So I was driving home in my 83 300D, 4 miles drive away from home so after a mile it's cold so I turn on the heat and there's no heat. So I'm a mile from home and I look at my gauges and the temp gauge is pegged at max 120+! Yikes so it's night and I say what the hell and get home. Open the hood and it's not steaming so I check the water reservoir and add 1 1/2 gallons of water! Check the oil and the mark is like 2 quarts up so the oil was hot and expanded when cooling the engine. Look underneath and it's leaking from the (pass) right side and the bottom of the radiator. It's night so I'll take a look tromorrow. I ran the engine with the garden hose in the reservoir tank and the temp came back to normal.

How can I tell if the engine suffered real damage? Hopefully it's ok.

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

Chances are it's fine. Fix the leak, fill with fresh coolant, burp it, change the oil and keep a close eye on the temperature gauge for a while.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

X2 with Kerry,
The cast iron headed motors are very tough. Probably the lack of heat was when the motor ran out of water. The oil cooler & the cool conditions probably saved it. If the motor ran smooth on the cool down, you may have been lucky. If it was running rough as though it was running on 3 cylinders, you have a problem. It may be necessary to adjust the valves soon. Overheating can put them out quick. The oil level is a worry if its that high after it cools down. What was it a few days ago when you last checked it ?

Good Luck !!

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

You have cooked the lube oil to death, guaranteed.

New oil and new filter, instantly.

Then sit back and hope you were lucky.

What's the chance the oil level was up because a head gasket failure let the antifreeze escape into the crankcase?

Also, you say you added plain water... was it 50/50 antifreeze before? Have you had enough cold nights to possibly have frozen an improper mixture (plain water) if you happened to have not had the good stuff in there?

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Hot oil can't expand that much (2 quarts). I'd drain the oil and look for coolant.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I missed that bit, agreed, head gasket minimum, but, he has still cooked, as well as emulsified, his lube.

used lube + water = mild acid, mild acid + bearings = dead bearings... motor not required to be running...

The oil splashed up the stick, I didn't wipe it when I measured it. Looks fine today between the bent marks. With my garden hose in the reservoir, it's running fine and smooth. No damage probably because the ride home was so short and with the cool temps, the oil was enough to save it. Leak is at pass bottom of the radiator near the metal attachment. Going to replace with a Nissens as the Behrs are outrageously priced. Then MB coolant 50/50, change the oil, adjust the valves and I'm go to go.

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

If you had a coolant level sensor and a warning light, you would have caught it sooner. I retrofitted a coolant level sender from an SDL into my expansion tank.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Swapped in a Nissens. Leak in the lower right plastic next to the tranny oil metal tube. Damn why do they use plastic in a Behr and then ask you to pay $450 for the damn thing?

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)