Looks like a nice find for one of our members...

[nhdoc]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-300D-2-5-Turbo-Diesel_W0QQitemZ280005402792QQihZ018QQcategoryZ6328QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What do you think he means by the engine "dropped a valve"?

[andmoon]

keepa ua handsa offa!!!!

Could be a lot of things this 'dropped a valve'

[t walgamuth]

if i lived close i might be tempted to check it out.

sometimes things arent as bad as thought.

dropped a valve implies a broken valve. head removal would be the minimum necessary to fix. probably would also require a piston.

a blown turbo seal would make lots of smoke and be a lot simpler to fix. a dropped valve would prob make lots of smoke too, but be accompanied by a dead miss and prob lots of blowby from the hole that is probably in the piston if a valve has been dropped.

i cant remember ever hearing of a benz breaking a valve. unless the cam chain broke. and then i dont think they break they break the cam instead. at least that is what mine did. 82 300td.

tom w

[POS]

If that had popped up near me, I would have bought it. That one sounds like a misdiagnosis and the interior looks fantastic.

[Eskimo]

I notice this in one of the responses from the seller:

I recently paid 4,000 to install a new timing chain.

I, too, would look really hard at a car such as this if one turned up near me. In fighting trim, a 300D 2.5T would be an absolutely dynamite daily driver for me.

[barry123400]

There might be more to this than meets the eye. He gives a clue with the 4k timing chain change he went through. What exactly required that much money? Had it dropped it's chain before? I would want to see that bill. One should almost count on having to get a good used engine as a replacement or at least be aware it might be required. I do not think the dealer is lying to him. I also suspect the valve keepers might have dropped out. If the whole valve and stem dropped in it's going to be a mess. Thinking possibly new cylinder liner, piston, and maybe head. Then there is the overstress component when it dropped to keep in mind. Plus the original problem whatever it was. By the same token it of course would be required to take the head off or at least have a borescope look before condeming the engine. Also might make the claimed total milage suspect to some extent. The first bill and this problem should not have happened at this milage normally. There are exceptions of course. Suspect this problem occured as a result of something being missed in the first fix. I could be totally wrong though.

[mplafleur]

Lucky you NH and NJ guys are close.

Looks like it could be a great find for DIY.

I'd grab it if I weren't already rebuilding an SDL.

[andmoon]

I am going to look at it w/ a scope...but I have never seen the insides of an 603. Besides the obvious broken metal what should I look for?

I can find the 6 cylinder 603 but it's hard to find the 2.5.
Will the 3.0 fit w/out major modifications? Did the front spring rate increase when they went to a 3.0 in the 124?

[barry123400]

I would widen my search for the 2.5 used engine availability and cost including shipping. This way no surprises down the road. There have to be some accident write offs out there. Just in case. What concerns me about the engine change to another type is there might be differences in the electronics mind mechanical. You might need a good mercedes mechanics opinion on this. Same identical type is usually easier and safer but again there are exceptions but few. The cost to really check that engine out properly including getting any broken metal out of the system is high. If they missed something the first time that resulted in this happening there just might be other things that were missed. On top of that the engine may have experienced a second stressful event. This is not particularily good. I would want certain areas checked for cracks and many parts checked for being damaged in ways the eye cannot detect.. On the borescope I would look for a clean hole in the piston away from the skirt edge as the best possible senario if it swallowed the whole valve. Checking the coolant level and oil for anti freeze might indicate if the head was severly damaged during the event. In otherwords if I decided to repair the existing engine I would want to make sure it was done in a fashion that there was no chance of a third inning. You can do a lot of the labour but a good automotive machine shop is going to be required to check many things out. If you did not get hold of the bill for the first event it would increase your cost substantlly in my opinion. If you were really lucky your only parts costs might be gaskets, piston, and perhaps the rod and liner. But if a crack was detected in a main bearing saddle area for example the engine is junk. Just my opinions for thought. Right now there is a danger that somebody will bid too high just figuring replacing the piston is going to be it. That could be true of course. To me it is just too much of a gamble on this engine but some will take it. I would not. Best of luck.

[bill murrow]

And you guys trust a seller with zero feedbacks?

I guess if you looked at it first that would be ok.

Kind of a sparse description......

Cheers,

Bill

[JimmyL]

Ya better hurry!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&item=140004926641&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[bill murrow]

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Ya better hurry!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&item=140004926641&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

WOW.....wish I had time to fool with it...

How often would that happen? Someone here should grab that package.

Cheers,

Bill

[P.E.Haiges]

nhdoc,

I "dropped a valve" in a 220D once. The entire engine was destroyed even though it still ran.

The valve went into the cylinder, broke the piston and rod and all 3 went out of the engine thru the oil pan. The block also had a big hole in it where the rod hit the side of the block.

So, without looking at the engine, its impossible to tell if the engine is rebuildable.

P E H

[Wes Bender]

There are a couple of clues in his responses to questions.

He didn't want the dealer to spend any time or money determining the extent of the damage. If it was reasonably repairable, the dealer might have told him so. He didn't.

The engine suddenly losing all power does not sound like "a dropped valve". Sounds more like a timing chain issue which would probably entail a new cam, new valves and related items, plus maybe a new head and pistons. (Don't ask me how I know....)

The advice given above to assume an engine replacement is sound. Otherwise, looks pretty good if it can be obtained cheaply enough.

Wes

[Hatterasguy]

The owner doesn't have a clue, it might be something simple.

I will guess, the recently installed timing chain might have snapped, or a possible vacuum pump failure.

The 602 is an extremly durable engine, this is surprising.