Something has obviously gone south in the engine, but wouldn't a rod mess up just a single cylinder? I would suspect a timing chain problem if it blew the compression on all cylinders on one side. Still an expensive problem, but not (as) catastrophic.

How does the mechanic explain a conn rod failure affecting all compression on one side?

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe