Looking for a mechanic to work on old Mercedes diesel engine

CubicleDweller

Can anyone recommend a mechanic to work on the diesel engine of an old Hymer motorhome? I think something's wrong with one or more glowplugs and I'd like to get the injectors checked, too. Both jobs are beyond my very basic skill level.

The van is a 1994 Hymer S580 with the well-known Mercedes OM602 engine (2.9L, 5-cylinder, no turbo). Ideal location would be north Dublin (city or county) but I'd be willing to travel to find someone who knows what they're doing. All tips would be gratefully received. Thanks!

greasepalm

If you got the fault codes read it could be a step forward to see whats happening.

When we had faulty glow plugs we would remove the wire on top of it , do you have a 12v insulated circuit tester if so put the earth clip on + side if battery 12v then touch the tip of glow plug where wire was and it should glow.

No glow, plug is gone and if more than 2 gone all get replaced.

Alkers

Sweeney's garage in ballyfermot did good work on my classic camper previously. You might want to check with them regarding the size of your van.

CubicleDweller

Thanks, Alkers, I'll look them up. 👍

CubicleDweller

Thanks, greasepalm. I'm not sure but I think the engine might be too old to even have an OBD port? I'll try to find that out for sure as codes would definitely be helpful. I don't have the circuit tester that you mentioned; I'll look for one of those.

My biggest issue is that access to some of the plugs is difficult and I'm worried about what will happen if one of them breaks as we try to remove it. Testing the plugs in situ could save a lot of grief.

Thanks again!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684902#Comment_120684902

Plugs can be a real bastard to replace and getting it wrong can mean engine block repairs (think cross threads as well as broken plugs). They are often in very inaccessable places which makes them far from an amateurs job. Best do as you think and get a mechanic to do it for you.

greasepalm

Agreed removal of some glow plugs on some models can shear off , but at this moment are only removing the feed wire or rail .

https://www.mercedesmedic.com/find-location-obd-ii-obd2-port-mercedes-benz/

My 1989 car has a diagnostic port and other older cars one needed a suitcase of different adapters for that make and model.

CubicleDweller

Thanks, all. I've found various YouTube videos that show glow plugs being tested while still in the engine, just by measuring their resistance with a multimeter. I'll try that and see how it goes. If I can at least confirm that some are gone, that would be progress. 🤞

greasepalm

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9STg9xi-k3s