True confessions ~ I am an idiot ~ A Cautionary Tale

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Hello Peaches,

Yesterday, while driving on the highway 40 miles into a 300 mile round-trip, my engine started knocking followed quickly by a final bang and a plume of smoke that signaled the magic had escaped. I coasted in neutral to the next exit and pushed the car into the truck stop parking lot.

The lower end of the engine where the dipstick attaches was blown open and I could see into the pan that should be holding quarts of oil.



True confessions? Yes, I have some explaining to do...

Myth #1 exposed: I consider myself mechanically inclined and present myself as somewhat knowledgeable regarding motor technology.

However, I failed THE most basic task of mechanical basics: I didn't check my oil. That is very bad. What makes it REALLY very bad is that the oil pressure gauge was bobbing up and down, not reading full pressure.

What do I think when I see that? Hmm, there must be something wrong with the gauge. Drive on...

I had an oil change about 1,500 miles ago. "So the oil must be full".

The car does not leak oil. "So the oil must be full".

The car does not smoke when it is running, "so it must not be burning oil", therefore "it must be full".

The car is not over-heating, so everything must be fine...

Hindsight is 20/20. I now remember that engines use oil and it is normal for a quart to disappear. In some Porsches, it is 1 quart per 1000 miles.

The car has only been driven 1500 miles since being resurrected from the dead. I did not know how much oil it would use as part of normal operating. The engine was running perfectly with lots of power and torque. Perhaps it drank a quart per thousand miles? Being a quart and a half low seems to have been enough to make the oil pressure drop, starve the engine of lubrication, and cause a piston to seize?



Why am I bearing my soul for public condemnation and humiliation? I care about my friends and if I can spare one of you what I did to myself, it is worth it.

Do you remember a certain newbie who blew his engine? It turned out that he was high as a kite according to his posts on another web site. Someone here said he was too stoned to check his oil. I don't have any excuses. I was sober as a judge on hanging day driving with my wife in the car when the engine blew. If I had checked the oil and noticed how low it must have been, today would be a different day.

Note to self: Please remember to check your oil when you fill up with gas. Note to my friends: Please remember to check your oil when you fill up with gas.

[thorsen]

Ouch! Sorry to hear that! Now would be a great time to put a M110 in it.

[Necrosavant]

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

Hello Peaches,

Yesterday, while driving on the highway 40 miles into a 300 mile round-trip, my engine started knocking followed quickly by a final bang and a plume of smoke that signaled the magic had escaped. I coasted in neutral to the next exit and pushed the car into the truck stop parking lot.

The lower end of the engine where the dipstick attaches was blown open and I could see into the pan that should be holding quarts of oil.



True confessions? Yes, I have some explaining to do...

Myth #1 exposed: I consider myself mechanically inclined and present myself as somewhat knowledgeable regarding motor technology.

However, I failed THE most basic task of mechanical basics: I didn't check my oil. That is very bad. What makes it REALLY very bad is that the oil pressure gauge was bobbing up and down, not reading full pressure.

What do I think when I see that? Hmm, there must be something wrong with the gauge. Drive on...

I had an oil change about 1,500 miles ago. "So the oil must be full".

The car does not leak oil. "So the oil must be full".

The car does not smoke when it is running, "so it must not be burning oil", therefore "it must be full".

The car is not over-heating, so everything must be fine...

Hindsight is 20/20. I now remember that engines use oil and it is normal for a quart to disappear. In some Porsches, it is 1 quart per 1000 miles.

The car has only been driven 1500 miles since being resurrected from the dead. I did not know how much oil it would use as part of normal operating. The engine was running perfectly with lots of power and torque. Perhaps it drank a quart per thousand miles? Being a quart and a half low seems to have been enough to make the oil pressure drop, starve the engine of lubrication, and cause a piston to seize?



Why am I bearing my soul for public condemnation and humiliation? I care about my friends and if I can spare one of you what I did to myself, it is worth it.

Do you remember a certain newbie who blew his engine? It turned out that he was high as a kite according to his posts on another web site. Someone here said he was too stoned to check his oil. I don't have any excuses. I was sober as a judge on hanging day driving with my wife in the car when the engine blew. If I had checked the oil and noticed how low it must have been, today would be a different day.

Note to self: Please remember to check your oil when you fill up with gas. Note to my friends: Please remember to check your oil when you fill up with gas.

checked my oil at my fill up this morning :/... damn so whats your plan now are you going to rebuild or do you need an engine? i have a good 230s engine in a 66 at the moment pretty much same engine***i also have a euro m110.989 at the moment but not as easy as you would think it would be to install i had it in my w108 but you need a subframe from a 4.5 and exhaust from a 280 sl

[280SE Guy]

Jeffrey,

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, that really sucks. Keep her alive somehow, but original. It might not be as bad as you think. It's time to pull the motor or take the lower pan off to see what gives (or gave). If your lucky the block is still in tack as I can't really tell from your picture.

280SE Guy

[Skid Row Joe]

Jeffery,

I am wondering if it really was low oil - that caused the kapow?

I have my doubts - but the guage acting screwy was evidence of what might have indeed been low oil.

Keep us posted - and sorry to read that it happened on a trip which messed up a nice vintage MB road trip for you and your wife.

[Squiggle Dog]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! There is a 230 engine in my local craigslist for $200 but it has a burnt valve. I have what I think is a rebuilt 220 engine, but I think my roommate wants it as a spare.

[daw_two]

Jeffrey.

I see this happen only 40miles into your 300 mile trip. Well, that blew that Thursday drive. You know, I have a theory about old Mercedes cars. The less the wife likes them, the more likely that you will have issues when she's in the car.

You know how much my wife is understanding. I'm hoping yours is, too.

[JohnM.]

IMHO, I don't think being a quart or even two quarts low would cause catastrophic damage like that. 4 qts of oil in the engine should be more than enough for safe operation. Don't beat yourself up. More likely the oil pump or something similar failed if you saw pressures fluctuating.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by JohnM.

IMHO, I don't think being a quart or even two quarts low would cause catastrophic damage like that. 4 qts of oil in the engine should be more than enough for safe operation. Don't beat yourself up. More likely the oil pump or something similar failed if you saw pressures fluctuating.

John -

That's what I was thinking as I mentioned in my first post.......there must be more at work that made it blow. Unless oil had been leaking out for miles - and it wasn't noticed 'til it blew?

[JohnM.]

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

John -

That's what I was thinking as I mentioned in my first post.......there must be more at work that made it blow. Unless oil had been leaking out for miles - and it wasn't noticed 'til it blew?

It definitely was not caused by being ~2 qts low. Although oil pumps usually don't fail all of a sudden. It's a gradual and slow failure. Something might have gotten jammed in the pump gears, the oil pickup tube could have gotten clogged/obstructed, along those lines. Otherwise.....it drained itself completely of oil and went BOOM.

[pj67coll]

How the hell does a hole like that blow open in the sump?

- Peter.

[Necrosavant]

Originally Posted by pj67coll

How the hell does a hole like that blow open in the sump?

- Peter.

stumped! jeffrey open it up im curious

[bwostosh]

I have a spare m127 block, crankshaft, that I haven't tossed out yet, its yours for shipping costs., I've never seen one blow like that, even at max rpms. Need to analyze it.

[mercmad6.3]

That is weird,you can drop the steel front pan easily for a quick look inside. I wonder if the oil pump drive seized for some strange reason? Normally an engine explosion goes out ,not sucked in like that .
regarding the above statement about 4.5 subframes,all W108-W109 -W110-W111-W112 and W113 use exactly the same from axle assembly .No need to change or cut any part of the car to fit a M110 into a W111. Some trans need a clearance lump welded into the tunnel above the Flex disc but it a minor job.

[mak]

Jeffrey Sorry but Somehow i don't think Low engine oil was the cause of the engine blow-up,being very low on oil it would have overheated the engine and gradually brought the speed down ,smells of a overheating engine ,smoke too. Most likely a rod went bad

mak
220S 62
230 66
280S 70
300sel 3.5 71
300se 1989