newbie with a lot of oil in air filter
 

Hey looking for some help. I got lots of oil blowing into my air filter, through what i think is a vacuum hose that goes to the hydrolic system. Is there a bad diaphram? Also, can I plug it so that I can get to my next destination. or will that cause the oil to blow into the break vacuum booster. Any advice out there thanks.. bennylo owner of 78 240d. peace

I am not for sure on your system... but on mine that happened and it was not long until I had no Power Brakes, the engine would not shut down with the key, and the doors would not lock...
It is probably being sucked into the air filter rather than blowing out of the vacuum diaphram... which I expect is torn enough to leak the oil right now... and will soon be torn enough not to have any vacuum .....
There are at least to designs on the vacuum pump.. mine was not hard to fix and not expensive either....

bennylo,

I had this happen twice, on a 1971 220D and a 1975 240D. The first was quite dramatic, while the second was much less so. Once I learned the cause and fix the first time around I was prepared for the second and changed the diaphragm myself. As leathermang noted, it is not really complicated.

I was driving in Vermont for the first event, and stopped to pick up a hitch hiker, when all of the sudden I was enveloped in this thick cloud of white smoke. The hitch hiker literally disappeared for a moment. I had not noticed any unusual noise or exhaust plume while driving at highway speeds, so I was pretty alarmed by this sudden appearance of what seemed like instant engine death. After I calmed down, I noticed the car was running smooth enough, and, after shutting down to check the oil level, which was mysteriously ok, not at the top but not below the mid point on the dipstick, it fired right back up and began belching smoke again. I figured it was an affliction tied to idling, but drove away to a K-Mart at the next exit to pick up a few quarts of oil. I later learned the intake has some kind of butterfly throttle that comes into play at idle, and that caused a vacuum in the intake. Once you above idle (and those old cars had a heavy throttle pedal resistance that sort of "broke" when you got the engine off idle and became more linear) the vacuum is reduced and the incentive for oil to move across the diaphragm rupture and into the intake was reduced.

I ended up driving a few hundred miles around Vermont for the weekend, and to an MB shop in Woodstock, Vermont to have what I was expecting would be an expensive repair. Turns out it was under $50. The diaphragm was torn, and they had them there in stock. I bought another and kept in the trunk, but never had to use it in the next 200,000 miles.

I noticed the 240D vacuum pump discharge line turned black from its normal transluscent white. So I purchased a new diaphram kit and did the job myself. Never got the same effect displayed by the 220D. Given my past experience I would watch the oil and go ahead and use the car if you really have to - then change the diaphragm as soon as you get the chance. Good luck, Jim

thanks Im trying to get that part. Ive almost got it off. just dont have the rite size hex key.
but it looks pretty straight forward. peace bennylolo