Today I took the car to change the mount, reconnect the mono valve and adjust the idle speed. Since I left the car with the mechanic, I also asked him to change oil for me. I told him the oil is in the trunk as usual. I have 2 gallons of Mobil 1 synthetic diesel oil and also two 32-oz Lucas upper cylinder lubricant in a bag in the trunk. I didn't know that they have a new helper working on the most simple job 'oil change'. When I went back to pick up my car I realized that he used only 1.5 gallon of oil. I asked him why didn't he use the whole 2 gallons, he said he'd used one bottle of stabilizer. At that time he then realized it was not the stabilizer but the cylinder lubricant. When I started the car, lots of smoke came out and after a while it seems to be fine, but when the car slowed down, lots of smoke again. Does anyone know if this will damage the engine? Do I need to flush out the oil right away or I can just wait till next oil change. Thanks.

There is no way to know if the Engine was damaged till the Oil is changed and it is run again. Even then unless there is a knocking there is no way to tell if the Bearings were damaged.

In the end the Mechanic is responsiable for what happend.

Also if the Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant was for the Diesel I don't see how that works on Diesels as the Fuel Injected out of the Injector is going to burn and any chemical in the Fuel is also going to try to burn if not burn leaving no lube for the upper cylinder.

That is not like a carburated or even a Fuel Injected Engine where the Fuel is injected into the manifold and as the Piston is going down and intaking the Air Fuel Mix; in that case some of that upper cylinder lube has a chance to get onto the Cyinders.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Might do it a world of good but ,drain out the oil from the sump ,and refill with flushing oil as per post Drain and refill with your mobil 1. Take it to the numpty that did the job tell him, that any problems thet you have later that he can put them right, .Thats if problems show up at a later time .What a stupid thing to go and do .Dont go there again ,once bitten twice shy.. Good luck .

Before some on this list run down the path that the engine has been damaged and you need to sue the shop, lets break this down a bit.

If you put a bag of stuff in the trunk and say to change the oil, they might just grab the stuff and dump it all in. Keeping everything separate prevents problems like this.

Changing the oil and mixing in the lucas won't cause any smoke or short term engine damage. Some on this list have run with a internally leaking lift pump filling the crankcase with diesel fuel with no apparent ill effects so some of this lube would be similar.

It isn't like antifreeze was added to the oil and the Lucas is "upper cylinder lube" so it has lubrication qualities. I'd change the oil and move on, this really isn't that big of a deal. A straight drain and refill is fine, no need to flush the system. The shop should get you oil and provide labor.

Lastly, I don't use any additives on a regular basis but pay attention to regular oil changes. At most I use Chevron Techron in the fuel for a gas engine every 30,000 miles to or so to keep injectors clean and have used Power Service Diesel Kleen ( clean ? ) in a few industrial diesels that have sat for a long period of time.

Oil change places have no concern for job well done or the vehicle.
period
never use one.
ever.

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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!

Thanks for all your quick reply. My mind is at ease now. I'll get them to change the oil as suggested by 97SL320 even if I have to buy the oil. It is so hard to find a decent MB mechanic who is willing to work on my car and be honest to tell me that he's not good in certain area, like electrical. My speeddo is still not working. Took the cluster down sent it to JamesDean to check, nothing is wrong. Put it back, still not working. Last month I got two tickets of speeding (driving at 30 mph in the city of New York 25 mph limit). Took the car to the shop at Liberty Ave as recommended by someone in this forum, the mechanic said "don't put a penny more on this car", doesn't want to repair my speeddo problem. Any member here in the tristate area who wants to tackle this for me?

I'm not in your tri state area. For the speedo issue, do you know anyone that has a background in electronics? They will be able to work on the car if you have a wiring diagram.

They will need to put an oscilloscope on the signal wire at the speedo. If they don't see a signal, they will have to probe the speed sensor. ( I don't know the specifics of your car. This will either be on the transmission or differential pinion. )

Your profile shows a 91 350SD, the pictures you posted looks like a 617.95 engine. Is that two different cars?

Fill out your Signature, then people don`t have to ask what year model etc...


mechanic said don`t put another penny into the vehicle. Dump that mechanic.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

The car is a 1991 350SD original a 603 engine and was cheated by a junk yard in 2012 who installed a 617 engine in it. (If you are interested in the story you can read my previous posts. At the end I stopped posting because some members said that I'd made up the story.) The car won't start for several months, then Phil Forrest stepped in to help me got the car running. Then he has to move to PA so now I am relying on this forum's member to guide me to gradually put the car back in shape. Of the last 3 years, whenever a problem came up, I read all threads that are related to it and then buy the parts for the mechanic to do. Only this mechanic is willing to listen to a 60+ Chinese woman telling him what to fix. If I come back in a couple of days asking him to check different things, he knows that he has to check it, otherwise he won't see me for a few months.

It depends.

If a car is truly not worth fixing and the mechanic continues to fix , some on this list will claim he is ripping the owner off.

Tell the customer that a car isn't worth fixing? Well you will get slammed for that too.

This is a prime example of one of the reasons why I got out of the auto repair business nearly 20 years ago and am now a manufacturing / equipment / electro-mechanical / engineer ( ish ) at a factory.

Doesn't anyone ever Wonder why there are few really good mechanics?

Please just junk the car....seriously....

You cannot relay on the members here to help you fix your car....these are down in dirty, greasy, no body has a life cars...seriously...

There is a reason why the rich only drove these cars and replaced them every 5 years...

Welcome to owning a vintage mercedes....yours is worse because that model was well not so good....

The mechanics telling you to not put another dime into that car is doing you a favor....dump it and buy a honda....

If anything buy an OM617 actually in a W123 body....

The reason no one wants to work on the car is that it is a franken beast and it is like 26yo's....things in these cars do not age well at all! You can see my threads to see a few projects I am working on...on both my cars...its never ending!

But with me I have both the time, knowledge and skill to do the work. If I cannot find help I dig wayyyyy far into FSM, booklets, scans etc...

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Another way of looking at is, the mechanic does not want to work on a car as old as this MB is.
He may feel the money spent on this old of a car is foolish.

It is true, we don`t know the condition of the car over all.

Clicking on the OP pictures he posted in his profile. looks like a nice car.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Smile123, you are on the right track by finding a mechanic who is both good, honest and willing to work with you. It is not the most economical way to fix your car, but works if you are willing to spend the $$$.

Being a near 75 y.o. male who worked on cars foreign and domestic cars since my teens, but now ambushed by old age and forced into hiring out more difficult jobs, I can identify.

I would just suggest you try to find a second good mechanic, so you can get a 2nd opinion if you need one. Sometimes it helps to get the insight of someone else.

It sounds like you had some success in assessing the character and skill set of mechanics and have already found out that the pool of those who are willing and able to work on these cars is shrinking by the day.

The people on this forum will always help you if they can and most really do have your best interests at heart. Don

I went back and read the OP's original thread on this car. It was interesting to say the least. However, I see no reason to junk a car that still runs and drives, and even still looks good, as the OP's does. The only real issue seems to be the speedometer issue, which is surmountable, if not necessarily straightforward. I would recommend more DIY to the OP, especially oil changes, since they are stupid easy on an OM617.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Ok, Cooljjay, Smile123's car is just fine. No need to be that hyperbolic here.
She loves the car and back when I had the opportunity to do so, I loved working on it. Let's just say she's not getting rid of it.

Anyway, the original engine was a notorious-head OM603 that was replaced with a turbo OM617. The guy who did the work kind of knew what he was doing but there were a few things that didn't get done right. I wish I was around to help but I'm even farther away in New Mexico now.

So, it works great when it works. The turbo motor is super strong, so it's got a good powerplant. The electrical issues are there and I'm admittedly not good with electrical stuff. I remember it had a battery drain for quite a while.

As far as I remember, there were very few diesel Benz folks up in the Tri-State area but a few out in the burbs. There is a Benz restorer in Edgewater, NJ that Kushal introduced me to. Also out in Morristown is Shade Tree Garage who are good.

Anyway, I'd love to see this car stay on the road. It is one of the nicest driving Benz's I've ever been in. It can get up and go too. After doing a bit of maintenance, I'd get it going out on the BQE and it can get up and go. If anyone is nearby, it would be great to see some love given to this car.

Good luck, Diana. Feel free to call if you like.

Thanks all!
Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson