2005 E 320 CDI Ditched by Teen; Egad
 

Hi, kid put the car in a ditch Sat night, clowning no doubt. Other than tearing up the black plastic underbody covers on the front and damaging the bumper cover, it seems to have jammed the front crossmember of the engine cradle into the oil pan, maybe cracked it (is it plastic, aluminum, or?) as there is oil everywhere. Car was 2 quarts low when he got home with it. Other possibility: some sort of oil cooler line cracked. The flow is a substantial drip but not enough to be a completely parted line.
Is the engine cradle a bolt-on? Can it be swapped out with the engine in place? Anyone have a used one they want to sell (as well as the underbody plastic, although it is not as expensive as I thought it might be)?
Radiator support is bent rearward enough that the fan blade rubs the crank pulley a little, but no other fluids leaking out at least. Intercooler wasn't damaged but the supports are messed up and it is basically hanging by the piping.
I guess you might say he grounded it, so I grounded him. He just bought his first Mercedes-Benz repair.

For sale, "Teenager", cheap
 

Sounds like no one hurt, that is a blessing.
with the fan rubbing the pully should have been making a racket. he should have called AAA and had it towed home. but probably scared and nervous, maybe if I sneek it home Dad won`t notice. :rolleyes:

Yours is too new for me, don`t know your model, mine is older junk.

Sounds like he needs a 77 240D automatic, detuned for his driver when he gets ungrounded. maybe when he hits 40? :D
He will be flipping Burgers at Mc D`s for a long time to pay off that repair.

Charlie

Did he have your permission?
 

It is your fault to give a 2005 CDI to a teen, he should not be grounded IMO. At least he was not hurted and the car could be driven home. I have seen parents gave brand new BMWs on the day they had their license at 16 in my neighborhood. Some got killed or hurt and they wondered why. Teenagers can only drive Volvo 240 or an old Benz.

This is the old one. who needs comments. Besides, it contained no useful information.

You asked for it.
 

Well, if you consider a 2005 CDI is appropriate for a teen then you need to accept all the consequences. If I were you I would buy a $5M or more Umbrella policy. I did.

The reason I commented is that you included your teen in the post. You could have said I 'BANGED' it and no one would have commented. My further comment is to file a claim, I presume you have full insurance.

Why would a 2005 CDI not be appropriate for a college student? And what business is it of yours? I think it is as appropriate as any other decent car would be. Any car made will wreck. And I am standing the consequences, I did not ask you to pay for anything. I asked if anyone knows something about removing the front cradle.

If you accept the consequences then why ask your kid to pay for it? Just pay the $500 or whatever deductible and send the bill to your teen. At least he knows what is coming. Don't get mad at me. I probably would not even response on a normal repair question as I have nothing to offer.

If he HAD your permission then just suck it up and unground him. I feel sorry for the kid. :D I am getting out of here.

... Oh boy here we go. :rolleyes:

Had to double check to make sure I was still on the diesel forum for this one (e.g. who cares if its not your kid/your own choices...). Back to the topic, it sounds like the oil leak was not bad enough to damage the engine but any more and it might have. Have you had the chance to crawl underneath it and see if it is the oil cooler line or if its the pan itself that is leaking? Sounds like a significant event if the rad support is pushed in and stuff, I'd recommend taking it to a trusted indie for a thorough analysis along with the quote you can possibly take to insurance if you go that route.

Glad to see the group self moderating to some extent.

As for the repair process, as others have noted, find the leak. The rest of the stuff that may be damaged is either clip-on, or bolt-on. Radiators on these vehicles is typically soft mounted - some rubber socket with the other part having a protrusion to engage the rubber part. Usually doesn't actually break the mounting hardware, but if the oil cooler is damaged, given the age, this is another bolt-on part. Bent structural steel - well, depending on its function you can try pulling it back to its original location.

Overall sounds like you got away reasonably easy. No one hurt, no air bags went off, no body damage.

Jim

Why clowning? I slid a Saab off the road in western NJ after taking a turn finding that the road was covered by hay and manure from a manure truck that lost its load. Fortunately no damage other than a CV boot, grass and manure everywhere, and my pride (car got ignominiously yanked out of the ditch with a tractor :D ).

I figure it's the oil cooler. I have the plastic covers off and the front crossmember of the engine cradle is twisted back and does not seem to be touching the pan. Probably have to take the front off to see any more.
If I can get the cradle either straightened or replaced and the leak stopped the other repairs don't seem bad, other than refinishing the bumper cover. I'll have a shop look at it, although I would like to do it myself, I don't have equipment to pull the cradle.
EDIT: there is one more cover just below the rad that I need to get off. I am traveling so I will look when I get home.
Thanks for the information.

There's not a teen on earth who should be cruising around in a car they themselves cannot pay for. That's a good benchmark of the car they should be driving. And that means money they made, at a job they perform. I've met teens who have 40k cars handed over to drive, generally it ends up totaled at some point. There's an appreciation/value sense when they have to work for/pay for it themselves.