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A journey into the the infamous Om642 oil cooler leak!
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Little info about this car
A 2008 E320 Bluetec with the 3.0L v6 Turbodiesel, OCI 10k miles using mobil 1 ESP 5w40 beginning ownership at 104k miles 2 years ago, now its at 127k miles with the most recent service fuel filter and oil and oil filter change at 126k miles... It all started out with this an oil leak on the garage with at that time i didnt know its origin of leak and it appears to happened acutely at 127k miles, so i dropped the massive acoustic over under the car, now previsouly my undercarriage was spotless when i did my transmission fluid change at 110k miles and also did other several service that required the acoustic cover to be removed well not so much this time there was A TON of oil that has splattered everywhere in under carriage its almost like my W126 1984 300SD I had!! So i begin to trace it. http://i.imgur.com/DlHnpaFl.jpg And all finger points to this hole! Here you can actually see it flowing out at an alarming rate as the car was running! My approximation is 1/8 of a cup per min. A little search later and i concluded OIL COOLER LEAK! http://i.imgur.com/firPWS4l.jpg Sigh...i kinda knew that was going to happen one day. Now the oil cooler is located in between the middle V of the engine so what you see has that is stacked on top of if has to come out, that means air box, turbo, intercooler pipes, intake side of the intercooler pipes some fuel rails and its lines, fuel filter, swirl flap motor ect ect, :mad::mad::mad: WHERE DO I BEGIN I KEPT ASKING MY SELF, WHERE DO I BEGIN!!!!! http://i.imgur.com/GAxBpssl.jpg Day 1 Where do i begin! Bought a few special sockets, well no so speical they're star scokets (ie 6 point socket) I reccomend that you do not buy harbor freight tool star sockets (Left) it will not sit properly on the bolt because of the shallow grove and will most likely strip, suggestion Lisle Star socket set (Right), they're sit perfectly flush on the bolt (see pick below), and do not use air tools, you'll run the risk of striping the damn bolt if you do so especially the exhaust bolts ill explain in a min! http://i.imgur.com/JrtAXnal.jpg Air box, coolant drained upper radiator hose, intercooler pipes, and the bat wing is removed, looking good so far! http://i.imgur.com/qe6T7gNl.jpg The DREADED EGR, so this little thing sends some of your exhaust mobojumbo gases into your intake reburning, while its good for the environment they totally neglected the engines health, more to come i suppose, http://i.imgur.com/hyC3ppZl.jpg The weird looking triangle and the larger round on the left is the intake manifold There has to be 1/4 inch of crud in there, no doubt how terrible must the entire intake manifold will look like, now the smaller round thing that is at the bottom of the picture is the Exhaust gas cooler that thing is in ever worst condition, that thing connects to the pipe shown in the above picture, http://i.imgur.com/ac6r0sGl.jpg End of day one! |
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Day 2 and 3
Penetration fluid Soak day! Turbo removal, now this was rather interesting it was my first time removing an turbo charger, now using common knowledge these bolts has been sitting on the exhaust manifold for 7+ years in extreme heat and cold cycles so the bolts are going to be very grumpy to remove so i let them sit in some penetration fluid for a couple of days! No pictures of this process :( |
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Day 4
Operation turboectomy! Turbo removal judgement day. Using a E12 socket, 2 foot, 1/2 in drive breaker bar and gave it a nudge they came out like BUTTER dispite been in a 30*F garage and not using a torch to heat them up not bad, but the 2 bolts on the EGR pipe (E10 socket size) that bugger almost stripped on me but it came out successfully just very mauled up! oh as for air tools Do not use them these bolts are angled at an odd angle and one slip from the air tools and you can strip all the splines on the bolt! Heres the turbo all plugged up with napkins its upside down by the way. http://i.imgur.com/5259nMYl.jpg Now the instruction on the Mercedes repair manual says to remove 2 bolts (you can see them) on the Y exhaust, instead of the 2 bolts on the silver bracket (see 2 holes on the silver bracket), did they purposely trying to make it more difficult to remove because at that angle and limited work space theirs no possibly way to remove that 2 bolts that has been heat and cold cycled for 7+ years no dobut that thing is stuck in there for good! Anyways take out the 2 bolts on the bolts on the bracket it will save you from head aches and hassles! http://i.imgur.com/9nFsipul.jpg And here is what the turbo was sitting on, a pedestal, which feeds oil to the turbo http://i.imgur.com/TqR2K2El.jpg Top part of the turbo oil feed pedestal http://i.imgur.com/9IHOH3Al.jpg Tada turbo removed! http://i.imgur.com/k6Mk7tWl.jpg End of Day 4 |
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Day 5
A Fight with wire harness, fuel lines and rails Title says it all, i spend all day fighting with the terrible placed wire harness it just intrudes vision, work space to remove the intake manifold, and its intertwined with the damn fuel rails and its high pressure metal lines, i was forced to remove one of the rails so the lines will clear, only to find out that the plastic L shaped casing can be removed and the wires will give way, however the good news is my swirl flap can be opened and closed smoothly, and that the swirl flap motor removed relatively easy w/o breaking, i head horror stories that some has broke the motor & its linkages and even the swirl flap linkages which are made with very flimsy and brittle plastic! here where im at now at 0400 am 1/4/15, i got to say engine is starting to look pretty small, next up removal of the intake manifold and its going to be highs of 22*F oh the joy! http://i.imgur.com/t6i4j1Ml.jpg A fun quiz name all the item that you see in this picture http://i.imgur.com/N885JTDl.jpg End of Day 5! |
I'm interested in seeing the pictures - they don't show up on my screen. I'm guessing you've got an off site hosting place that is blocking them => change of settings?
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I'm interested in seeing the pics too.
I've been in one of these as far as replacing the swirl flap motor. |
The way he has all this stuff loaded by day, I'm guessing he is using a word processor for the thread, and he just dumped the info on each post. I think he plans to host the images later.
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Wow didnt know that the images didnt appear! I was appearing fine on my computer till i checked my phone and it was blank, so I changed my imaging host's is should come up anytime soon! Sorry about that :P
As far as Day 6 i dont think ill be doing anything today, its 14*F outside and with the windchill of 0*F at 40 mph my garage says its 15*F w/ the space heater on for 2 hrs, later i when into the garage for 15 mins and rearrange and pick up some tools and my hand when numb! tomorrow it will be a nicer 36*F and with that space heater it will be a comfortable 45*F |
Thanks for correcting the pics.
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Well, since nobody else has said it... OMFG! (!!!:eek:!!!)
Is there a German idiom to express "Rube Goldberg-esque-ness"? Apparently his grandson is working in the MBZ emissions engineering department now. I've got to tell you that for many years there was a Saturn-V rocket engine on display in front of Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, CA. That was as complex as a stone arrowhead compared to that freakin' V-6. Actros617, I have to give you a LOT of credit for two things that I've seemingly lost in recent years: ambition and patience. I think I've also now lost any desire for a post-CDI diesel too. Keep up the good work and please keep us in the loop... |
I uploaded the pics to the pelican server to preserve them
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RunningTooHot's the spokesperson for sanity!
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I'm so not buying any new cars if I can help it. |
This job is a piece of cake takes about 5 hours if you replace the intake port shutoff motor too.
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Sounds like you need a bigger garage heater or some insulation! :)
Nice Pics....other than the voyage of parts to get to things, looks pretty straight forward. Doesn't look any worse than my voyage through the M116 V8 in my 420SEL last summer. :eek: I had every last piece in the "V" removed...all fuel and intake components...same deal...like a huge puzzle...all to reach and replace the rubber grommets on the intake that were hard as a rock and leaking vacuum. |
At some point in the not too distant future I am sure I will be treading this road. Thanks for the pics and making it look not as bad as I thought. I just know I am going to need to book a week of vacation time and order every last little gasket and what not that will be needed for this.
+1 on the HF E-torx sockets, they are total junk. You can see in your picture how the HF sockets do not have the correct profile. I suspect this is because this is a licensed fastener design and they had to do that so they didn't get rung up for copying. The package does not say "torx" anywhere on it, they call them "star" fasteners. |
Day 7
The halfway point! Alright another day another victory, the intake manifold has been removed it took me nearly 2 hrs because of the blasted wire harness and other fuel lines interfering the way, and what you see in the middle the the leaky oil cooler at last its accessible. 10 E10 bolts on each manifold! If you can get the wire harness away your life will be a lot easier, but DO NOT TOUCH THE GLOW PLUGS, it can break VERY EASILY and its VERY hard to REPLACE!! http://i.imgur.com/luJXm6ul.jpg Now before you remove the intake manifold, the driver side (left) intake manifold has some coolant lines intact that will prevent your removal they're your EGR return cooler, and your heater core line. Now the heater core is easy its just a simple C clip and its out but the EGR return cooler line was more challenging as there wasn't much space to work on and it was held on a spring clamp that kept moving around http://i.imgur.com/kgljykCl.jpg Close up of the Heater core line http://i.imgur.com/hrSZsaGl.jpg Heres is the join peice that was holding the left and right intake manifold together located at the front end of the intake manifold, This piece is the coolant join peice, dealer only sells the entire pipe, no O ring replacement, its pretty cheap around 10 bucks, highly recommend that you replace this item save you a leak and tones of headache! http://i.imgur.com/ss8u7Nll.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cn6LikBl.jpg Closer view of the Left/Driver Side intake Manifold, i cannot stress that you do not break that linkage that controls the swirl flap you will have to replace the whole intake manifold as dealer don't sell the linkage separate, if you do break it you can always do the Swirl flap motor Resistor trick (google it) http://i.imgur.com/WU5hxUMl.jpg Closer View of the Right/Passenger Intake Manifold, a little less stuff, just watch out for the glass like fragility swirl flap linkage http://i.imgur.com/YJnsxTRl.jpg Up close view of the linkages Right/Passanger Intake Manifold http://i.imgur.com/4x24vifl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/oRsPgq3l.jpg And heres is the oil cooler, now the unit its self are not the problem its the seals on it that has failed due to material design flaw, followed by age and mileage, now the neat thing about this oil cooler design is that if in the event if liquid begins to leak between the V the oil cooler is at an inclination and the oil or any fluid will flow between the groove of the oil cooler and into the flow diverter than to the drain hole. http://i.imgur.com/efqX78Al.jpg And this is where im at, all cleaned and plug up... now just awaiting for parts to arrive before i remove the oil cooler and reassemble everything. http://i.imgur.com/T1xAyYrl.jpg End of day 7! |
Good job with the pics, thanks.
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Carbon Pictures, both heads. Impressions, it doesn't seem as bad that i would imagine, thanks to mostly highway driving commute and frequent pedal to the metal or italian tune up :P got to love that 398 lb/ft of torque feel.
http://i.imgur.com/t8esIOy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/le4tCc1.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GS4U41W.jpg |
I did mine in November of 2013. Spent a lot of time cleaning the intake ports on the heads. Solvent and scraping with a jewelers screwdriver while sucking the crud occasionally with a shop vac. Power washed the innards of each half of the intake manifold. Engine ran quite a bit smoother when done. Wife has put about 25k on it since the repair; all continues to be good. I suspect I will be pulling the manifold again for another cleaning at around 175k
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Day 8
Reassembly, part 1! Lots of progress has been made today! Also I'll be posting torque specs based on mercedes repair manual on Alldatadiy. Parts came in today and it was christmas all over again, theres about $150 worth of seals in here! http://i.imgur.com/DcKRF8fl.jpg Now with the oil cooler exposed removing it was very easy, 10 T27 Torx bolts, watch out for a buch of oil and coolant to spill all over the place, make sure YOU clean all surfaces before reinstalling! http://i.imgur.com/KGLDsTAl.jpg Heres the under side of the oil cooler http://i.imgur.com/K2JBsgol.jpg Old Seals Orange seals, the rubber on them were stiff and not pliable which caused it to leak oil, you can see the seal is in a fixed collapsed position after many years and mileage of service later. (2nd pic) http://i.imgur.com/QTJtgtVl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Su54pNsl.jpg New seal oil cooler seals are purple color made of viton rubber it will resolve your leak problem for good, or a very very long time. These are the new seals that are in all 2010 Mercedes OM642 Bluetec engine! Orange seals are no longer available, however if you ever get an orange seal from the dealer return it back and ask for purple ones but most of the time dealers should not be carrying orange seal anymore. http://i.imgur.com/U5Psj3Xl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DEY9SLQl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ut1Wv70l.jpg Oil cooler Reinstalled with new purple seal, Torque Spec on the oil cooler to engine T27 torx bolts,12 nm, there are 10 bolts total. http://i.imgur.com/BEgL0Qzl.jpg Intake manifold gasket, made of aluminum or metal, very fimsly and can be bent easily so be careful, notice theres 2 hooks they make sure that the gasket stay on the intake manifold, very handy in my situation. http://i.imgur.com/atpB7OUl.jpg Intake Manifold reinstall...sigh, this was a battle to put in, since there was as coolant joint that needs to be place between the intake manifold and with all that wire harness, fuel lines are intruding my way and limited space to work with...lets say was rather difficult to reinstall then to remove it, but I made it work and it slip right in...after 45 mins of manhandling! http://i.imgur.com/80uo1ull.jpg Please follow this intake manifold tightening and torquing sequence. Intake manifold to cylinder head bolt Torque spec 16 nm, There are 10 bolts on the left (driver side) intake manifold and 9 on the right (passanger side) intake manifold, making it a total of 19 bolts to tighten http://i.imgur.com/4f1cKXSl.png Yellow box indicating the location of the coolant joint pipe for the coolant flow! You must install a new pipe and it comes with new seal http://i.imgur.com/GaETy6yl.jpg Turbo oil feed pedestal with old gasket at the base, http://i.imgur.com/lGg6pWul.jpg Turbo Oil feed pedestal Gasket removed (Base), notice a gaping hole, serves no purpose http://i.imgur.com/JJ1oyxul.jpg Turbo Oil feed pedestal cleaned, (Base) http://i.imgur.com/NXbINBVl.jpg Now heres is an interesting thing the turbo oil feed pedestal new gasket has a new hole, and the part number has also been changed too! Old part # A1420280 New part # A1420681 http://i.imgur.com/Xi6F0ZEl.jpg New gasket fits perfectly despite the extra hole and it doesn't seem to interfere with anything, never the less its must be a modular design thing that mercedes is doing. http://i.imgur.com/8uB7DvBl.jpg Turbo oil feed Pedestal installed, Torque spec for the bolts 12 nm and there are 4 bolts http://i.imgur.com/l3m1RxKl.jpg Swirl flap motor, now you must install the new there are a total of 4 clips, 2 on the intake manifold 2 on the swirl flap motor, these things will break due to oil exposure, now the new one is actually suppose to be attached to each other this one broke after several attempts to attach this on to the swirl flap motor, yes its very pain in the @$$ to install, also i do not recommend installing the swirl flap motor on to the the intake manifold before installing the intake manifold on to the cylinder head, you will break the fragile clips, swirl flap linkage and the swirl flap motor mount point http://i.imgur.com/8KboZ41l.jpg Heres the old swirl flap clips, soaked in oil and about to disintegrate into a millions of pieces! http://i.imgur.com/nCBAktcl.jpg Swirl flap motor installed, Torque spec bolt for swirl flap motor 5nm...just hand tighten the bolts, there are 2 of them. http://i.imgur.com/TMnDf7ll.jpg Fuel rail, ok this is a mess to install, since all the metal fuel line protrudes 1/4 in inside the fuel rails you going to fight with the stiff lines just to get them in espically the middle ones, just slowly work your way in it will go in Torque spec for Fuel rail to valve cover (for mounting) 9nm, 2 bolts. http://i.imgur.com/q0w5Q2ql.jpg Tightening the fuel rail procedure 1. Make sure that your fuel rail is bolted down! 2. Hand Tighten All Nut on the fuel line!, MAKE SURE the nut is not slipping, misthreading, overlapping or stripping! I cannot stress this step enough! 3. Tighten all nuts to 20nm 4. Mark a straight line from the rail to the nut. 5. Turn nut 60* Angle (Correction Thx Resto108) 6. Check for leaks (after starting engine) This applies to all fuel line http://i.imgur.com/RXyx3i7l.jpg And here is where im at now...starting to look like an diesel engine now. http://i.imgur.com/cUgDFjbl.jpg END OF DAY 8 |
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Those orange seals are bad news on that engine. When I had my 2007 Jeep with the 642 in it, the intake tube had an orange seal where the crankcase breather attached to the tube right before the turbo. That had a tendency to leak oil all over (and in) the swirl flap motor causing it to fail. You know how much of a PITA that thing is to work on. Most people either got a tune from GDE that disabled the system or did the resistor mod.
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Great post....I have a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the OM642 and will subscribe to this post.
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Day 11
Part 2 Reassembly! P.S I actually just finished project today, i'm just exhausted and taking my time to post the rest of the images so bare me :o Turbo Installation Remove the old metal gasket and clean the surface well! http://i.imgur.com/r1YmhQWl.jpg New gasket has a handy clip that will ensure that the gasket will stay in place when your re install it. http://i.imgur.com/nHrndiKl.jpg New gasket design has a an extra hole, just make sure that the other 2 holes are aligned so it dose not interfere with the oil feed. http://i.imgur.com/ArFZaJwl.jpg Before you attach your turbo on the pedestal place the 2 triangle exhaust gaskets on the Y pipe exhaust collection pipe that connects to the turbo charger. (Will add pics later) (Picture of the turbo pedestal is out of the car for better representation) Now since you oil feed pedestal attached on the engine take the turbo assembly and gently get it on the oil feed pedestal you do not want to damage the new gasket, and the exhaust will get in the way so you going have to rotate the turbo around to get it to fit in there. Torque Spec of the T45 Torx bolt for the oil feed pedestal to turbocharger Stage 1 30 nm and Stage 2 50 nmm http://i.imgur.com/qFaNmWel.jpg Here's a pic of the oil feed pedestal now been installed position, the turbo will be sitting on this post, (with the torx bolt remove of course) http://i.imgur.com/20qqRY3l.jpg?1 DONT FORGET! To bolt the turbo bracket on to the engine (yellow box) Torque spec 16nm http://i.imgur.com/TyR3RhKl.jpg Turbo exhaust collection pipe bolting Now that you got your turbo bolted on to the Oil feed pedistal you can now attach your exhaust to your turbo now the exhaust are quite flexiable so you can theres a lot of free play adjust as needed. You will also need 6 new copper bolts you must replace them as they're stretch bolts (Red markers indicates where they're located). Torque spec Stage 1 20nm followed by Stage 2 90*angle or 1/4 turn. Due to the angle be sure that your socket are sitting on the bolt as flush as possible! http://i.imgur.com/muZCGoll.jpg EGR Pipe Yes you have to reattach it or your car will throw a conundrum fit. Replace 2 gasket and the 2 bottom copper bolt! Torque spec for A 20 nm Torque Spec for B Stage 1. 10nm Stage 2. 90* Angle or 1/4 turn http://i.imgur.com/M4vCDlYl.jpg Turbo exhaust installation Install new gasket rear of the turbo, nice thing about it, it has 2 securing tabs that will hold the gasket in place, You can leave the tabs in there, they will fall off and drop off after they heated up. http://i.imgur.com/ar4oSndl.jpg Gasket installed back of the turbo http://i.imgur.com/6MNtfjIl.jpg And here's the pipe installed you will need 3 new bolts Torque spec on the turbo exhaust pipe bolts 20 nm http://i.imgur.com/X8lDW9Vl.jpg There's a large clamp fit that attaches from turbo exhaust to DPF its pretty self explanatory tighten the clamp as much as possible. http://i.imgur.com/5Lj4tsUl.jpg Crankcase oil/vapor operator installation 3 bolts and 1 bracket, the bracket is holding a plug that is connected to a exhaust temp probe located in the turbo charger exhaust side turbine, hand tighten the bolts as the crankcase oil/vapor separator is made of plastic! http://i.imgur.com/SlNUX4Jl.jpg And there we have it a turbocharger installed! http://i.imgur.com/KOUswHBl.jpg Next up the intake side of the installation! END OF DAY 11 |
Thanks for posting this again. I vote this goes into the wiki when it's done.
Before things get too far out of your memory, can you post a bill of material of everything you had to order for this job? |
What a nightmare to fix an oil leak! I'll make sure to never buy a car with the Om642. Any reason why Mercedes put the oil cooler (a FPHE) at the bottom of the Vee and not in a more accessible location?
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Let this not discourage you to buy a Mercedes with a OM642 it may seem intimidating to repair but its pretty straight forward, ones that the oil leak is repaired its pretty much good to go for years to come, and besides for the past 2 years of ownership it prove its self quite reliable despite been technologically complex, just change your oil on time and services it on time. |
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Once it is sorted won't have to mess with it. I sure do appreciate this thread:). One of my best customers has a 09 E class bluetec and I am starting to see oil leakage on the back of the engine area so I suspect it is just a matter of time I have to deal with it. This thread will come in handy. Thanks |
Is that the SAME parts list for the CDI? 2008 R320...
Thanks |
This thread should be added to the *Stickys* reference list of DIYs atop DD in this Forum @ some point.
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Time Saver - Oil Cooler Leak Repair
Excellent posting ASTRO...I was a few days ahead of you on my 2009 ML320 w/ 99,800 miles. It was one of those jobs that must be very methodic and you covered it very well. It does take many hours to complete. POLARISRMK remark that it is a 5 hour slam dunk is smokin' somethin'! Good 20- 30 hours or more and half of it is cleaning and thinking it through as a one man job weekend warrior.:)
HELPER HINT: Took my turbo off the same way...but could not access the mounting bolts for the bracket on the reinstall...dropped one and luckily found it. Took a chance and removed the bracket (2 bolts you could not remove) installed mounting bracket first. No blind spot like with turbo in the way. Then installed turbo and the 2 bolts. Much easier. More than likely one of the "tricks" that regular MB techs know! Turbo drops in cleanly also. |
Aftermath of Oil Cooler Repair
I have run into issues since the repair. Everything seemed to go well. On restart, test run was great. Back to normal or better operation.
Next day, we had to take a 300 mile trip. Weather in the 30s. Mostly highway driving. - Started up fine - Almost immediately was in no acccel, "limp mode". - Temp fine 90C, fluids fine. All connections tight. Rechecked all hook ups. - Had to keep moving...no passing shifts, very slow accel, loss of speed on climbs. - MPH readings were up 15 to 20% from prior to repair. Figured it was the swirl motor flaps were stuck..due to cleaning break after reinstall...all was good going in. Paddle shift helped a bit. Then started start issue 2 days later. Took 5 tries to start for 3 days. Now 3 tries. And the Temp Alert has come on, but reads as 90C on the dash reader. I have not had the luxury of stopping since this the only car we have on the road. Gas mileage is running way better up to 28 MPH. Checked Fault Codes and found the following. P2005 Intake Manifold Runner Control Stuck Open...both Banks P2015 Intake Manifold Runner Control Sensor Switch Ckt Range/ Perf B1 P0670 Glow Plug Module Control Circuit Diesel Particulate Filter Pressure P010A & C Mass or Vol Air Flow A & B Circuit Low Input P0112 Intake Air Temp Sens Circuit Low Input P0489 Exhaust Gas Recirc Cont Circuit Low P0031 Heated Oxy Sens Htr Cont Circ Low Bank 1 P0245 Turbo Wastgate A Solenoid Low P2463 Diesel Particulate Filter Restriction Soot Accum. P2031 Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor Circ Bk 1 Sensor 2 I have rechecked all connections. Cleared Fault Codes and need to reread today. Sorry for long post. Short of heading to the dealer for an expensive testing session...any thoughts what I &$^$ up on this. Thanks.:confused::confused: |
Clear fault codes and try again.
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Sorry guys I'll try to get the last page in, delays due to school started and been really busy lately.
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Will do that today. Going to do the diode bypass of the swirl motor today, also.
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Missed your reply Ascros....I replaced the ball sockets and they were good when installed. Will be checking them again today before I do the diode bypass. Did not remove the EGR. Kept that intact and just remove hoses to do the work. I threw some Rotella T 15W40 (4 qts or so) in when I refilled. Had it sitting from my 87 300D T change. Noticed it is the 282.31 spec. NOT 292.51 or 52. Mat have caused some accumulation on sensors? So will be changing oil today also to Mobil 1 0W40 Euro. Back to the old standby.
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Advice on OM642 Oil Cooler gaskets
I just bought a 2007 E320 Bluetek. It's in mint condition (the proverbial schoolteacher car) and has just 70K on it.
I've been reading about the oil cooler gaskets and am wondering if they fail as a result of time or use. As with Actros617 I don't have a heated garage and would not like to do this job just now. As the car has only 70K, one might suspect I have some time to go before the failure, but if it happens after seven years, then I better get on it. Also, it is unclear to me whether the failure is catastrophic, i.e., shuts down the vehicle either by COMAND or by being unable to keep enough oil in it to run. Descriptions seem to imply oil streams out pretty rapidly, but no one seems to have had to have the vehicle towed for the failure. The book time to do the job is just under 10 hours. How accurate is that? |
Oil Cooler in the Vee
Good point on the question of "why did they put the oil cooler in the vee"? Ford did the same thing with their 6.0 International diesel. They did not have a leak issue, they had a coolant side clog issue which would snowball and cause EGR cooler failure which then caused head gasket failure. No clue why they both don't place these somewhere external. Of course I guess you could say that about half the parts on the engine which would then require an engine compartment of a mid 70's Cadillac.
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Nice write up! Love it.
Word of caution though about all that carbon in your engine-change your fuel supply or start running lots of fuel conditioners to bring it up to spec. I removed my egr valve at similar mileage (120k) and it is still whistle clean, just a black coating that wiped off with a rag no deposits anywhere. I run 47-48 cetane fuel and lots of conditioners, never push a cold engine and generally take it easy on it (no Italian tune ups) but I tow with it about once a month (5X10 double axle, or car on tow dolly-significant weight). Only highway driving. I would also change the oil more often, I am doing 6-7k intervals to help prevent the oil cooler seals from blowing out and changing air filters often to keep things breathing well. It seems clogged air filters mean more drag on the crankcase breathing system and internal pressure, there was good write up on it on another forum. Running the oil long means more blow by/fumes too, and mixing with the egr soot and carboning up. |
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Wow! Nice write up Actros617 and nice work. Thank you. How hard is it to change the glow plugs on that engine? it must not be very hard. I would have been tempted to pull them all and replace while everything was off and I was staring at their brittle little plugs.
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Finale
So this picture is here to illustrate whats going to be installed. http://i.imgur.com/ZU0KpIgl.png Heres the intake manifold replace the O rings, highly important to prevent boost leak http://i.imgur.com/8PP9NOOl.jpg Now heres is the EGR attach this end on to the Black pipe (theres a cut out in the middle of the black pipe you cant miss it)theres also a rubber gasket on the EGR pipe replace to preven boots leak, 3 bolts holding on it 15 nmhttp://i.imgur.com/4Apkxqil.jpg Triangle end goes into this black pipe http://i.imgur.com/pIuaKwtl.jpg now that you have the EGR pipe attached (simulated EGR image) on to the replace the gasket as shown to prevent boost leak pipe, then take charged air pipe to intake manifold intercooler have to push in and make sure that the left intake manifold and the EGR pipe are seated properly and flushed, theres only 3 bolts holding on the intake manifold torque to 20nm http://i.imgur.com/A7JWQkTl.jpg Heres the charged air line installed to the intake manifold http://i.imgur.com/SFW7rDRl.jpg Next thermostat, replace the gasket on it and attach to the intake manifold torque to 20mn 3 or 4 bolts total dependent on certain model, mine had 4. http://i.imgur.com/NFxDCY4l.jpg Next install the electronic controller for the throttle body it just sits right on top the the charged air hose to intake manifold, connect the connectors, http://i.imgur.com/laIdo4Kl.jpg Then install the bracket for the electronic controller for the throttle body, its a clamp style bracket, 2 bolts and 2 nuts 5nm torque http://i.imgur.com/tdCI0mSl.jpg Install the resonator pod, im not sure what is that thing dose but it looks like it just covering an extra hole. inspect the o ring on it, and then give it a good push, it should pop right in and 1 bolt to secure to the charge air to intake manifold 5 nm torque http://i.imgur.com/YBuWb2yl.jpg Now install the turbo silencer, one end (silvery pipe) attaches to the outlet of the turbo theres a O ring that slides on the turbo outlet, MAKES SURE IT THERES, or you'll make no boost! The other end (see picture) is the silencer, this part attaches to the intercooler, and theres 1 bolt, a very long bolt 10 nm make sure you bolt it down or you'll run the risk of the pipe getting dislodged http://i.imgur.com/8JADrvrl.jpg Then attache all your hoses, Intercooler, Coolant, Air intake and the bat wing, air filter and fuel filter http://i.imgur.com/uf8XfP8l.jpg Now fill up your car with BLUE Coolant purchased from the dealer, it only comes in concentrate, just get some distilled water from your local supermarket. It will take approximately 2 gallons of coolant. NOTE some cars with OM642 ie ML and GL uses yellow coolant, http://i.imgur.com/NGbIuScl.jpg?1 Now that the coolant is filled, its time to start up the car, now since I've removed the fuel rail and fuel filter, its wise to cycle the key 2-4 times so that the fuel filter is primed (you have a electric fuel pump) then try to start it up, now it will take 2-3 start/cranking cycle for the car to actually start up because its purging air and building pressure in the fuel rails and the lines, ones fuel pressure is sufficient the car will fire right up with little to no hiccups. http://i.imgur.com/QOTLzCWl.jpg Now that you're finally finished and you've been rewarded with a garage that looks like after a surgery is completed, MESSY! http://i.imgur.com/Pwyzi5jl.jpg Final IMPORTANT notes Check your coolant level, Oil level, Coolant temperature for the next 1 week, and check for leaks, leave all under panel off so you can detect a leak, if you have a lean then you may have to go back in there and find out what hasn't been tighten properly hopefully not the oil cooler :( . |
Good job.
Appreciate the follow up. |
1 Attachment(s)
Astros, many thanks for your efforts to document step by step the oil cooler seals "challenge". Your instructions were very helpful.
Yes, I had a leak on a 2010 ML Bluetec with 89000 miles on it. The cooler seal was previously changed 2 years ago at 58000 miles. As you guys reading this post know, the leaking source is very hard to spot. The oil was dripping at the bottom where the engine/ transmission are joining together and the main clue that the leak originates to oil coller seals was the wetness of the weeping hole (driver side of the engine). I changed the cooler seals ( put the purple ones now, back in 2012 the dealer used orange ones). One point that I noticed when I took out the cooler was that the bolts close to the turbo were almost "hand tight". Took me no effort to break them out. ( probably the seals collapsed and there was no more load on the bolts). To avoid a similar situation in the future, I used spring washers this time. Everything good with the oil cooler, parts got back in place, beautifully cleaned with no incidents. Started the car ( bunch of errors codes related with the exhaust back pressure). I have an exhaust leak between turbo and the exhaust flange ( I can feel it and smell it of course). I will take care of that. The very, very sad part is that I still have oil leak under the car. The oill clearly is not coming from the weeping hole on the side of the engine. See the attached file. It is hard to detemine if is main seal, it could be but I am puzzled why there is no oil dripping right at the center or why I cannot find a bunch of oil insde the bellhouse. One thing is clear, is not the oil cooler because the weep hole is DRY. Any idea? I am just sharing my painfuil experience with you. I did the oil cooler seals with pleasure, but I don't have strength to take the transmission off to tackle the main seal. This is my 8th Mercedes and the newest, but I never had problems like this before. It's a shame to have this type of problems with a 4-5 years old car and 89000 miles on it properly maintained. Wish you best of luck guys. Update : Got home after sending the post above and checked more to figure out the source of my leak. Well, I took a big seringe and squirted water slowly in different areas of the V. First I poured some water in the thermostat area ( front of the engine)- surprise... for me... water rushed out right from the bell house. The weep hole on the upper left ( driver side) was dry. I was pretty sure that everything that goes in the V after the oil cooler is istalled get collected between the engine block and cooler and diverted to the left side out of the "V". So I was very wrong by saying that if the weep hole on the left is dry it means oil cooler seals are OK. Poured more water in the turbo area towards the back of the engine and water dripped in the same area from the inside of the bell house. What sources of leaks do we have on the upper side of the engine, inside the "V"? 1. oil cooler seals 2. gasket under the turbo piedestal 3. gasket between piedestal and turbo 4. the big 19mm plug on top of the turbo fixture. ( i don't know exactly its main purpose there) - cheked for wetness, no problems. 5.PCV gasket and turbo inlet gasket (leaks there should be very slow and it will take long time to show at the bottom of the engine). Just replaced those gaskets of course as well as all the gaskets needed for the above mentioned items. 4. head gaskets ??? ( any oil passages ... I don't know) Are there any other sources? All the gaskets were applied after a very good cleaning of the mating surfaces. Everything was done slowly, i was not in a hurry to fix the car and of course I've done it FOR ME. Bolts were torqued with torque wrench at their specified values. ( thank you Astros... I was lazy to double check myself). If i would do it again, i have no idea what would I do different ... oh, I know.... probably i would spend another $150 and change the oil cooler too. Do you think that the cooler can have a hair line crack somewhere that can leak under pressure? For now i refuse to believe that a less than 5 years old Mercedes car has the main rear seal leaking at 89kmiles The way the oil drips in my case, can originate from anywhere based on what I just did this evening. Sorry for my long post. All the best. |
Great write up! Will be using it ---> looks like I just got oil cooler leak on my 2011 R350... It has only 54K on the odometer and just after 300 miles trip ---> next day big puddle of oil on the drive way.. Grr. It strange. My car is 2011 (build in 9/10) and I was under impression that it should have the new purple seals under the oil cooler.. And the leak is pretty big --> could it be something else? not the seals, but the actual oil cooler? Also, what bolts are necessary to replace during this job? And about intake manifold servo motor and crankcase vent/bleeder valve ---> are those necessary to replace?
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Thanks for the great thread!
I am half way through this endeavor on my 07 sprinter van. It is obvious to me that the design is mostly useless. There is only a relatively small amount of coolant passing through this cooler. That is, relative to the total coolant flow in the whole sys. Bends should have put a thermostat into an external cooler, as is common on many other marque's. Such a painful waste of time to deal with this. And in my case, I am having to clear the whole coolant system of a thick mixture of coolant and oil. Yes, that means the radiator, and heater system too, completely full of black tar like substance. Previous owner did no service on the rig since the first engine blew at 26k miles. So that means about 225k miles no real service to speak of; only oil changes. Idiot light read "service past due 99,999.99 miles" It was driven in limp mode for years. sheesh |
Wow, more Thanks for one of the best DIYs of all time!
Have considered the MLs, but after living with an easy to work on OM648, it is very hard to make the switch. |
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