Our newest diesel is here!

Finally, after waiting for nearly a year, my wife and I got our new Big Benz, a 2016 Sprinter!



Will be getting fitted with a rear entry wheelchair lift, and two anchor points in the back for my two sons. It will be nice having some extra space to move around in for once. We've been doing well with a 1993 Eurovan, but it has no room for anything else. This will be big enough for not only the whole family, but for some extra passengers as well, since I will be able to retain one of the rear seats.

I'd like to thank the TDI club members, vendors, and friends, as without your help there is no way I could have ever afforded this. Too bad that Volkswagen won't sell the Crafter here, as I probably would have bought one of those instead. But at least (for now), Mercedes-Benz still does sell the Sprinter here, which may sadly be one of their last diesel powered vehicles available for us.

Congratulations Oilhammer. May the EPA stay far away. I've appreciated your advice over the past 4 years and if I was going to keep the JSW I would ask you about the sticking intake flap.

Glad to see you were able to get it after all!

Congratulations! Very nice, and I am sure you and the family will put it to good use.

Sweet van! I've been wanting a sprinter for quite awhile too. One of these days.

Congrats. Sounds like you will get good use out of it.

Congratulations!

I had an 05 10 passenger Sprinter for a couple of years and loved it. My plan, on about 8 years, is to buy a Sprinter to convert to an RV.

My dad has a Roadtrek based on the older generation Sprinter. He likes it though there are plenty of updates to make getting next generation Sprinter worth while.

I'm been hoping VW brings their commercial vehicles over so we'd get Crafters, "Eurovans", Caddys, Amaroks, etc. Probably not going to happen, but I can hope.

Jason

I think MB will have Bluetec diesel in US in 2018

oilhammer said:

Finally, after waiting for nearly a year, my wife and I got our new Big Benz, a 2016 Sprinter!



Will be getting fitted with a rear entry wheelchair lift, and two anchor points in the back for my two sons. It will be nice having some extra space to move around in for once. We've been doing well with a 1993 Eurovan, but it has no room for anything else. This will be big enough for not only the whole family, but for some extra passengers as well, since I will be able to retain one of the rear seats.

I'd like to thank the TDI club members, vendors, and friends, as without your help there is no way I could have ever afforded this. Too bad that Volkswagen won't sell the Crafter here, as I probably would have bought one of those instead. But at least (for now), Mercedes-Benz still does sell the Sprinter here, which may sadly be one of their last diesel powered vehicles available for us.

Click to expand...

Van is awesome. But I disagree about 2018. MB is making vast investment in clean diesel technology. I think it's to get clean below 50 degrees and come charging back to the EPA certification for 2018. The lawsuit against MB for "misrepresenting" or whatever is frivolous and will be dismissed clearing the way. The only hitch may be physics, if diesel can't reasonably get clean below 50 degrees and EPA requires it. Given MB brilliant success getting clean so far and their massive research investment, I'm sure the next gen will have the diesel option in 2018.

Congrats Brian. Glad it finally showed up. I'm sure that all will be thrilled with the new ride when you have it decked out.

Best of luck!

Finally got to drive it home last night. First stop from the dealer was here to the shop, where I lifted it and thoroughly clearcoated all the metal bits on its underside, and coated the rocker sill boxes and the rear spring boxes as well as some other sheet metal areas with Flex Seal.... unloaded two cans of clear and three cans of flex. The factory coating is already pretty good, I just wanted even more. It is only new once, I'd like to keep it that way.

The Argentine assembly did pretty good, do not see anything wrong anywhere. Useless bit of trivia: the 2016 Sprinter is the very first mass produced vehicle assembled in Argentina and sold in the US market. That MB plant has been building current Sprinters since 2012, and has been in operation continuously since 1951, building mostly trucks and buses for the South American market. Hopefully they've built me a good product.

Mine came with the crappy Kumho tires, and the transport driver (it was driven here from Kentucky) must have smacked a pothole and not bothered to tell anyone, because the steering wheel is ever so slightly off and there is a vibration in the wheel above about 65.

Wife drove it for the first time. Only time I was ever that nervous next to here was when she was giving birth to our kids. She did fine driving it, though. And actually remarked "wow, it's peppier than I thought it would be, gotta love the diesels!". I love this woman.

oilhammer said:

Finally, after waiting for nearly a year, my wife and I got our new Big Benz, a 2016 Sprinter!



Will be getting fitted with a rear entry wheelchair lift, and two anchor points in the back for my two sons. It will be nice having some extra space to move around in for once. We've been doing well with a 1993 Eurovan, but it has no room for anything else. This will be big enough for not only the whole family, but for some extra passengers as well, since I will be able to retain one of the rear seats.

I'd like to thank the TDI club members, vendors, and friends, as without your help there is no way I could have ever afforded this. Too bad that Volkswagen won't sell the Crafter here, as I probably would have bought one of those instead. But at least (for now), Mercedes-Benz still does sell the Sprinter here, which may sadly be one of their last diesel powered vehicles available for us.

Click to expand...

Oilhammer

Happy for you

My favorite family story:
When my aunt and uncle became snowbirds, they bought a brand new suburban and big ass trailer. This was not their first trailer but most others were pulled behind a pickup. Her comment was that when he drove, she napped. When she drove, he cleaned the glove box.

oilhammer said:

Finally got to drive it home last night. First stop from the dealer was here to the shop, where I lifted it and thoroughly clearcoated all the metal bits on its underside, and coated the rocker sill boxes and the rear spring boxes as well as some other sheet metal areas with Flex Seal.... unloaded two cans of clear and three cans of flex. The factory coating is already pretty good, I just wanted even more. It is only new once, I'd like to keep it that way.
The Argentine assembly did pretty good, do not see anything wrong anywhere. Useless bit of trivia: the 2016 Sprinter is the very first mass produced vehicle assembled in Argentina and sold in the US market. That MB plant has been building current Sprinters since 2012, and has been in operation continuously since 1951, building mostly trucks and buses for the South American market. Hopefully they've built me a good product.
Mine came with the crappy Kumho tires, and the transport driver (it was driven here from Kentucky) must have smacked a pothole and not bothered to tell anyone, because the steering wheel is ever so slightly off and there is a vibration in the wheel above about 65.
Wife drove it for the first time. Only time I was ever that nervous next to here was when she was giving birth to our kids. She did fine driving it, though. And actually remarked "wow, it's peppier than I thought it would be, gotta love the diesels!". I love this woman.

Click to expand...

It's in good hands now!

When yo have time, can you post a few more pictures of it including some interior shots?

On the Flex Seal coating: Is that for soundproofing only?

On my newly acquired 1971 Super Beetle, the floor pans are solid but have surface rust on the underside. I have access to a lift on a regular basis and was thinking of coating the pans with POR 15. Would it be a good idea to add a coat of Flex Seal on top of the POR 15 for additional protection?

Thanks

aja8888 said:

It's in good hands now!

When yo have time, can you post a few more pictures of it including some interior shots?

On the Flex Seal coating: Is that for soundproofing only?

On my newly acquired 1971 Super Beetle, the floor pans are solid but have surface rust on the underside. I have access to a lift on a regular basis and was thinking of coating the pans with POR 15. Would it be a good idea to add a coat of Flex Seal on top of the POR 15 for additional protection?

Thanks

Click to expand...

My opinion as a paint chemist:
My first instinct was to tell you to not topcoat the POR-15. On reading the website and technical data sheet, it says that it is not UV stable. Although the underside of your bug shouldn't get much UV, it may get enough that the POR-15 may turn brittle and crack. So, yes, topcoat it but make sure that you sand it prior to topcoating or the Flex Seal may not stick. Flex Seal may also give you a little more sound proofing.

You would essentially be stopping the rust and protecting the metal with the POR-15 and then protecting the POR-15 with the Flex Seal.

Please make sure that when applying both products that you have adequate ventilation and are wearing an approved and properly fit respirator and goggles (not just safety glasses). You may not "need" the respirator for the Flex Seal but anything you can do to limit inhalation of those solvents and propellants is a good thing.

kjclow said:

My opinion as a paint chemist:
My first instinct was to tell you to not topcoat the POR-15. On reading the website and technical data sheet, it says that it is not UV stable. Although the underside of your bug shouldn't get much UV, it may get enough that the POR-15 may turn brittle and crack. So, yes, topcoat it but make sure that you sand it prior to topcoating or the Flex Seal may not stick. Flex Seal may also give you a little more sound proofing.

You would essentially be stopping the rust and protecting the metal with the POR-15 and then protecting the POR-15 with the Flex Seal.

Please make sure that when applying both products that you have adequate ventilation and are wearing an approved and properly fit respirator and goggles (not just safety glasses). You may not "need" the respirator for the Flex Seal but anything you can do to limit inhalation of those solvents and propellants is a good thing.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips!

Congratulations Oilhammer, good choice of vehicle.

Really looks like a fine ride!! Best of luck

Awesome, Brian. I'd like to see it someday.

<Like>, as the kiddies say.

No more pics until the weekend. Unfortunately, this time of year my house is dark when I leave in the morning, and dark when I get home in the evening. And since I live in the sticks, dark means DARK.

Priced a trailer hitch kit from MB yesterday... my heart just started beating regularly again this morning. And the guy couldn't tell me if this included any trailerl interface module or not, just that "it has a bunch of wires 'n stuff". I told him on VAG products, the kit comes with all that, and they'll have a module that mounts in a place already designated for it, and plugs into the harness in a place already designated for it, and you simply need to recode a few other modules (ABS, Central Electronics, back up camera/Parktronic, CAN module, etc.) to let the car welcome the new trailer control box, and I thought perhaps MB would be similar, and he just gave me a blank stare. He used the same stare when I asked about adding cruise control.

So going to have to research those items, as well as a possible addition of a back up camera. It looks like in the manual the radio control head is the same for those with in dash navigation and the camera (and it does have a NAV button and a very high resolution screen). Do not really care about nav, and that would certainly require a telematics box installed, but the camera would be nice for my wife.

Figured out (I think) how to disable the auto lock/unlock nonsense last night via holding the button on the dash for a couple seconds until the light flashes and then goes out.

Still trying to comprehend the distinctly German (excessively complex) rear heater system. It has "auxiliary heating" and a "heater booster", which as best I can tell are one in the same: a fuel fired furnace mounted inside the left rocker box that has a heat exchanger to warm the coolant in the circuit going to the rear heater core. I think the "auxiliary" part is the rear heater core/blower, and the "booster" part is the furnace. But they both seem to operate off the same rocker switch on the dash, but the upper part of the switch controls one part, and the lower part of the switch controls the other. And if the booster is left on, it will automatically fire up when the coolant is below 39 F at startup. However, this system, while it has all the meat and potatoes parts of the preheater, it has no controller with timer and remote. And there is no block heater. So I cannot prewarm the engine or cabin, but I suppose it must warm very quickly after startup.

Two completely independent A/C systems. Two compressors, two condensers (one in front of the radiator like normal for the front unit, the other in the little "hat" on the roof for the rear unit), two evaporator cases, two controls.

I tell ya, the bottom side of this van looks like an oil refinery with all the tubes and pipes and hoses running all over the place, LOL.

Is one of those heaters the one that runs to keep the inside warm even when the engine isn't running?

I had a customer with that feature on a Sprinter some years ago. I was walking by his house and heard the thing running and had to knock on the door to ask him what that was.

No, mine only works when the engine is running.

Wonder is that is a safety default setting. Keeps the chances of burning the truck to the ground in the middle of the night at the slim to none level.

Oilhammer, you might look up what model the heater actually is. If it's like the Webasto fitted to Touaregs it's possible to add the remote control or timer for pre-heating (I've done this to our 04).

-J

Pretty sure it is a Webasto. The cargo Sprinters use them, too, but they are mounted up behind/under the driver side headlamp in those. It looks like the same unit to me, though, just in a different location.

The factory remote preheater also powers the blower motor, which could also defrost the windows if I assume you left it in defrost mode.

Nice, glad you got something that works good for the family.

oilhammer said:

The factory remote preheater also powers the blower motor, which could also defrost the windows if I assume you left it in defrost mode.

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When I hooked up the remote control to the existing heater in the Touareg this was the case too. It talks to the climate control system over CAN, wakes it up, and when the coolant gets warm enough sets the system to defrost with max fan.

-J

more pics