Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Tech Help

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10-29-2000, 10:38 AM
LarryBible
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
I apologize for being so egotistical that I think that everyone is interested in my own plight, but I'm excited to have my precious manual transmission 124 car back on the road.

Several of you have very kindly been asking for an update, so here it is.

In Early July my 300E overheated on a 105 degree day. I thought that it was due to a cracked hose. As it turns out, I believe the blown hose was a result and not the cause of the problem. Upon taking the head to the machinist, he found that it had corroded into the combustion chamber from the water passage in the head. This was right next to the failed hose. I realize that the pressure is distributed, but I suspect that it somehow blew the hose. I believe the previous owner must have never maintained the cooling system.

I was to leave for a three week trip in Europe just a short time after the incident and didn't get to take the car apart for some time. I initially removed the plugs and blew out the cylinders. It appeared that only the back two cylinders had coolant in them, so I squirted oil in those two cylinders.

I finally got everything that I needed to take it apart about a month later. When I pulled the head there was coolant everywhere. The cylinders were rusted, and when I drained the oil, water came out first, then chocolate milk.

I cleaned the cylinders as best I could and left the drain plug out.

Yesterday morning, I began putting it back together. I checked the piston height and could not find any evidence of a bent rod. I got almost everything back together and then took my wife to the movie last night.

This morning I finished up and put in cheap oil and cheap filter. After some spitting and coughing, during which I thought maybe I had some worse problems, it started trying to run. I got lots of smoke for a good bit, and things leveled out. I ran it for about fifteen minutes and drained the oil, and put on another cheap filter and another fill of cheap oil. I drove it about five miles and then came back and began flushing the cooling system. This afternoon I will continue flushing the cooling system and put in antifreeze.

I plan on driving it a couple hundred miles and then give it a good overnight oil drain and put in my normal oil. It's about 1,000 miles 'til normally scheduled oil change time, so I expect to be back on schedule at that time.

It was quite an experience driving it after driving my C240 for 4,000 miles.

Thanks for indulging my celebration, but I thought that this might be of interest to a few of you.

My baby lives,

------------------
Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-29-2000, 01:54 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 1,565
Hey! Congratulations! It's good to hear that your "baby" is on the road to recovery. I know that I always worry about mine whenever it's a little bit sick, and I miss driving it when it's away in the shop.

good luck,
anthony

('87 300E)
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-29-2000, 02:19 PM
JCE's Avatar
JCE JCE is offline
Down to the Wear Bars
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: So Kalifornia
Posts: 2,189
great news, Larry! I wish I had your level of expertise to attack engine problems. So far mine is doing great, (except for periodically popping the #3 fuse), but I wish I could do more when/if something major goes wrong. Good luck with the engine.

------------------
JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-29-2000, 02:49 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Posts: 166
That's great to hear Larry! I remember when you first reported the problem and had wondered ever since what the outcome either had been or was going to be. Thanks for letting us know.

Congratulations on another job well done.

------------------
Ted
1979 240D
160,000 miles
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-29-2000, 03:12 PM
PSinger
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Yay Larry !!!

There is no doubt that CHOCOLATE MILK does NOT belong in an engine!!

Glad to hear that you're once again mobile with the 124.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-29-2000, 03:55 PM
Ashman's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
Posts: 4,749
Yes I found chocolate milk in my engine last night as I pulled the drain plug for the first time and removed the chocolate filter.

After letting it sit all night with the plug out, the engine is clean, and fresh oil and filter just went in.

I'm about to fire my baby up and take her for a drive then check the oil level after he refil.

Thanks to Larry's Advise, The overnight drain seems to have gotten rid of most of the sludge.

And I did Drain it hot after having driven for a couple of hours last night to get a tool to take off the oil filter as I did not have the right size oil filter tool. I had to mickey mouse the take off of the filter with some vise grips and a cloth, but promptly drove to the parts shop today to pick up a proper wrench for the refitting of the filter.

In anycase, Thanks for the Advise ALrry, I can't wait to see how my baby purrs with her new blood.

Glad to hear you baby is running. Its been sitting a while, so I suspect smoke is going to be there until it burns away.

In anycase, like JCE said, I wish I had more knowledge about the engine so I could tackle big projects like you.

Unless ya have the tools, that first oil change can get expensive... ahh if only my craftsman tool set hadn't been stolen I wouldn't have had to buy a new tool set, which upped my cost a bit, but well worth it for the well being of my car, plus I can now keep a full tool set in the trunk along with extra oil and filter, just in case I hit that 3k mark while on the road. hehehe. pull over, drain it, change it, and keep on driving. ehehehe

Good luck with your baby coming back to its normal self.

Now when ya gonna post some pics of all your babies for us to see?

Alon


------------------
'92 300CE
Metallic Black (Blue Flaked) on Creme
Clear Corners
Black Grille Insert
78k Miles

Future Upgrades:
Sportline Suspension
17" AMG Monoblocks or EVO II's
94-95 Tail Lights
Euro Headlights
Chip
AMG Exhaust

Click here to Go To My 300CE Page
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-29-2000, 05:22 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: ajax, ontario, canada
Posts: 773
larry,

I'm glad your stick-shift baby is back on the road. I know how you feel, since I myself don't know what to replace my 5spd 190e2.6 with if and when i will need to, that is, with something within my price range. I hope it will serve me for a long time.

Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-29-2000, 08:42 PM
Mr. BILL's Avatar
Ghoulardi Rules!
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 576
Way to go Larry!!!

That's quite an achievement. How much money do figure you saved by DIY?

Mr. BILL
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-29-2000, 09:05 PM
MikeTangas's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 4,430
Good going Larry. I know well the feeling of bringing life back to a dead engine. Great feeling, isn't it.

I had a similar start-up experience on my last head replacement, sputtering, coughing and smoke, which cleared up as I gained speed. Found that I hadn't gotten the air box completely sealed, and the change in pressure was affecting low RPM performance. Once tightened down it ran fine.

Keep us posted on the repair for the first 500 miles or so (should only be a day or two for you )

------------------
Mike Tangas
73 280 SEL 4.5
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-30-2000, 12:57 AM
neveremailme
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
quote:
Originally posted by LarryBible:
I apologize for being so egotistical that I think that everyone is interested in my own plight, but I'm excited to have my precious manual transmission 124 car back on the road.

Several of you have very kindly been asking for an update, so here it is.

In Early July my 300E overheated on a 105 degree day. I thought that it was due to a cracked hose. As it turns out, I believe the blown hose was a result and not the cause of the problem. Upon taking the head to the machinist, he found that it had corroded into the combustion chamber from the water passage in the head. This was right next to the failed hose. I realize that the pressure is distributed, but I suspect that it somehow blew the hose. I believe the previous owner must have never maintained the cooling system.

I was to leave for a three week trip in Europe just a short time after the incident and didn't get to take the car apart for some time. I initially removed the plugs and blew out the cylinders. It appeared that only the back two cylinders had coolant in them, so I squirted oil in those two cylinders.

I finally got everything that I needed to take it apart about a month later. When I pulled the head there was coolant everywhere. The cylinders were rusted, and when I drained the oil, water came out first, then chocolate milk.

I cleaned the cylinders as best I could and left the drain plug out.

Yesterday morning, I began putting it back together. I checked the piston height and could not find any evidence of a bent rod. I got almost everything back together and then took my wife to the movie last night.

This morning I finished up and put in cheap oil and cheap filter. After some spitting and coughing, during which I thought maybe I had some worse problems, it started trying to run. I got lots of smoke for a good bit, and things leveled out. I ran it for about fifteen minutes and drained the oil, and put on another cheap filter and another fill of cheap oil. I drove it about five miles and then came back and began flushing the cooling system. This afternoon I will continue flushing the cooling system and put in antifreeze.

I plan on driving it a couple hundred miles and then give it a good overnight oil drain and put in my normal oil. It's about 1,000 miles 'til normally scheduled oil change time, so I expect to be back on schedule at that time.

It was quite an experience driving it after driving my C240 for 4,000 miles.

Thanks for indulging my celebration, but I thought that this might be of interest to a few of you.

My baby lives,




CONGRADULATIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

------------------
I know the simple things to check, but I always have problems the dealership knows nothing about, OKAY?

Vinnie (Not your Cousin )
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 10-30-2000, 06:30 AM
LarryBible
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Mr. Bill,

I was quoted slightly over $1,600 by a very good independent one man shop. Someone I trust. However, I expect there would have been an adder once he found the corrosion in combustion chamber problem. Probably another $200 or so.

I took the head to the right machine shop. He was able to weld it up and save the head. He also did all new guides and the whole deal. The bill from him was about $550. The gasket set was about $70. I had to buy a pin puller for $70 and a head bolt socket for about $19. Then it involved a case of cheap oil and three cheap oil filters for flushing out the crankcase, that was about $20. And then there was anti-freeze for a few bucks.

This makes the total around $750 or so.

Everyone,

For me the money savings is not all of it. I would rather do these things myself. Since I am very buisy, it would have probably saved me about $35,000 had I just taken the car to the shop immediately and had the work done. It took me so long to get everything together and in the meantime, every other car on the place was breaking except my wife's new 4Runner. Had I taken it to the shop, I probably would have gotten it back and been off my feet before my wife could talk me into buying a new car.

Before all this car breakdown nightmare that started a few months ago, I was driving my 240D every day, using the 124 for fun backup. I then shifted to the 124 when something minor (I don't even remember what it was) happened to the 240D. Then the head on the 124 gave up, and I hurriedly got my old POS '88 Vette on the road. I nursed the Vette until I went on a trip to Europe for three weeks. I had gotten the 240D on the road by then, and let my son drive it while I was gone. I then bought the C240 after getting back from Europe, and crossed my fingers while driving the Vette 'til the C240 got in (a week and a half).

Since then, I had to declare the 240D interim engine dead. Now that I have the 124 back on the road, I will be driving it and the C240. I feel that this was a blip with the 124 car, it has always been stone reliable. At the time it failed, it was the only thing I had running and was not worried. I could not believe that it was giving up too. I suppose, all's well that end's well.

Thanks for all the responses,

------------------
Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 10-30-2000, 07:31 AM
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Falls Church, VA
Posts: 5,318
Nice work! Hope everything stays together for a while.

Chuck
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 10-31-2000, 06:38 AM
LarryBible
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Well it lives, but it seems to have lost lung capacity.

The car seemed to not have the power that I remembered. I didn't know if I'm just spoiled by the power of my new car, or if the power has just trailed off. I used a stop watch this morning, and it took almost 13 seconds to reach 60MPH. I had to use a stop watch because my dynamometer is broken<g>.

I have looked carefully to see if there is something that I left disconnected during the valve job. I can't find anything wrong.

I used the old plugs temporarily, but I don't believe that they would account for this much power loss. I think that maybe the injection system needs some adjustment.

I changed the oil last night and found some metal particles on my magnetic drain plug. This was in only about 200 miles. I guess this is because of the rust in the cylinders etc. I plan on changing the oil in about 1,000 miles and then go onto my regular 3,333 mile interval. I hope I don't find any more metal particles on the magnet.

Thanks for all your responses,

------------------
Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 10-31-2000, 02:12 PM
MikeTangas's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 4,430
Larry,

Did the particles appear to be fresh metal? Possibly some left over milling particles from the head work would be my guess. At least I really hope so. You might want to consider an extra cheap oil change after another couple hundred miles just to be sure that all particulate matter has worked through the system.

Also, did you by chance run a magnet around the botton of your drain pan to see if any particles were still in suspension and not trapped by the drain plug magnet?

------------------
Mike Tangas
73 280 SEL 4.5

[This message has been edited by MikeTangas (edited 10-31-2000).]
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 10-31-2000, 02:27 PM
LarryBible
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Mike,

Actually this was the second oil drain since putting it back together. The first was after about ten minutes of running, to try and flush out the chocolate milk.

The head is aluminum, so I don't expect any of the particles to be from there. With the rust in the cylinders, I expect that some of the particles, all microscopic, no slivers, are probably casualties of beating the rust out of the system.

I will do another oil change and use a premium filter in about another 800 miles. There must have been some microscopic particulate generated with water in the oil, the rust, the machining and who knows what all. If I see anything of any quantity next time, then I will be alarmed.

My immediate problem surrounds getting my power back. I expect the timing chain to be one notch off. I further expect that I can remove the valve cover, which I must do to check it anyway, and then remove the tensioner and move the chain a notch, without removing the camshaft front cover.

Thanks for the response,

------------------
Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Rebadging '87 300e emr0591 Detailing and Interior 6 09-04-2007 09:12 AM
'86 300E vs '91 300E... Any opinions out there??? pjtib Tech Help 23 05-04-2005 09:26 PM
92/93 300E or 94/95 E320 argyleco Featured Cars 8 03-14-2004 12:59 AM
*CLEAN* W124 Gray MB-Tex Front Seats / 300E 260D 300D (300E 2.8) and (W124 Wagons) FA22 Mercedes-Benz Used Parts For Sale & Wanted 5 03-01-2004 08:40 PM
Transmission Question 1988 300E (Need Technical help)n china beach Tech Help 4 03-26-2002 10:25 AM



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:56 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page