2002-2003 v. 2004-2006 Sprinters

I am in the market for a used sprinter. I have been advised to avoid 02-03, but also hear that many people like them more due to the simpler engine. So I have been looking for 04-06 with mixed success.

After reading some forum comments on the site, I see many love their 02-03. What are the Pros / Cons of both the 02-03 era and 04-06 era.

Love the site and community. Thanks!

wlauberds said:

...So I have been looking for 04-06 with mixed success.

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I built this to find my Sprinter: http://www.daviddemartini.com/cl/sprinters.php

The 2002's are all Freightliners (every parts counter gets confused by this), The 2003's were both Freightliners and Dodges. I normally just ask for 2003 Dodge parts (with only a few exceptions).

There are slight parts differences between the 2002 and 2003, and between Freightliner and Dodges.

The body and transmission/drive shaft/rear end is generally the same for 2002 thru 2006 NAFTA T1Ns (various models are pretty consistant thru the years). The Engines/turbos are different between 2002-2003 and 2004-2006. I like them all (and have helped work on all of the years worth of NAFTA T1Ns).

2002-2003 have issues with the EGR (needs to manually be cleaned - not hard to do, but you have to do it).

I have a 2002 and really like it. However, changing fuel filters is a pain compared to the 2004 and later. Mine is quite reliable - I do most of the maintenance on it. In my opinion, if you are not one who is willing to do as much work as possible, you might find them too expensive to operate, no matter what year you choose. I also have a DAD unit (can do diagnostics on any T1N), that helps keep it reliable. There are few service people out there that have a clue about how to repair a T1N (Dodge dealers, that used to sell them, included).

I don't think that the 2002 and 2003 was ever sold new in California.

I have a 2002 and it has been perfectly reliable for me so far. I don't think there is really much difference in reliability. You can address the EGR issue mentioned by jmoller99 by getting a tune which will disable the EGR circuit.

photogravity said:

I have a 2002 and it has been perfectly reliable for me so far. I don't think there is really much difference in reliability. You can address the EGR issue mentioned by jmoller99 by getting a tune which will disable the EGR circuit.

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Can you tell me more about this? I have a 2003 that I'm trying to get running & would like to do the EGR delete to it.

The egr delete isn't a true delete, but rather a tune that reprograms the ECU in a couple ways, one of which is not to look for proper functioning of the egr before starting.
The tune is sold by GDE. I have the tune and love it. Search the forum for the GDE tune thread and you will get a ton of information about it.

I have owned a Sprinter from both sets of years. In fact, Photogravity, who replied to this thread, owns my first Sprinter. I prefer the '04-'06 Sprinters for teo basic reasons, but if I found a good deal on an '02-'03 Sprinter, I would not hesitate to buy it. The two reasons I don't like the older engines are the difficulty of replacing the glow plugs because the intake manifold is so large, and the air bubbles in the fuel lines because of the placement of the low pressure fuel pump. One thing I prefer about the older engines is the simplicity of injector changes- no ECU programming needed, unlike the newer engines that are supposed to be programmed when the injectors are replaced.

I've only had the OM612, but can see some advantages to the OM647 that T2T mentioned. The pusher fuel pump in the tank, the better EGR design, and the manifold design. Some things that are better on the OM612 are lack of turbo resonator, no coding if changing injectors.

Which one is "better"? For the person who will be doing their own repairs and doesn't have a DRBIII or D.A.D. the OM612 is a good choice. For longer EGR life, the OM647 is better.

The EGR on the OM612 is a maintenance part, it will wear out and need replacement sometime between every 100-200k. Idling and city driving wear it out quicker. It is a $450-650 part.

Personally, if I was given the choice between equal mileage OM612 and OM647, I'd go with the devil I know, but I wouldn't hesitate to get an OM647 at the right price.

Type2Teach said:

The egr delete isn't a true delete, but rather a tune that reprograms the ECU in a couple ways, one of which is not to look for proper functioning of the egr before starting.
The tune is sold by GDE. I have the tune and love it. Search the forum for the GDE tune thread and you will get a ton of information about it.

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On the OM612, the EGR fails when it can no longer hold boost pressure with corroded seals. Does the GDE tune keep the valve closed but send signal that it is opening and closing like the ECU wants? If so, does that prolong the life of the seals? Or if it doesn't, but it tricks the ECU, can a simple block-off be installed?

surlyoldbill said:

On the OM612, the EGR fails when it can no longer hold boost pressure with corroded seals. Does the GDE tune keep the valve closed but send signal that it is opening and closing like the ECU wants? If so, does that prolong the life of the seals? Or if it doesn't, but it tricks the ECU, can a simple block-off be installed?

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I don't exactly know. You would have to ask Keith from GDE, or my guess is that the answer is already here on the forum. Maybe in the GDE tune thread.

wlauberds said:

I am in the market for a used sprinter. I have been advised to avoid 02-03, but also hear that many people like them more due to the simpler engine. So I have been looking for 04-06 with mixed success.

After reading some forum comments on the site, I see many love their 02-03. What are the Pros / Cons of both the 02-03 era and 04-06 era.

Love the site and community. Thanks!

Click to expand...

02-03 are a lot harder to work on purely based on the poorly designed fuel pump system. There is no fuel pump in the tank and when changing any lines, pumps you get air into the fuel system and then most times have to use starting fluid in the intake to start it.

The only issue I really see with the 04-06 is the high failure in egr's cause I sell a lot of them a week online.

I have several 04-06 sprinters for sale in Phoenix and So Cal. If interested feel free to call me @ 760-622-0148 -Randy

nctrailseeker said:

Can you tell me more about this? I have a 2003 that I'm trying to get running & would like to do the EGR delete to it.

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Type2Teach said:

The egr delete isn't a true delete, but rather a tune that reprograms the ECU in a couple ways, one of which is not to look for proper functioning of the egr before starting.
The tune is sold by GDE. I have the tune and love it. Search the forum for the GDE tune thread and you will get a ton of information about it.

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What Type2Teach said. Before the tune, I was getting random EGR codes, but with the tune, they have gone away entirely. Van runs perfectly with the EGR disabled.

Type2Teach said:

I have owned a Sprinter from both sets of years. In fact, Photogravity, who replied to this thread, owns my first Sprinter. I prefer the '04-'06 Sprinters for teo basic reasons, but if I found a good deal on an '02-'03 Sprinter, I would not hesitate to buy it. The two reasons I don't like the older engines are the difficulty of replacing the glow plugs because the intake manifold is so large, and the air bubbles in the fuel lines because of the placement of the low pressure fuel pump. One thing I prefer about the older engines is the simplicity of injector changes- no ECU programming needed, unlike the newer engines that are supposed to be programmed when the injectors are replaced.

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These are all valid points. Re the air bubbles in the fuel line, there are ways to deal with that. Using a Euro spec fuel filter which does not have the water sensor helps a lot. Also when you change the fuel filter out, if you pressurize the fuel tank and push the fuel up into the system, it will be much easier to start afterwards. For that purpose, I have a fuel cap with a presta valve inner tube that I put on in place of the normal filler cap and then pump up the fuel tank. It works very reliably.

Thank you all for some awesome feedback! Much appreciated.