My 1992 300D 2.5 Turbo at start-up started making a horrendous clatter. I shut it down and looked for anything amiss. After seeing no problems I tentatively restarted it. It ran about a minute (without the A/C compressor clutch engaged) and then acted up again, just as bad as the first time. The noise sounded like it was coming from the accessory belt area, maybe the power steering pump or A/C compressor. I shut it down standing there using the fuel distributor shut off. Still nothing was apparent, until I noticed oodles of clean (without oil, etc.) aluminum shaving under the belt area. There were also shavings on the sway bar at the middle of the car. I looked closely at the power steering pump and alternator but still saw no problem. The fan does not hit anything. The accessory belt is still taught.

My thoughts are it could possibly be the A/C compressor, water pump, fan clutch, belt tensioner, or something that had fallen behind the crank pulley. There is no air pump as it is a diesel.

I had recently serviced the A/C, to include removal and flushing of the compressor.

Has anyone encountered this before?

__________________
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...aman/Fleet.jpg

Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

I could see an alternator fan shaving aluminum of the alternator face. Seems that you need extended contact with a smooth surface for shavings like those pictured.

Hmmm.... I'd immediately remove the belt, and start the car and see if it's silent.
I cannot imagine what could make those shavings...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Weird. Only seen that with a lathe. Could it be a failing harmonic balancer?

__________________
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

Remove the belt and see what is hard to turn (excluding crankshaft).

__________________
Jim

My guess is that the radiator is somehow "off track" so that it is sitting at a slight angle closer to the engine than it is suspose to be most likely on the passenger side. What I think you are seeing is aluminum shavings created from the fan clipping the side of the radiator where the aluminum and plastic tanks come together. I had a similar situation happen when my son bottomed out my 1987 300D on a driveway and smashed the lower radiator support ... not enough to see the radiator was missaligned but enough so that the fan clipped the end of the radiator. It made an aweful racket. I didn't have as many shavings as you have pictured but the fan did take a chunk out of the side of the radiator but there is quite a bit of aluminum in the housing so the radiator didn't leak. That's my guess!

Oops I forgot you have a 5 cylinder ..... my '87 is a 6 cylinder .... I suspect you have much more clearance between the fan and the radiator than my vehicle has ...... well I did say it was a guess!

+1

To me it look like something is severely missaligned in the pulley area, and it happened VERY recently. If somehting was *just touching* any rotating mass, you will get very fine shavings, almost dusting. To me, that look like something had backed out/in /into a rotating part
maybe a bolt backed out from the recent AC work?

__________________
87 300D sedan rarity with the #14 death stamp SOLD

Do not start the engine (except for brief diagnosis/testing).

That is serious cutting.
Your mention of the A/C compressor raises the possibility of mounting bolts coming loose or falling out.

FYI:
The harmonic balancer hub bolt and washer have been superseded.
MB# 6049900040
MB# 0069903701

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

I would expect with close examination with a mirror and light you may see a shiney area where the material was removed from.

I hope I haven't run into something like this: 603 Crankshaft Pulley Failure

Aluminum shavings off the timing chain cover in the area of the seal might look this way. Could it be a loose woodruff key?

__________________
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...aman/Fleet.jpg

Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

My best advice:

Don't borrow trouble.

Get in there asap, and find the real issue, before developing ulcers over might be.


.

No kidding. An ounce of observation might do more good than a ton of speculation.

I find it hard to believe that anything on the engine could make such shavings. They look like something a drill bit would make. Are you sure no one did any drilling near where the shavings were found?

__________________
'97 E 300 D

I just had enough time this evening before dark to take some pictures of the front of the engine in the hopes of seeing something amiss.

Areas, such as around the A/C compressor and power steering pump look clear, to include in the compressor clutch.





All pulleys look and feel straight and the belt is tight.



The alternator looks okay.



It soon became evident the problem is centered in the lower main crank pulley area; specifically to the rear and right side of it. All shavings appear in that area.



It was hard getting a good shot laying on the oil stained asphault street. So I took a bunch of pictures with the hope at least one would shed some light on the problem.





You can see some scraping and waste splatter in this picture, so I knew I was getting close. Just not enough yet what was causing the problem yet.



Then this little gem showed up, but just barely. It is really too dark to tell anything as taken or when veiwed on the camera screen.



However, enlarging it on my 24" desktop screen revealed what appears to be a bolt wedged between the timing chain cover and the main crack pulley.



So, now I know what is causing the noise/shavings. The next question that I must answer is where did the bolt come from? I liberated some of GSXR’s reference pictures from his 124performance.com website for comparison with those I took to see if I could notice any critical bolts missing (e.g. water pump housing, timing mark support bracket), or if I can safely assume the bolt is an otherwise harmless stray. Hopefully it is the latter.








In any event, it does not appear that it is fatal.

__________________
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...aman/Fleet.jpg

Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic