Ok, I went the cheaper route and had my leaking oil cooler lines refitted at a hydrolic hose shop, both done for $58.00 took me 8 plus hours to get them out and in but hey they are done. Well I didn't catch the fact that the new hoses rubbed up against the fan belt and yes all of my work was needing to be done again since after driving my now oil leak free car for 15 minutes the oil pressure was gone along with 6-7 quarts of Fresh Chevron Delo, so I had a real mechanic do the lower oil cooler line that the fan belt sawed threw. Now I go to pic up the car and it has a loud knocking noise and the mechanics think that it is a valve or a bearing sticking or going bad? Loud knocking that accilerates with the engine acceleration. They say it was because of the 2-3 minutes the car was operating with the leaking spewing oil everywhere oil coolant line. The knock seems to be coming from the #4 piston top end, also noted is that I had the glow plugs changed out and the #4 glow plug would not come out and actually the out half broke leaving the inside stuck. I am not sure if a piece of it is causing the knocking noise or if they are seperate items all together. HELP!

How long did your car run with the reduced oil pressure ?
Were you driving it... or sitting in your driveway checking for leaks ?
How did you figure out you had a problem? Oil spewing, saw the guage not going up, going down.. that sort of narrative of what happened.
How did you get the car to your mechanics shop ?
If you had normal rpms of driving... and you did not notice it quickly... like within seconds.... or your oil guage was not responding quickly...
then you very well may have a problem with the bearing on the rod at the crank throw...or the other end of the rod at the piston pin....
Structural problems like this are hard to diagnose by sound... as it travels through solids and liquids ( some cps ) better than air....

I'd start looking for another engine or plan on rebuilding the one you got. If the rebuild is done right you will come out cheaper finding a good used one to install.

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Jim

I was driving and turned a corner into my court and thought my power steering went out because it was slipping due to the amount of oil on the belts. I had the car towed to the mechanics. Engine RPMs at that point were in the 1000 to 2000s but enough oil would of had to spew out due to the fan belt cutting the oil coolant line to make it slip.
I ran a search on rebuilt motors from MB and it looks like someone got a quote for 4200 out of the box rebuild from MB, I am also looking for a I think 81 through 84 300sd 5 cylinder salvage with low miles to swap the motors, I have heard you can pick up the whole car for 2-5 hundred but if you try to just buy the motor from a pick and pull/salvage yard it is anywhere from 1800-2500 with unknown miles? I am open for any suggestions. One idea I had was to take it to a MB mechanic and see if they know what is going on, from my limited knowledge maybe it just needs a valve adjustment and I am out the door for 2-500 hundred???

" thought my power steering went out because it was slipping due to the amount of oil on the belts."

What do you mean by that statement? That you later found out that you had no power stearing boost due to the fact that the engine had quit running ?

Are you saying that when you felt no power for your stearing boost you then looked at the oil pressure guage and it was too low ?

Did your engine quit or did you turn it off with your key ?

The second half of you last post is pretty much on the money...
If you do the work yourself... and frankly it does not sound like you have the mechanical knowledge or tools to do that.... you should be able to rebuild it if only the bearings were toasted... for about $1500...

But finding a good running matching car and buying the whole thing leaves you will lots of good spare parts... and IS usually the cheapest way out...

A good normal mechanic can change out the engines intact... while it takes a really good mechanic or a dedicated Benz freak to do it correctly themselves....

Don't waste your money on the valve setting.... you have bigger problems....

Don't know your location but I was at the Pull and Save in Denver a couple of weeks ago. There was a 126 in the yard because of a collison. It had the 617 engine. I have no idea what condition it is in, but I think the price for an engine there is around $100.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

The oil gauge was in normal range when I turned the corner and felt the power steering slip or that it wasn't as easy as before. I turned off the motor by the key it.

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions I will keep everyone posted on what happens.

Ok, you are on the better end of the spectrum.... the engine stopping by itself due to oil starvation being the worst case....
I suggest you find out exactly which bore your noise is coming from.... this involves a stethescope or getting lucky when taking the fuel from each cylinder one at a time... but only one at a time... see if you have a big difference in the noise it is making when it is making power compared to not...

It might be possible to just replace the lower rod bearing if you are lucky.... this would be sorta temporary... but for MB's that might mean 100 K.... they are very hardy as long as they have proper clean oil....
Main thing is finding out if it is rod/piston pin noise or rod /crank noise...

Is that the actual name of the place Pull and Save, I would like to call them and get the milage on the car and shipping costs. I am in northern CA. Thanks

Yes, Pull and Save in Aurora, CO. They're strictly self-serve so I doubt they will pull the engine. They wont even tell what they have in the yard when you call. Maybe a local member could pull it for you. I can't due to some physical problems. Shipping via Forward Air would probably run between 150-200 based on my past experience with them.
I did look at the odometer when I was there. I can't recall the exact mileage but I don't remember it being especially low.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Ouch just got off the phone with the local MB dealer here in Northern CA, ok the going rate for MB rebuilt with everything on it except an AC pump, starter and alternator, you better sit down to read this!!!!
Five thousand nine hundred and forty dollars yes $5940.00 and I can get it in 3 days delivered to my door! That was the major close of the parts man, I can get it in 3 days. For nearly 6 grand I want it over nighted!

dw that sounds about right. You can rebuild it yourself (as long as you have a handle on a good automotive machine shop) for between $2000 and $3000 based on whether you need pistons $$$ or not.

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Jim

I am now in the process of finding a motor salvaged/used, does anyone know a good leak test rating on a motor? It seems some places do a compression test and what I am told is not to buy anything with compression lower than 310 with 10 between each cylinder at most. But some shops or yards are giving me a leak test and saying it is 10 to 14% meaning 90 to 86 % good. I just want to beable to convert it to a compression test and know. Does the 310 sound like a good #? thanks for all of the help

dwferg,
I recall that MB says the 300SD engines are just over 400* when new, and at 285* or less, with no more than 15* between cylinders, MB recommends an overhaul, so the further up into the 300*'s you get, the better for you from the git-go, and the longer the engine should last. I have personally seen those engines with numbers in the 200's in all cylinders running every day for tens of thousands of miles. It's a diesel, remember, so it'll probably run even with numbers in the 100's. Not with any zip, but probably still get up to 75 mph on the highway. There's a theory about those engines that says if you can't afford to rebuild your working engine, just change the oil regularly and run it till it can't do highway speeds safely, or, local street speeds. Depends on the type of driving you expect to do, and how much of a 'lack of acceleration'' safety issue you are willing to live with. Higher compression #'s = better acceleration, longer-lasting engine, but usually more $$ up front. If you could get 350* plus from a salvage engine, you'd be getting a steal. Good Luck!

SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 338k miles

Are there any internal differences between a turbo and a non-turbo OM617?

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1982 300SD