Hello guys, I have a 78 300 SD W116, I was driving home this evening when all of a sudden the oil pressure dropped to 0, , I have read many postings on this wonderful site advising, if something strange happens while driving,, STOP THE CAR !!!!!!! I followed this sound advise.. Towed the car home ..The cause was a split lower oil cooler line ( only 8 months old ).. Questions 1. I pulled over 25 seconds after the first sign of trouble.. Did a mess up my motor ?? 2. My friend a good mech. and I will replace the line tomorrow evening.. Any words of advise ??? Any tips or things to look out for.....

Thanks guys.......

Juan

juan,

I'm sorry to hear that your baby is still fighting you at times.

My advice is first, give the other line a good visual inspection while your down there. Second, you've been very dilligent with this car so far. Hang in there and don't get discouraged, I think that car has just not had any TLC until you got it. You'll work through these things and get caught up with it and get some good, enjoyable miles from it. Sometimes it just seems like you go through periods where you're "paying the car gods".

Good luck and hang in there,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

I would find a better supplier for your hose. No excuse for that hose failing this soon. Be sure the hose is tightened free of torsional twist. We have seen many hoses cut as the engine mounts shrink, one of the pulleys cuts through them. If this is the case replace the mounts also.

If the first sign was the oil pressure and you actually saw it when it first dropped then your engine should be alright. I can't tell you how many diesel motors we have redone due to the fact that there is NO light warning. I'm sure I have done twenty motors where the driver claimed to pull over as soon as he saw the pressure. Usually what happens is that the motor starts to sound or feel a little different and the driver looks down and there is no pressure and they pull over. In this case 100% failure rate.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician

[This message has been edited by stevebfl (edited 05-10-2000).]

Tech Tip:
This is one heck of a messy job. Tonight, put a drain pan under the front and rear of the hose and cut the rubber off of the car at the ends. This will allow the lines and holding spots to drain over night. You will be much happier and less dirty.

Good luck. This is not an easy repair.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
1992 500E (very soon I hope
1981 280GE SWB
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

I was somewhat surprised that nobody mentioned about taking extreme care when removing the fittings!

Juan,

When you break the line loose from the cooler, be extremely careful! The threads on the cooler are aluminum and will strip out very easily!! I suggest to break the line loose with a sharp "snap" (27mm wrench) and on each thread, go back and forth a few semi-turns so that the hose fitting will back off easily. The fittings on the oil filter housing aren't aluminum, but still take it slow when removing them for safety's sake. When reinstalling the new hose onto the cooler, start the threads very carefully and slowly. Run them down with the wrench and don't overtighten but at the same time, don't leave it too loose! Well, good luck. Hope this gets to you in time!


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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Precision Motorcars, Cincinnati, Ohio
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'85 BMW 745i Turbo

Gentlemen, Thank you for all the kind words of encouragement and the sound techanical advise.... My Tech friend and I just spent 3 Hours working on the oil line.. It was touch and go for awhile... Firstly, It was very difficult to disconnect the oil line from the oil cooler,, Had to use 2 wrenches and a lot of patience.. Secondly, all the lines ran so close to one another,, very little room to operate... Thirdly, after replacing the oil line to the oil cooler, and starting the motor I noticed a slight oil leak at the fitting to the oil cooler ,, about 1 drop a minute.. I tightened the fitting a bit ,, I was careful not to over tighten...I guess I will find out tomorrow if there are any more leaks.....

Thanks for all the help gang.......

Juan.....