happened to me at a jiffy lube, i ended up just putting in a nut and bolt all the way through where the stud would normally sit, worked just fine. I shut down the just as the oil pressure dropped.

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1984 Euro 300SDC, (4spd standard)
1986 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel HJ60 5spd X2

Gone but not forgotten (some sold, some stripped)
1983 300 SD, 1985 300 SD, 1983 240D, 1986 300 SDL, 1985 300 SDL, 1983 300 D, 1984 300 D, 1985 300SD, 1987 300 SDL, 1983 300 SD, 1985 300 TD Euro, 1983 380SEC, 1990 300 D, 1987 300D, 1982 300D, 1982 300D, 1994 E420, 1987 300 TD, 1987 300 D, 1984 300 D

I trust alluminum devcon enough to put it into my oilpump on my honda. I say helicoil it, and if the helicoil isnt very strong, pour some alluminum devcon epoxy down the hole and throw the stud in there, it will hold. remember to clean everything in acetone not brake cleaner.

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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

As long as they would add one additional commandment for you to keep thy religion to thyself.
George Carlin (Wonder where he is now..)

1981 240d (engine donor 1983 240d) recently rebuilt engine hurray! - No more.. fought a tree and the tree won.

pearl black 1983 240d 4speed (Converted!@$$%) atleast the tranny was rebuilt.

This happened to my recently purchased 240D a couple winters ago. The Oil filter cover blew in my driveway while I was backing out, but I shut it down as soon as I saw the huge black puddle. Turned out one stud had already been repaired by the PO. Then the other one popped with me. Studs replaced with metric bolts inserted up through the bottom of the stripped canister stud holes. The bolt heads had to be ground on one side for fit and clearance as the canister stud holes are very close to the canister wall. I reinstalled the cover nuts and now there's no more worry of studs/helicoils pulling loose.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Appreciate the advice, everyone. I ground a bolt down this this morning and will put everything back together this evening. Sounds like a more common problem than I originally thought, so I will take some pictures for everyone's prosperity! Spoke to my indy mechanic this morning, and he relayed a story to me about a time his garage help did an oil change to his own car and after draining the oil forgot to put any back in! He drove the car home that evening ten miles before he realized their mistake. Turned out the engine was just fine and is still running today. I know this obviously the exception and not the rule, but does say something about the robustness of the 617.950. I will be taking her in, in the morning to verify everything looks / sounds o.k. (fingers crossed) Anything specific I should ask to have done or looked at?

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1979 300SD

I am going to bring up a past subject/Thread- Low Oil Pressure Alarm for 617.952. (this is my Thread but there are others on the Oil Pressure Alarm subject.)Low oil pressure alarm for 617.952

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

When you start her up you will be able to hear it if the bearings are shot. It will hammer and knock.

And the oil pressure will be low.

Tom W

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[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.

So what exactly causes a bolt to fail in the first place? It doesn't seem very normal for your filter canister lid to blow off. Is it just a random failure, or due to the bolt be overtightened/undertightened over time?

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

I used a torque and tightened everything to specs. The nut on the second stud was tight, but in hindsight it did not "feel" right. My guess is over the last 29 years one of the threads down inside the hole must have developed a crack that when torqued on + oil pressure, finally gave out. When I pulled the cover off, the stud came completely out along with the threads from down inside the hole. i believe it was a combination of the two. Brings up another interesting point, my mechanic who has been at this for 30+ years say he knows by feel how tight most of the nuts / bolts should be without a torque wrench. I think if i had been using a regular socket wrench i would have "felt" the cracked thread, but I figured I should just do as the Germans tell me. Do most people trust that their torque wrenches are accurate enough and follow the service manual specs or do you just tighten by feel?

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1979 300SD

I tighten by feel on the filter housing and oil pan drain bolt, which is one reason I'm curious if incorrect torque could be bad news down the road for me. My dad always tightened by feel and that was how I was taught to do it.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Unless there is some issue with the alloy the housing is made from I would think over tightening.
At the Jiffy-Lube type places do they use an Impact Wrench to tighten those nuts (I have never been to one so I have no idea what they do).
There was a thread last year and one of the subjects was if you changed the Large Lid O-ring every time you changed the Oil Filter; Some do not change it.
I can see situation where a prior owner dose not replace the oil filter O-ring at each oil change or not changing the oil for over-extended periods and a slight leak developing and the PO trying to stop the leak by tightening the nuts more.
I use a ½ inch Ratchet Wrench when I tighten mine; it may be that each time I am over tightening them a little and over time they will give out.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Unless your engine develops some new kocks and rattles, or abnormally low oil presue, I wouldn't worry too much.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

I would hope Jiffy-Lube doesn't use an impact gun on an oil filter cover. In any case I remember several years ago trying to take a friend's 300D to a nearby quick-lube place (I forget which one but it wasn't Jiffy-Lube) and they flat-out refused to do an oil-change on ANY Mercedes!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

People going nuts and cranking them down like their life depends on it.

All you need is an open end wrench with just enough pressure so it doesn't leak.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I should be fine then. I use a ratchet wrench and don't tightening it that hard (probably couldn't even if I wanted to).

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Lose is better, if it weeps a bit you can always go another 1/2 turn.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200