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more Sprinter questions

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Northwest Kiteboarding -> Gorge / Portland / Oregon Coast
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runaway

Since 31 Aug 2010
66 Posts
Anchorage
 



PostSat Apr 05, 14 1:42 pm    more Sprinter questions Reply with quote

I have looked at few post on the forum. I am looking at a 2006 dodge sprinter(Mercedes)

it is 110k miles. I am looking at the earlier for better price and supposed ability to run on "dirty" diesel.

besides the diesel fuel issue. what is the maintenance or big ticket items that might surprise me? or should I just buy a 4x4 cummins dodge PU? and tow a trailer or install camper

thanks for thoughts

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Scriffler

Since 03 Jul 2005
581 Posts
LYLE
Addicted



PostSat Apr 05, 14 4:40 pm     Reply with quote

Sprinters are so sick, but showing up in one usually makes you look like a rich douchebag. I have surfed all over the west coast, from baja to canada, and have seen tons of waxed yuppie mobiles. If you are just kiting you might be ok, but if low key is your style, you will attract lots of attention everywhere you go. I would say fuck it, if I could afford one of ekmans sick customized sprinters I would buy one in a second. Back roads are way easier in a trucks though. I would get a big diesel 4x4 beast,buy a sick custom camper and use the money I saved to move into it and surf and kite my balls off:)

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dwaynej

Since 09 Sep 2013
207 Posts

Stoked

CGKA Member


PostSun Apr 06, 14 7:19 pm     Reply with quote

We are on our second Sprinter. First was a 2004 mid length high roof silver passenger now living in Bend, OR. Sold with ~22,000 in 5 years. Second is a full length high roof, crew cab with the rear used for bikes, sleeping, kiting, and skiing. Just completed 20,000 in 3 years.

My son has Cerebral Palsy and the van allows us to easily transport all the odds and ends including his big stroller or bike trailer.

110K is young for a sprinter but 2006 was the last year for the T1N model and you might want to consider the NVC3 model. The turbo diesel is pretty hard wearing and you could easily go 400K+ but in the T1N, you have to watch out for "black death"...

Injector/engine seal leaks exhaust gases and does a bunch of damage before you realize since everything is covered. Catch it early and its a relatively easy fix, but catch it late, and a huge back gooey mess around all the injectors with lots of damage to engine head around failed injector. Need to pull the plastic cover off the injectors and you need a set of metric torx drivers to remove the bolts. Don't purchase a sprinter without checking this out first, and if you do purchase a T1N, pop the cover off at every oil change to validate all looks ok.

Other than black death, EGV valves can be temperamental.

As far as older van to support "dirty diesel", I'm pretty sure you can't purchase "dirty diesel" anywhere, although the T1N can support biofuel conversions.

http://www.bikeparts.com/search_results.asp?id=BPC126687&gclid=CO3Y0oO1zb0CFZZqfgodBy8AJQ

http://sprinter-source.com/forum/

We will be by in July.

Dwayne

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