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  #1  
Old 11-11-2006, 06:55 PM
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350SDL--is this beginning of the end?

137,695 miles
I have had to add small amounts of water to the reservoir at least twice now in the past 2 months whenever the dash light came on with no discernible/visible leakage. When I first start the car, it runs rough as I depress the accelerator 3 or 4 times with white/blue smoke coming from the exhaust. After that, it levels out and runs smooth. There is no appreciable oil consumption. I'm due for an oil change now in 3K mile intervals and it's barely down a 1/2 quart. I went through a month or so this summer running hot (about 105-110C) until I had the replacement radiator replaced. I would say that the engine never technically overheated, i.e., never redlined during that period. I detect no water in the oil on the dipstick. The right front corner of the engine is wet with oil well below the valve cover but not at the valve cover. Could this be small amounts of water seeping into the first cylinder because of a warped head? Am I headed for hydraulic lock and a bent rod?

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  #2  
Old 11-11-2006, 07:08 PM
ForcedInduction
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Get a coolant pressure tester and see how long it will hold 16psi. That will tell you if you are losing coolant or if it's just evaporating out the cap when the engine is fully warm.
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  #3  
Old 11-11-2006, 07:13 PM
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I've read of 60x water pumps leaking without any indication in the weep hole visible from above. There is something of a drain tube at the bottom of the water pump. I don't know what it's for. I would have a 60x expert, they're few and far between, check the pump.

I'd love to have you pull the cylinder head to give the rest of us 3.5-ers a point of reference but I don't think your coolant loss warrants that as a first step.

Sixto
93 300SD
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  #4  
Old 11-11-2006, 08:42 PM
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Begining of the end.

No but it might be the end of the begining. Just could not help it. Too obvious to miss. First do or have a pressure check done on your cooling system to see if any indications of a leak are there. That water pump for example may not seep with no pressure. After driving the car someday after it is good and warm park it and watch the ground for a drip with the engine running might help to locate a possible leak as well. I would not jump to any conclusions at this point with as little information and evidence as you have at this point.

Last edited by barry123400; 11-11-2006 at 08:48 PM.
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  #5  
Old 11-11-2006, 09:28 PM
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love the sly winston churchill reference, barry.

tom w
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..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #6  
Old 11-11-2006, 09:48 PM
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Yes, trust someone from British North America to catch that one.
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  #7  
Old 11-11-2006, 10:09 PM
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Good one Barry.

Pressure test the cooling system, and check for leaks. Send a sample of the oil out to the lab to make sure there is not coolant in it. If they red flag it well then its probably the head gasket. These engines had the newer heads so cracking shouldn't be an issue.
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  #8  
Old 11-12-2006, 02:16 PM
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350SDL--beginning of end??

I took care of the oil leak. Yesterday, I cleaned the right front area of the engine where oil was collecting and drove the car until hot for the two-fold reason of checking for an oil leak and a water leak. Then, I parked over a blue tarp over night. And by the way, the undercarriage pan had been removed. This morning there was a small oil spot on the tarp below the alternator and the water pump housing and nearby brackets were wet with oil. I wiped the area clean and I started the engine and oil dropped down onto the water pump housing. It was the timing belt spring tensioner housing. I tightened it and the leak stopped. I did see a small clear wet spot on the tarp but because of the blue tarp, I could not tell what color it was. It was below what could have been the lower radiator hose.
I'll check that out next. If that isn't it, I'll do the pressure testing.
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  #9  
Old 11-12-2006, 02:34 PM
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Based on my experience and based on the low mileage on your engine

Quote:
Originally Posted by mbenzer View Post
137,695 miles
I have had to add small amounts of water to the reservoir at least twice now in the past 2 months whenever the dash light came on with no discernible/visible leakage. When I first start the car, it runs rough as I depress the accelerator 3 or 4 times with white/blue smoke coming from the exhaust. After that, it levels out and runs smooth. There is no appreciable oil consumption. I'm due for an oil change now in 3K mile intervals and it's barely down a 1/2 quart. I went through a month or so this summer running hot (about 105-110C) until I had the replacement radiator replaced. I would say that the engine never technically overheated, i.e., never redlined during that period. I detect no water in the oil on the dipstick. The right front corner of the engine is wet with oil well below the valve cover but not at the valve cover. Could this be small amounts of water seeping into the first cylinder because of a warped head? Am I headed for hydraulic lock and a bent rod?
If it were me, I would get that head gasket replaced at the very first opportunity that I could get the work done or I would not drive the car, unless it was absolutely necessary. The coolant loss is your warning and be thankful that it is not the 86 and 87 603s, which if it were and had the original #14 cylinder head; your symptoms would indicate, PROBABLY, that you were experiencing the symptoms of a cracked head, more so, than a blown head gasket or bent rod or anything else. I would especially get that carbon off of #1 and #6 exhaust valves and get the head gasket replaced now, if ONLY for insurance purposes or for preventive maintenance. But to answer your question, YES, would be my answer. But I think you have detected the problem in time to correct the issues before they become catastrophic oil consumption issues, like in my case.

BenzDiesel
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  #10  
Old 12-10-2006, 11:38 AM
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350SDL--the beginning of the end?

My friend who has been working on MB's for over 35 years has the car now and we're planning our strategy. The threads on the injection ports were different from the pressure gauge fitting that he had so we aborted the 1st step compression step. Instead he took out all of the injectors and found the following: From front to back, the 1, 2, and 3 injector ends were black and greasy as might be expected. The 4, 5, and 6 injector ends were in varying degrees (steam?) clean with some rust up the collar to where the treads begin. At this point, still don't know if it's a cracked head or merely the head gasket so looks like he'll remove the head next. I will go back and photograph the injectors and each step of this process for further reporting.
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  #11  
Old 12-10-2006, 10:00 PM
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Good Luck with your endeavor on the 350D. I will be following your progress and agonies, I hope they will be small, and that a Headgasket will remedy the situation.
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  #12  
Old 12-10-2006, 11:02 PM
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COURAGE: the 350sdl is one of the most beautiful benzes ever. I take oil samples at every oil change (5,000 miles) and for the last 3 years no problems.

Then I hit a deer and the car was crumped pretty good driver side left. The engine wouldn't turn off with the key and I had to pry open the hood with the jack to get to the shut off. the temp gauge was at 120 when I shut it off. started up at body shop and ran fine. I get the car back next week and will see how the engine turned out. I have my fingers crossed....COURAGE
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  #13  
Old 10-12-2007, 10:11 PM
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is the 350SD the proverbial Money Pit!?

350SD for sale on eBay, the seller claims to have spent $16K on documented repairs hmmm, not good advertising
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-S-Class-TURBO-DIESEL-91-350SD-OVER-16K-IN-DOCUMENTED-RECORDS-159K-MILES_W0QQitemZ190162368486QQihZ009QQcategoryZ6336QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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  #14  
Old 10-12-2007, 11:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dieseldiehard View Post
Thats excellent advertising if you know anything about these cars.

To me: "its always run perfect I have never had to do anything" Translation, I only changed the oil for the past 50k miles so $5k worth or parts are on edge and guess who gets to change them?

"$16k worth of recent repairs"
Some other sucka got stuck changing everything. Which means excellent buy!

Between say 150k and 250k miles a lot of parts are going to need to be replaced in order to keep the car running well, and well not a beater. Someone has got to do cough up the $$$$$, might as well be the PO.
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  #15  
Old 10-13-2007, 09:26 AM
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hatt

the last one i rebuilt had about 150k miles and the rods were bent.
larry perkins

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