Well, it keeps getting better!

My brother came over about 5 and told me we had to go pick up his wifes car, it crapped out (the one we pulled the chain in). I had visions of a broken chain and $7000 in parts since we didn't test drive it and something had gone badly wrong.

Get there and his wife informed us that the low oil light had come one part way into town and that the oil pressure was going down, so she found a place to stop and call (didn't have the cell phone with her). Smart gal, no damage done other than soaking the engine compartment with about six quarts of oil.

My brother crimped the seal ring for the chain tensioner going back in (he gets in a hurry). Squirted oil pretty good, six quarts in 10 miles!

Nothing to replace the seal at McParts, the only place open, so we made a quick trip to the machine shop where he works and we turned a couple seal rings from 6061 aluminum.

Fixed the leak, so $50 later she's back on the road, but with the vibration problem we pulled the chain to fix back in spades.

The serpentine belt is both shot, and now soaked with oil. The vibration was initially caused, I suspect, buy the power steering pump slipping badly -- this caused the engine to shake as the belt slipped and grabbed. Moaned and groaned something terrible when I drove it home so long as I was near idle -- above that it smoothed out nicely.

I'm not telling my brother he put a chain in to cure a bad belt....

He's picking up a new belt tomorrow, so I guess we wil put that on in the evening AFTER he takes the car to the car wash and gets rid of some of the oil -- there is oil on the top of the rear bumper!

The good news in all this is that I now have a new seal to fix my leaking chain tensioner and I can go back to a leak-free car.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!