Bought 1'st Mercedes Today, White Smoke - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Chris W. · #31 12-21-2009, 09:08 AM

First, figure out if I have bad injectores or blow-by

- Yes, you have to figure this one out.

Original timing change, get it replaced?

- If the car has had good maintenance and you have the records that the oil has been changed on a regular basis, the timing chain is not necessarily bad. My car has 303K on the original chain.

New tires, they're good
Transmission flush? Bad idea?

- I don't think it would hurt to pull the pan and change the fluid, and have a look. Make sure to drain the torque converter, rotate the engine by hand until you can see the drain plug.

Change all fluids, goes without saying
Glow plugs, could they be contributing my combustion problems?

- As said above, they only function when starting. No impact on running other than the first couple minutes.

Definitely replace mufflers, they have a couple holes and are bouncing all over the pplace

- That is an expensive proposition. Get the car running right first.

Exhaust mounts, could that be why it's bouncing so much, or just the roughness from one or more cylinders misfiring?

- Get a good shop to look at the exhaust mounts. Mostly rubber rings, but there is one bolted mount near the trans IIRC. More to the point, if your engine mounts have not been changed in recent history, they are suspect. They will make a huge difference in idling smoothness. Many threads on this.

The white/gray smoke is most concerning. Some dark smoke on hard acceleration is normal. Some smoke in the mirror at night seen by the light of other headlights is normal at moderate acceleration. But steady load at highway speeds should not show any visible smoke. Your coolant level will drop if you have coolant burning from a failed head gasket. Gray smoke is, as others have said, probably lube oil. Gotta find the source. Unfortunately most solutions for this are expensive.

Sorry you will miss your trip. Bummer. Hope you get things worked out. The '95 is a great car, but I'm biased.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 303K

BrianCostello · #32 12-28-2009, 03:31 PM

Looking for a post Christmas update!

I hope that things are going well

I suggested using diesel purge (I know its impossible to find) I buy mine from my Indy who buys it by by the case.

I found this: http://dieselgiant.com/fueldeliveryanddieselinjectionrelated.htm#Deluxe%20Diesel%20Purge%20Kit

decent deal considering you get a "tool" that can be used again. I just bought one

If this was my car I would plan on changing injector nozzles. They do in fact wear out. I would still Diesel Purge first (cause its a lot cheaper). Even when all else is running great, those nozzles are tired.

Brian

JayK · #33 12-28-2009, 05:23 PM

I gave up on fixing this myself, since I just don't have the time, and managed to find a plane ticket to Florida. Diesel purge helped a little, but didn't do much.

I left the car with Gene's German Cars in Queens, NY. He's been great. He originally quoted me $900 to change out all the motor/transmission mounts, belt tensioner, and do compression and pop tests on the engine. He called me a little while ago and said that 5 of the 6 injectors needed replacing, but the transmission mount was fine. Also, the compression was very good he said. He said he wasn't going to charge any extra labor for the new injectors. I recommend him to anybody living in NYC. He gave me a list of things needing to be fixed, and stuff that would be a good idea to fix. But he hasn't tried to pressure me into anything.

So, I paid $3500 for the car, $600 for new mufflers when they fell off the other day, and will probably wind up spending $1400 at Gene's for a bunch of repairs. So the car will probably wind up costing me $6000 including some repairs I'm going to do myself. Did I make a mistake? Other than worn out parts that would be expected from a car with 198k miles on it, it is in terrific shape.

BrianCostello · #34 12-28-2009, 11:26 PM

$600 for mufflers? That sounds high.

Everything else sounds about right. Sounds like you found a good mechanic. I am sure the car will need all fluids and filters and possibly new shocks.

Then she should be good to go. Suspension can wait I'm sure.

Brian

amosfella · #35 12-29-2009, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Then, it's burning oil.

The possibilities:

1) An oil ring is stuck
2) The turbo is shot and is passing oil to the intake
3) All the oil rings are shot..........the engine is worn out.
4) Valve guides are shot.
5) Valve seals are shot.

None of these are simple to diagnose for a person without experience with the engine (and sometimes, they get it wrong, as well).

Unless the turbo was aftermarket added to this car, it doesn't have one... 95 was NA...

JayK · #36 12-29-2009, 08:32 AM

I know, that bill hurt me, but that's what happens when you're driving in NYC and your exhaust detaches one block from Midas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianCostello

$600 for mufflers? That sounds high.

Shocks is what I meant, not whole new suspension. They're leaking. The front struts look they've been replaced recently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianCostello

Everything else sounds about right. Sounds like you found a good mechanic. I am sure the car will need all fluids and filters and possibly new shocks.

Then she should be good to go. Suspension can wait I'm sure.

Brian

JayK · #37 01-07-2010, 03:07 PM

Unfortunately, this is turning into an expensive car. By the time I pick it up from from Gene's next week I'll have spent about $7500, including the $3500 purchase price. By the time time I realized that I should ditch it, I was past the point of no return.

Work so far:

new mufflers
new injectors
motor mounts
differential mount
timing chain, tensioner
belt, belt shock
transmission cooling lines
pretty much anything rubber
injection pump timing, it was over 10 degrees off

Currently Gene is doing a valve job, sending the head off to be machined, and replacing a couple broken glow plugs. I was there when he took the head off yesterday, he poured fuel on the valves and hit them with low pressure air, and all of them bubbled, fuel even dripped past the valves just from gravity. The good news is that all the major parts look brand new, including the cams, and the crosshatch pattern in the cylinders is clearly visible. Seriously, not a mark between the cam lobes and the valve lifters. Even the plastic chain guide looks like it has never seen friction. So at least it appears to be a well taken care of engine.

BrianCostello · #38 01-07-2010, 06:38 PM

To be honest I would say that the car is worth $6000. with all this major work done.

so you have had to spend $1500 in labor. I know you have spent way more than you planned. but once you get this car back it will need nothing but fluids and filters for another 100k. (well maybe brakes and shocks)

Its a good car. too bad you did not have the time/garage. it seems that you could have taken care of a lot of these items.

Brian

JayK · #39 02-06-2010, 10:03 AM

As Gene said to me: "I would have bought this car for $3500, but you just had bad luck on this one". It is now going on its sixth week in the shop.

Valve job was a fiasco. The machine shop that did it cracked the head. So Gene found a head from a car that only had 120k miles on it, and had it machined somewhere else. Naturally, I only had to play the original quote price despite several extra hours of labor, and he ate the $200 he paid for the head. Unfortunately, it only relived the smoking a tiny bit, and it still runs rough.

For Gene's credit, he's now doing any further repairs for just his price in parts. He just did the wiring harness for $400. Bringing my total sunk into this car to $7600 including purchase price.

About the only thing left he can think of is the injection pump. This sunday he's going to check it out and possibly send it to a shop in CT for calibration/repair. The smoke at this point smells like diesel, so the theory is that possibly one cylinder is running too rich. Does this sound reasonable?

This may or not be the last Mercedes I ever get. If it ever works, and I drive it for a long time I wont mind having spent so much on it, particularly for the fuel savings as opposed to my inefficient '97 Outback. But this is getting a little frustrating. I was a bit over-ambitous in my abilities to fix this car myself. Working on ship diesels a wholenother beast. But at least Gene's been giving me lessons on the engine and what everything does.

1stbenznc · #40 02-12-2010, 10:13 PM

Wow -I hope the bleeding and headaches stop soon for you. What an expense! I'm not looking forward to what's next on mine.....once I get it running.......

Actros617 · #41 02-12-2010, 11:04 PM

I thought that the E300D W124 body dont have turbo charger?

JayK · #42 02-13-2010, 08:05 AM

You're correct, there's no turbo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Actros617

I thought that the E300D W124 body dont have turbo charger?

snookwhaler · #43 02-13-2010, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayK

You're correct, there's no turbo.

Man.... I just read through this entire thread. Apparently people are not reading it as the NA thing was brought up a LONG time ago.

It really sucks that you are having to spend so much $$. But, that is what happens when you do not tackle these things yourself. If I had read this thread initially, I would have suggested a salvage engine from the beginning. Then you would have 2 platforms to work with and you may have been on your way immediately. So, this shop cracked the head and did not cover a replacement? That is nuts.... Or was the head already cracked? Maybe I read that wrong.

It is a beautiful car! I hope your luck with it turns soon.... Or, maybe it already has?

JayK · #44 02-13-2010, 10:45 AM

I don't want to jinx myself, but I don't think I have to spend any more money at Gene's, he sent the IP to be rebuilt, and I not he's going to charge me for it. I don't know if the machine shop ever gave Gene the money for the head he found, I'm sure they did, but I doubt they covered his labor of going to the dude's house an removing it.

I'm actually not that upset about this, it's a learning experience. I've owned two sailboats, so this is nothing compared to that. My last boat I sold for twice what I paid for it, and I still lost a few thousand dollars. I have a free place to live in Queens, and the new GI Bill is great, so I'm not going to go broke over this mistake. At least I should end up with a good car with lots of life left in it. And it's so much more comfortable than my Outback.

Junkman · #45 02-13-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayK

I've owned two sailboats, so this is nothing compared to that. My last boat I sold for twice what I paid for it, and I still lost a few thousand dollars. I'm not going to go broke over this mistake. At least I should end up with a good car with lots of life left in it.

The best way to own a boat is to let someone else own it. I have a Bayfield 25 in (landlocked) Nashville that has been out of the water for 2 years. The MBZ will be much more practical than the boat. You'll forget about price when all is working correctly & you're riding in classic comfort.