A local (Detroit Metro area) forum member gave me permission to post this, as long as he is not named.
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He became curious after reading this and related links.
His OM617 has some blowby, in my opinion low-average for 200k miles.
He blocked the vent with a gauge he rigged up, and his wife started the car.
It started normal.
A few moments later the engine slowed, almost shutdown as he watched the pressure rise.
The pressure suddenly dropped, and engine RPM came back up.
Roughly one minute later he asked his wife to turn the car off.
Nothing happened, so he walked to the driver door as his wife climbed out.
She handed him the key and asked why it was still running?
He drove the car over to me.
I turned it off with the shutoff lever, and confirmed with a hand held vacuum pump that the shutoff diaphragm is broken.
When he explained what he had done - how he thought it happened, I checked his engine oil level.
It was down almost two quarts, and he had changed the oil this morning.
He is very touchy about oil leaks staining his garage/driveway.
We have replaced the oil filter housing gasket, turbo drain tube gasket/O-ring/grommet, torque converter seal, transmission pump O-ring, etc, etc.
For the last two years there where no leaks.
It took a few minutes to verify the front crankshaft seal had popped out of place.
Using several special tools (not designed for the job) I pressed the seal back in place, and it may be OK, but will be replaced by a new seal ASAP regardless of whether it leaks or not.
He is horribly embarrassed, and ticked off with himself for not considering/understanding the risk involved.
The cost from his view:
* Two quarts of synthetic oil $15.50 each for his brand.
* Shutoff box + labor $170.00.
* Front crankshaft seal + labor $320.00
Total $515.00
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