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#1
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whats a blown head gasket like?
shlomo(79 240D) is very slow, there is a grey "mist" coming from the engine compartment somewhere under the air cleaner.
the engine temperature is also fairly warm, reaching the 3rd notch most days i would travel on the interstate. my father said it is a blown head gasket and i have to believe him, i dont know a great deal and i fear ive worn out my welcome asking repeted newbie questions on other boards=) any help would be appreciated! |
#2
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I'd feel around first and try and find the leak and verify what it is. take off the air cleaner and with the engine running when its cold, start moving your hand around to find the source.
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1980 500SE/AMG Euro 1981 500SEL Euro 1982 380SEL 1983 300TD 1983 500SEC/AMG Euro 1984 500SEC 1984 300TD Euro 1986 190E 2.3-16 1986 190E 2.3 1987 300D 1997 C36 AMG 2003 C320T 4matic past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350 |
#3
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The effect of a blown head gasket depends on where the gasket is not sealing.
I had a bad oil leak from the front of the engine on a Mazda RF7 diesel when the head gasket failed at the oil gallery feed. Car ran beautifully, but left it's mark everywhere. I had a head gasket fail after overheating on the same model of engine after overheating, the only evidence was that the radiator hoses remained hard when the engine was cold and the green coolant went dark very quickly. After 18 months, I was losing coolant fast and the head was irrepairable. I have not had one fail where it leaked to the edge of the head, and into the engine bay, but that is possible too.
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Tony from West Oz. Fatmobile 3 84 300D 295kkm Silver grey/Blue int. 2 tank WVO - Recipient of TurboDesel engine. Josephine '82 300D 390kkm White/Palamino int. Elizabeth '81 280E, sporting a '79 300D engine. Lucille '87 W124 300D non-turbo 6 cylinder OM603, Pearl Grey with light grey interior Various parts cars including 280E, 230C & 300D in various states of disassembly. |
#4
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could be a loose exhaust manifold. Remove air filter housing as mentioned and check the side of the valve cover if there is any soot buildup. Sometimes manifold could be tighten again, sometimes it warps that you have to replace them or regrind the surface. I've never done the regrind though. Hope its only a retigthening or retorqueing job only.
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#5
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iNeon,
If you have to keep adding coolant, its probably a bad head gasket and visa versa. P E H |
#6
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Quote:
__________________
1982 300DT 190K (Diesel Purge + synthetic oil=smoothness at last!!!) 2004 Ford E-350 6.0 L PSD 227K 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 SRW HO Cummins 4X4 48RE 42K (brute force tow vehicle) 2005 Scion xB wife's rolling pop can 1993 GMC Sierra C3500 6.2 142K |
#7
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if it needs that much...
if the car is so bad that it needs a head, poor thing is toast. i cannot afford to nurse a car.
a grain of salt please... this seems like one of those things that when youre shopping, everyone LOVES , says will never die, reccommends heartfully and then when you make the purchase it is exactly the opposite. i sincerely hope that the engine is not toast, the car only has 135k on it and it shows, the interior is immaculate and it runs ok after you warm it up. it was and is my first car of my own(others were gifted to me) so i have a great interest in preserving its condition, but at the same time i feel a little let down. it has not been just little things like everyone told me before i bought the car! but this is turning into a rant. i like the car, a lot. ill do what i can to keep it on the road, but a head gasket repair and if that pans out to a cracked head, poor thing is landfill, or at least parts for youall to cannibalize. bull-- i did search and after combing for a few hours noone had really expressly said what a head gasket blown is like! my neon blew its head gasket and all it did was drip oil, this one is like losing compression and running warm and losing the smallest ammount of coolant i think that its possible to lose. it only uses just a tiny bit every work week, but when im sitting at lights it comes out of the hood. anyway.. here are some pictures haha i do adore the car, the loose steering, the tight suspension...that big lounge chair with a seat belt. the smell. i dont want mr shlomo to die=( *opens mouth and inserts foot* oops-- apparently if this were a snake it would hve bitten me! sorry for a repost! |
#8
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Until you locate positively where this mist is coming from you cannot assume it is a head gasket. Could just as easily be a hose connection, water pump, or something else. As one post suggested get the air breather assembley off and start looking for the source. Would not really hurt to drive car around for a couple of days with no breather assembley on the engine if it will help you to locate the source. I do not mean on dirt roads though.
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#9
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i didnt need to take the air cleaner off, it is coming from behind the aircleaner, but i am not sure where, i am fixing to go out and pressure wash everything clean and drive it a while to see.
i have the bouncy temperature needle issue and i realized today after idling it for 1/2 hour with the a/c(working) on full blast that is it were going to overheat it would then. the gauge seems to increase ad you increase engine rpm, but it isnt a steady increase, itll go up quickly and then drop half a mark on the gauge in the snap of a finger. i had changed the thermostat thinking that it wasnt opning and i did spill coolant, so that might be where the smell is coming from, but like i said i will clean it up really well and then drive it some to better locate the leak. i think it is almost coming from the exhaust where it connects to the manifold, it is right back there between the engine and firewall. anyhoo, let me go hook up this monster pressre washer and see what it does! ill take shiny engine pictures for you too=) |
#10
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The bouncing temp gauge may be misleading you.
If the crancase ventilation is not connected to the air cleaner properly, it will look like a lot of smoke coming out under the air cleaner. The smoke will be misty grey in colour and will smell of oil. On my wife's 300D, while driving it home after buying it, we stopped at traffic lights and saw a LOT of smoke coming from under the hood. OH NO, it is on fire. I thought, but no, just had the breather pipe come adrift from under the aircleaner. Pushed it baclk on and tightened the worm drive and no more smoke. That engine had 370 000km on it and had a lot of blowby. Hope this helps, Tony |
#11
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guage
the bouncy temp guage may be from poor ground to the instrument pod. if the car is nice a head gasket is no big deal. also the iron heads on a 240 seldom warp or break. i am betting you have another issue, such as hoses, etc. keep looking. dont feel bad about asking questions. i am glad to talk about the benzes... wish this type of thing was available while i was young and learning everything the hard way!
__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC] ..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis. |
#12
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pictures of the car
some of you may have seen these on the other forum site, but some may not have.
the car really is nice! aside from the cracked dash and some broken plastic trim pieces. i seem to remember that a hose under the air cleaner came off once, it was also very loose. i cleaned the engine to see if i could track a leak. *edit* I cant seem to attach pictures! is it a macintosh deficiency? i know sometimes that websites dont completly work in safari.. could that be it? |
#13
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i got it
it was the engine breather tube unhooked *duh*
on to oher things! |
#14
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priorities
always check the simple things first.
__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC] ..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis. |
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