Scary day for me; Oil Loss
 

Hello,
It's been a while since I posted anything here. But, I am always browsing and learning.

I recently acquired an 85 Cali 300d w/ front end damage. I removed the front goodies; Hood, fenders, radiator, condensor, etc.

I thought I would go ahead and start the motor (it had full oil level) and let it run maybe 30 seconds just to make sure it was not damaged in the wreck. No radiator but with oil cooler still on. Little did I know the cooler had a major hole in it.

When I started the car oil started to pump out pretty fast. Soon as I noticed the oil pumping out of the cooler I turned the key off. Only problem was the key did not shut the motor off. In a panic I pushed the STOP near the valve cover. Nothing.

Ok, now I am really panicking. I tried to remember which color the vacuum line to shutoff is but, could not get anything to happen. I tried everything I knew to kill the motor. I tried to suffocate the motor (rag in exhaust and hand on oil cap hole). Finally, I stabbed the fuel filter with big screwdriver and removed the filter. The motor stopped.

I know that the motor probably ran for maybe 4-5 minutes pumping oil out of cooler. It never knocked or tapped. I did turn on the crank with 27mm. It turns. Apparently not siezed up. That's good.

Now my question is: Can these motors withstand this kind of abuse?

Would motor have started to knock if I ran it too long without oil?

I realize the real test will be when I reassemble everything and start it again. Yes, I will fix the ignition shutoff first. I am sick about this.

Paul in Dallas area

Paul, I would like to think that as long as it was pumping, you'll be ok. That and the no rapping or knocking seem to be positive signs. Wonder why your emergency shut off didn't work? I think I would have whipped out my knife and cut the fuel line, but thats easy to say from here. Good job getting it stopped.

I just wish I would have thought to starve the fuel in the first minute. I have killed other MB diesels by covering the oil hole with my hand. It did stop pumping oil before I killed it. Not sure how long though. Exxon Valdez all over the driveway.

Damn!!:eek:

LOL!! Do you got a picture of that?:D

I'm going to mount a 17mm wrench under the hood for undoing the injector hard lines! Maybe I'll paint it red.

Maybe drop the lower pan and look at the #1 rod bearing?

What would I be looking for at the #1 bearing? Any other thoughts on ways to assess possible damage?

As long as it was still pumping oil out, there should be little or no damage. Sticking a rag into the air filter intake or putting a plastic bag over the air filter intake should have stopped it as well as cutting the fuel line or clamping a vice grip down on the fuel line.

I'm pretty sure that the oil pumping stopped before I shut the motor off. how long will motor run with no oil before damage? It may have been a minute that it was not pumping oil.

On further analysis my STOP emergency shutoff was catching a injector line when pushing it down. With my hand I moved the injector line out of the way so STOP could clear it and go all the way down. Wow, that would have been great to figure out during the 5 minutes of hell.

Congrats! you qualify for the Big Oil Messes thread:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/off-topic-discussion/250180-oil-messes-how-dirty-have-you-been.html?highlight=big+mess

Seriously, if the engine was not under load and not hot, you should be OK. Since it did not knock you have probably gotten away with murder!

Haven't seen one for myself, my bet is galling, flat spots, blue spots, little bits o metal. Anything other than clean oil and a mirror smooth journal. I think that if you grabbed the rod while it was on the shaft and found no slop when you tried to shake it, that it would not knock when you ran it. If it looked OK, I'd verify with someone who knew better, fix the leak, fill it, start it and take it from there.

Another place to look is open the filler cap and look for scuffing on the camshaft.

You'd be surprised how little oil the engine needs to run. On a project car I changed the oil and didnt have a new filter seal so I put it together anyway. Got back from going to subway, decded to check and see if I got the oil level just right. I pulled the dipstick out and found it dry. So i put it back in, pulled it out, nothing! But it still had 2+ bar at idle!

Did the dip stick show anything after the event?

Oh. Open the air cleaner, cover the inlet (over the throttle plate) with your hand, press hard to seal. That'll stop it. If it's a manual, put it in gear, let the clutch out.