Fitz’ 2016 Sprinter 4x4 RB 150S Build

[Fitz]

Bear,

Your question made me realize I didn't include a picture of the bung that is part of the kit and that is intended to be installed on both sides. Here is an underside look at the passenger's side bracket with the bung shown just forward of the upper shock mount bolt.



The purpose of the bung is to provide support on both sides of the new bracket. By omitting the bung on the driver's side and utilizing the existing bracket bolt there is only support provided on the inboard side, but sufficient support in my opinion along with the two new bolts on the forward end of the bracket (the second bolt is mostly obscured by the hose in the picture). If you go to the Van Compass website and pull up the instructions for the Baja Bracket all should become clear.

[Fitz]

I have only known of one person who has had trouble with a speed sensor, but it was an issue that was hard to diagnose and adversely affected the way the van ran. With that said, when I saw these simple guards on Agile's website I decided to try them out.

Here is a picture of the front wheel speed sensor. You be the judge of how exposed it is:



The guard couldn't be much simpler to install. All that is required is to remove a bolt and install a new one with a bit of Loctite Blue on it.



Simple, and hopefully effective. Time will tell.

[Charliesmom]

I wish AO would develop one for the Transit. The sensors are similar and not infrequently throw DTCs regarding the ABS and TCS systems. The current fix by Ford is to clean the sensors with a “shop rag” and see if the problem codes go away.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...56872-9999.pdf.
My codes did resolve but they have returned now 2 months later.

[Fitz]

Driving from the west coast to Chicago recently the yellow Check Engine light on the dash lit up, never a good feeling, especially when on a long trip in the winter. Consulting the manual, the options presented included:
1. The exhaust gas aftertreatment is malfunctioning...
2. You have used up all the fuel in the tank...
3. The injection control is malfunctioning...

None are good options, especially when the descriptions include "the engine is running in emergency mode" and "only be started another 16 times." The engine was running fine, thus options 2 & 3 didn't seem applicable, thus option 1 seemed to be the most likely candidate.

I haven't used the Blue Driver code reader (see page 20 of this thread, post 191) for quite a while (no need) so I had to re-load the ap to get it to work (new phone since the last use). Once all was working here are the Confirmed Trouble Codes I was presented with:



One of the nice things about the Blue Driver is that it gives a bit more information than just the codes, looking deeper here is what I found:






This convinced me I was dealing with a DEF issue, most likely something that would not leave us stranded on the side of I-80 in the next couple of days. So we continued on. I called the MB dealer in Chicago and read them the codes and made an appointment for the day after our anticipated arrival.

The MB dealer's diagnosis was that the DEF pump had gone out, something that parts were available for on a next-day basis AND that would be covered under the warranty extension that came with the DEF system recall. The repairs were made, the Check Engine light is gone, and all appears to be as it should be.

Going back to the Blue Driver, here is what a post-repair code search reveals:




Having a code reader on-board adds to my comfort level as I want to have as much information as possible when diagnosing a problem on the side of the road. Incidentally, Flint had a bit over 81k on the odometer when this occurred, and it is the first DEF related issue we have experienced. Talking with the dealer service rep I was told to NEVER let the DEF tank get below half full and that best practice is to fill the DEF tank every 2-3 fill ups. Seems like good advice to me.

[Fitz]

We just drove from the Bay Area to Chicago and back. Four days out and nine days back, with the delivery of our daughter's twins (a boy and a girl, both healthy and happy) in between. Start-to-finish the trip was 39 days.

Flint is a full GVWR 2016 4wd Sprinter 2500 pop-top with a 2" lift and running 285-70-17 AT's. Because of the time of the year, the diesel Espar D5 heater was run 7 or 8 nights to keep things (us in particular) from freezing up.

Total mileage: 4,882 (this is corrected for tire size)
Highest per-tank MPG = 16.9
Lowest per-tank MPG = 13.2
Average MPG = 14.85
Highest per gallon diesel cost = $4.859
Lowest per gallon diesel cost = $3.539
Average per gallon diesel cost = $4.24
Average DEF MPG = 794

I just booked my wife a ticket to fly back to see the twins again in May. The cost of two airplane tickets is just about equivalent to the fuel cost to drive back and forth. It might make sense financially to fly, but where's the fun in that? It was a great road trip!

[Fitz]

Somewhere along the way I managed to bend the attachment point of one of the front struts, it knocked the camber out of whack. 80k+ miles on the stock struts.

Enter a new set of Bilstein B-6's. Aren't they pretty? They perform well also.


Along the way I learned something that I thought I'd pass along about the Sprinter front end. The Sprinter does not come stock with a means to adjust the camber. If you need to adjust the camber in the stock setup you need to first purchase two cam bolts from Mercedes, part number 002-990-86-00, see picture below:


However, the Bilstein's don't utilize this cam bolt to adjust the camber, rather they utilize a slot that allows them to be adjusted. As I understand it, the range of adjustment with the Bilstein's and their slot is greater than the stock shock with the added cam bolt.

At any rate, one more thing to remember about these vans!

[Fitz]

Here's another oddball Sprinter issue to be aware of.

I was recently rolling down the freeway in Colorado with the cruise control set and not a care in the world when suddenly I felt a small lurch as the cruise control disengaged and the van decelerated. The CEL light came on and three messages were displayed:
1. Cruise Control Inoperative, visit workshop
2. ESP Malfunction
3. Tire Pressure Malfunction

I put my foot down and the van accelerated back up and all felt ok so I kept going. When it came time to get off the freeway it became clear that all was not well as I slowed down and realized that the van wasn't downshifting and that I had to do so manually.

Here is what the Blue Driver code reader had to report:





Here's where the interesting/oddball part comes in. I contacted a knowledgeable Sprinter mechanic and after I described the symptoms and codes he asked me if there was a WeatherTech floor mat in the van. My reply was yes, that it had been there from day one. He told me he had seen this issue on several other Sprinters, that what happens is that the WeatherTech mat works its way forward over time until it raises up a bit at the front and becomes an obstruction under the accelerator pedal. When that happens the (electronic, not mechanical) pedal senses the obstruction and throws the code. The short-term solution? Pull the mat down, clear the codes, and continue on your way as if nothing happened.

The long term solution? Pull the mat out and do a bit of trimming.






As for the ESP and Tire Pressure codes? They were nothing and did not re-appear once the codes were cleared.

[Fitz]

We have a daughter in Chicago who delivered twins (a boy and a girl, both healthy and happy) this past March. We drove the van back and spent about six weeks there as the support team for the before, during and after process. It was a great experience and having the time to do so is one of the great benefits of being retired.

Having been born and raised in Iowa I’m no stranger to winter conditions and how they affect a vehicle. I will admit, I’d forgotten how quickly road salt can make an impact…

As a teenager I installed engine heaters on two of our family vehicles. For an old carbureted motor, they ensured that we could get the engine started on cold winter days. Coupled with a timer to turn the heater on in the morning, it made for a great addition.

Planning ahead, more winter trips will be in order, thus I have recently installed a lower radiator hose heater in the van. Hopefully I will never need it, but that’s the same comment that applies to all forms of insurance….

Here are the installation details for those of you who are interested:

There is not a lot of room for access, that’s nothing new for any of us. The van has an engine skid plate, thus that needed to be removed to provide access from below.

The heater is available from O’Reilly Auto Parts, it is a Zerostart 600 Watt Model 150D with a bore diameter of 1-1/2” and a electrical draw of 5 amps. Check your lower radiator hose diameter carefully as this will vary by engine. For you Sprinter owners, Flint is a NCV3 with a 1-1/2” diameter lower radiator hose, but I believe that the VS30’s have a 1-1/4” diameter lower radiator hose. For this application there is a 1-1/4” bore diameter 375 Watt heater available. Check this!

Here are a couple of pictures of the heater:



Here is a diagram showing the radiator hose layout, the circled area is where the hose was cut and the heater was installed. Yes, it’s a tight fit.


And here is a picture of the heater installed, look for the metal body behind the hose in the front. I told you it was a tight fit!


And when it’s all said and done, this is all that is visible. The plug is on the passenger’s side front, easily accessible when needed.


I also replaced the upper radiator hose at the same time, it just seemed prudent to do so.

The lowest temperature I have started the van in with a cold engine was last year along Highway 395 near Lee Vining CA, it was 11 degrees and the van started without a problem. We did see -13 degrees later that day just outside Bridgeport CA, but we were driving with a hot engine thus there was no issue. I know many of you see colder temperatures on a regular basis, for us living outside the Bay Area in CA cold temps are a drive away. At any rate, I like to be prepared, thus the heater install along with an extension cord that allows us to plug into the inverter (or shore power or a generator) when and if necessary.

[jrobe]

I live in northern Wisconsin and store my 2017 Sprinter in an unheated storage garage with frequent frigid winter temperatures to sometimes -30 degrees. I have found the Sprinter to be a great cold weather starting vehicle. I usually start and run it once a month in the winter and it has always turned over and started right away. I do keep my Sprinter battery on a trickle charger which helps. I never used to buy a vehicle without a block heater in our Wisconsin climate but this almost seems unnecessary now with modern vehicles.

I did screw up and have a dead Sprinter battery one morning last spring on a camping trip. Luckily I had a jump starter with me. It was my original Sprinter battery which I should have replaced sooner. I had just replaced my house batteries too but was too dumb to replace the Sprinter battery at the same time. I will now load test it more frequently as it ages. You are probably more likely to have winter starting problems from a battery problem than you are from a cold engine on the Sprinter.

[Fitz]

jrobe,

Thanks for the excellent real-world feedback. I agree, keeping the engine battery current and in good condition is critical, my 2016 engine battery was replaced last year. My (now old-school) original East Penn 4D AGM house battery is still going strong, it will be interesting to see how much more life I get out of it.

I have a friend with a VS30 who has had several bad non-starting experiences with temps below 0. As I said about the heater in the text above: "Hopefully I will never need it, but that’s the same comment that applies to all forms of insurance…."