The plastic wouldn't have come from the vacuum pump but possibly from one or more of the timing chain guides. In fact, I have to do the same thing as you just did, as I discovered during my recent head swap that my upper guide was disintegrating, and I expect to find pieces of plastic in my sump.

You should pull the valve cover, which will give you access to the upper chain guide. OTOH, if the plastic is from the lower chain guide or tensioner arm, the timing cover has to come off. If it is from the oil pump chain guide, the oil pan must come off.

In any case it is worth pulling the vacuum pump and, if it is the old style with an open-cage ball bearing, replacing it with the new style. The old pumps can fall apart and do serious damage, like break the timing chain and ruin the engine.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Yeah there was a good amount of pretty big pieces of plastic and there was one metal washer looking thing in there also. This is turning into such a head ache I might just look for a motor for it and if I cant find one Ill probably just get rid of the car cause the car hasn't been running for over a month its just one thing after another...

I have a similar problem. 86 300SDL 180K miles. Last fall a local mechanic changed the oil and while doing tightened something on the fan belt without asking me. Next day, the whole fan assembly came loose, and there's a hole in the timing cover, as you can see in the pictures. It's at a point where a tensioner attaches so the whole cover has to be replaced. I got a spare one. My mechanic finally got around to looking at it last week, got the rad and fan out and then chickened out of the job. He said the injection pump had to come out and he didn't have the tools or expertise to do it. He's worked on other diesels but never mercedes.
So I'm going to flatbed it up to a mercedes guy in Windsor VT who knows how to do it. Just wondering what I should expect in terms of labor cost for this job. I'm told 5-6 hrs. The mechanic who broke it said 12 hrs.
Also is it true the injection pump has to come out & can this be done without removing the head?
Car was running beautifully till I had that oil change.

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Someone experienced who has rebuilt these engines or completed this task a few times already might be able to do it in 6 hrs. But I would expect to be charged more than that.

12hrs, maybe a little more for someone who is inexperienced.

Prepare for oil leaks down the road.

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Understatement of the week.

Based on what you find when you open it up worst case will be bent valves which requires a head job. Best case will be just the oil pump and timing chain guides. Hopefully one of the plastic slides is busted up. Clean everything out good and go ahead and replace all the plastic bits and oil pump tensioner spring. Inspect the tensioner. Based on how many miles are on it you can fall into the "while I am in here" repair co$t.

How many miles are on the engine? Where is the car at?

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Jim

The IP may not need to come out -- it attaches to the block from the "back side" and is sealed by an o-ring. Even if its drive sprocket is damaged, that is replaced from the front, after taking off the timing cover. You can leave the head and oil pan on the car, use a liquid sealant (for example, Loctite 518 is specifically designed to seal aluminum to steel) and pray.

I hope that oil change guy is helping out with the costs.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

You need to determine how much work you have to do. Did you shut off the engine when the front cover failed or did the engine quit on its own? Depending on how things happened, you can simply replace the front cover and be on your way, or take the engine apart to inspect the oil pump, bearings, etc.

I'd start by removing the side oil pan and checking for debris. You might get away with just a front cover if there's no debris and the engine turns freely.

Did the fan dine on the radiator?

Sixto
87 300D

The tensioner was overtightened and ripped out at the point it attaches to the timing cover. The fan assembly then came loose and started clattering at which point I saw what happened and immediately drove 3 KM back home. I expect there is no other collateral damage other than the timing cover needs replacing. The mechanic that caused this, I won't go to his shop again. My local guy is experienced in diesel trucks but is afraid to do this job although he will try if forced. Helmut, a mercedes guy in Windsor, will do it and I have confidence in him but no idea what he'll charge me. It's an old car and I don't want to spend much money on it. But obviously it's unsellable in its current state. It's rust free as I don't drive it in winter. I'd like to downsize to a 300D though, so thinking to fix this car ($1000?), sell it ($3000?), and buy a 300D. The only other problem I have is the injectors leak a bit giving a slight diesel smell.

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