My fuel pressure was low, so the mechanic suggested replacing both fuel pumps and the flow regulator. After replacing just the fuel pumps he told me the car needed a fuel distributor too, at cost of $1900! So we halted the repairs, but he is still charging me $1000 for the fuel pumps! Was I ripped off? Should he have been able to diagnose the Fuel distributor problem BEFORE installing $1000 in fuel pumps? So now I have a $1000 bill on a car I’m junking anyway. What to do?
Sounds like he was just throwing parts and your money at it in the hope he’d guess right.
Why were you putting any new parts into a car you were junking?
BC.
The point is that we didn’t know it was going to be too expensive to fix right until AFTER we spent $1000 on fuel pumps, because after we installed the fuel pumps he told me I was going to need a $1900 fuel distributor. My question is, should he have knows about the fuel distributor BEFORE he had me spend $1000 on fuel pumps?
That’s difficult to answer but I would not tarnish the guy just yet.
This car uses CIS (sincerest condolences) and this system can be problematic.
Low fuel pressure points to a pump problem. It’s entirely possible to have a fuel distributor problem that cannot be diagnosed with a low fuel pressure situation so the answer is that it is NOT possible to diagnose a fuel dist. problem with weak pumps.
at were the symptoms as far as running, etc.? Or did the car not run at all, etc.?
What year and engine do you have?
It sounds like you paid a lot for the fuel pump and regulator, did you go to the dealer for an old Mercedes? These sound like dealer prices.
Since you didn’t need these parts, can you get any money back by putting back your parts that worked ok? Mercedes dealer parts are very expensive.
I’d try and get a fuel distributor from a salvage yard. These are very expensive if you go with a new Bosch one. Here’s a rebuilt a lot cheaper ($431): http://www.europartsdirect.com/epc-items.asp but a salvaged one would be dirt cheap. If you live near Minneapolis, MN I’ll help you out, I have a 1989 190E 2.6L.
They were not dealer parts, they were aftermarket.
Still wondering what the pre-pump replacement symptoms were.
cranked and cranked and took a long time to fire, eventually wouldn’t start at all.
You were ripped off by the dealer at the time of sale long before you needed this repair.
What PSI was the fuel pressure?
What year/engine/# miles Mercedes?
40 psi fuel pressure
1993 190e 2.3 L with 130,000 miles
Thanks