. Really less than that since doing an A/C job.

That's good.

Gregs 750,000 is also great.

Do you think that kind of success and overall miles can be done with hired drivers???
I still want to buy the pulley kit that is available and change them all out in the fall so they will be in line...and then change them out every fall there after...150 bucks is cheap insurance..

Going to buff out the rust the best I can and primer them...I don't have rust around the windshield yet...just the back window like everyone else....
 

golfournut

Veteran Expediter
I still want to buy the pulley kit that is available and change them all out in the fall so they will be in line...and then change them out every fall there after...150 bucks is cheap insurance..

Going to buff out the rust the best I can and primer them...I don't have rust around the windshield yet...just the back window like everyone else....

Do you know if Benz has fixed the rust issue on later models? I asked the dealer about spraying under coating on them. He said they come treated, but that's the under carriage only I think.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Rust is a pain in the a**, I would recommend finding a shop that you can work with where you can 'suggest' products to use.

Many of them will just sand it down, use a plastic float coat and then prime and top coat it without actually fixing the problem ... they know it will come back, that's one reason why they will not guarantee the work.

I recommend POR-15 for the rust as a conversion coat, then a good epoxy top coat (don't skimp on the top coat). Because it is white, someone with a good air compressor and patients can do the work at home without much difficulty and great results. The biggest issue is the windshield removal which I think it is a rubber gasket type.

As a side note - don't laugh about this - I helped someone paint their little English Ford Popular. It had rust spots like the sprinter. His solution was to sand it down and use rustoleum to prime and then top coat the car. Because it was a blue that rustoleum had the same tone of blue the car originally had on it, it was an easy thing to do. We painted the entire car after he liked the results (and because some parts of the blue were faded where there were no repairs). The overall results can be seen at some of the English sports car shows, which has held up for four years outside pretty well. So conceivably you can grab a quart of white rustoleum, sand paper, one of them throw away spray bottles and 'fix' the sprinter rust spots.

I think the issue with the sprinter is the way they expect the life to be in Europe and how they prep their metal for paint. Their cars don't have this issue, even older ones take time to rust but I think the sprinter has the same issue as GM cars of the late 80s with an primer adhesion issue and they won't change it because of the main market isn't NA.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Yes the new ones that I've seen 09/10's have the same spots..

We are assuming that Benz doesn't do the finished paint job till they are reassembled over here....all the sea salt getting on the panels....just little tiny specks appear in about 8-12 months...

I am wondering if the ones for the Canadian market do the same thing? Since they come over complete...that would blow the first theory out the door... then it would just come down to plain old shabby paint job...
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Well even if they do a finish them when they arrive, they are not bare metal nor are the without a 'top' coat as they are bodies in white. I would assume that if they are having problems, it may be with the adhesion of the primer coats that could be affected by the cleaning process of the bodies before they have their final coating.

This would also be a problem for a number of other MB vehicles, like unimogs which are also assembled in other parts of the world and travel on open decks.

Dividing the issue up, the first sprinters which I see a lot of rust on them, could be also a problem with quality standards - remember that Freightliner and Dodge BOTH have lower standards for their branded vehicles than Mercedes branded vehicles.
 
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