Quote:
Originally Posted by wallbenz
So you are confident that a true Crate motor 91-350sdl-- will NOT be a rodbender?
I went to your website- good stuff... if i do find the MB Diesel - will certainly stop by...
I am confused by one point--- my old MB (300sd) mechanic - had me believe that the Diesel was cheaper- to own/maintian vs. MB gassers.
Anyways- loved that om617... just looking to get a little quicker/newer w/ 87 sdl or 91 sdl with Crate motor... and trying to do more research on how WELL/Reliable the crate motor really was...
Very interesting reading- about rodbender theories.... what are your thoughts on the Sulfur in US diesel being one of the factors... seems a little logical if same motors in Euro cars- were NOT bending like in US???
I will reach out to you via PM or phone... to verify a TAGGED motor
thx
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A true replacement engine will not be a bender on principle. HOWEVER, the engine does remain susceptible to gasket failures and if not treated before it becomes a serious problem it will cause catastrophic failures...which include bending rods from not being able to compress excess liquids injected into the cylinder. If it's maintained regularly and investigatory measures are taken when oil loss is noted, it will provide a service life to rival an OM617. For what it's worth, I've replaced more blown up OM617's than I have blown up OM603's.
In general your entry fee and initial repairs are considerably greater with diesels as they are plagued with overall deferred maintenance. People assume the diesel doesn't need as much maintenance as a gas engine, but realistically the engine is just more forgiving to a lack of maintenance. Todays fuel costs, oil changes, over $1k repair tickets for major assemblies, etc also factor into the overall running costs over a 10 year period. Out of all the Mercs I own, over the course of 10k miles the V12 SL's have been the least expensive and most reliable. Go figure, right?
I believe Mercedes had a note somewhere on fuel quality in the states, it had more to do with cetane levels causing the engine to detonate and deform rods. It's in my experience that it may have been true, but the detonation actually caused premature failure of the head gasket and the engine was compressing it's own engine oil...causing the bent rod. It's ALWAYS cyl 1!