White Smoke

[mrrixx]

Greeting Everyone!
85 190D 2.2 White, Clean No rust with 211,000 miles

I have had the pleasure of owning my 85 190D 2.2 for about a year now. Recently she'd been sick. I had to replace glow plugs and engine Fuel Nozzles. All was fine for about 2 weeks when suddenly my baby benz temp jumped to 100c (with the radiator water level light on) about 1 mile away from home. She never overheated but started to blow a heck uva lot white smoke. I waitied till the car cooled down and re-plenished the coolant. Drove home (the temp stayed around 100c). I got home 5 minutes later and she started blowing the smoke and running really rough (like the horses in the engine were pissed off....

-I changed the thermostat...same issue looked in expansion tank and visually saw a little oil at the top of the coolant layer.
-Hoses were rock hard at start up and never got soft.
-Shutdown and after 2-3mins hoses got soft.

I search some of the threads here and could not find anything about (white smoke).

Is this a common thing with a diesel M/B with over 200k? Should I atttempt to change the head gasket or if its a cracked head (machine remanufacture) or replace? Some tech told me if I change my head it might ruin the rings and engine. Should I attempt to rebuild entire engine?

I love my M/B and I want to do right right by her not retire her....

I have read a lot of posts and they were always on point. Thank you all for the dedication on this forum! I feel you guys are the guru's of the M/B world...So plz help!

Regards,
mrrixx

[vstech]

white smoke. not good, for sure. it sounds like water is getting into the CC, with the coolant full, and the engine cold, take the radiator cap off, and start the car, idle it up to about 1000 rpm and check to see if any bubbles are being pushed out the overflow. air bubbles not water swirling. if air bubbles are blowing out the tank. start figuring on a head gasket or even a new head.
replacement motors should not be too hard to find.
John

White smoke and oil in the coolant indicate either a bad head gasket or a cracked head. I'm not an expert on your engine, but I do not believe there is any reason to rebuild the entire engine with only 211K miles. Do you have a good independent MB shop available? Assuming you are willing to spend some money on this car, your first step is to have a MB mechanic remove the head an see what's going on. Was the engine running strong prior to this problem?

[mrrixx]

Hi John, I just started the engine with the cap of and a lot of air bubbles.
I have searched (google) for replacement cylinder heads and engines with no luck. Do you know where I can get em?

Hi Craig, The enigne was running strong before the fuel injector replacements (about 41 mpg on Jet A). I paid some idiot ex M/B tech to change em and they leaked. I then replaced the entire unit (nozzle) assemblies my self with Phil's parts and the car ran fine for a bit then this...

I have a local indie M/B shop here (upstate NY). Problem is they are always busy and they've set my appointment for 10 days from now.... If I have to change the engine that's fine. Still cheaper than buying a new car and paying for gasoline... I just would like to have all the parts issues completed prior to the appointment


Thanks for the quick response! you guys rock!
Rick

Originally Posted by mrrixx

If I have to change the engine that's fine. Still cheaper than buying a new car and paying for gasoline...

I wouldn't assume you need to replace the engine. Ask your shop what they would charge to just replace the head gasket (best case), it should be significantly cheaper than changing engines. A reman head (probably worst case) should be about $600, plus labor:

http://www.mercedesengines.net/products.asp?cat=17

The problem with changing engines is that a reman engine will cost $5K and a used engine is a big gamble. Even if you find a cheap used engine, you will have to pay quite a bit in labor (unless you do it yourself) and you don't know what you will end up with. As an alternative, pull the head yourself and see what's going on while you wait for your mechanic.

[Rashakor]

best case scenario: head gasket
worst case: cracked block

If you have a torque wrench and the factory manual you may try to remove the head and look around.

[mrrixx]

Thanks all for the tips! I will start taking off the head and investigate...
Dumb question: If the head is cracked will it be visible? Or will I need a magnifiying lense?

Regards,
Rick

[vstech]

most likely, only a machine shop can check the head for cracks. they can pressure check the whole thing.
when you pull off the head, you should easilly see where the gasses hve bypassed the gasket. you may be able to see a crack too. it is concieveable that you could even see molten head/piston damage.
John

[t walgamuth]

it seems very unlikely to have a cracked block. never heard of such in a benz diesel.

generally the bottom end is very robust and prob will not need anything. head gasket and valve job and (hopefully not) a new or repaired head and you will be back in business.

head gasket and valve job would be maybe around 1500. more if head is cracked.

i think the 602 engines are known to need head gaskets fairly commonly but i dont think they are known for cracking heads. that would be the 603.

tom w

What temperatures did your car normally run?

City?

Highway?

Although I don't have a lot of miles on my 190d ('84) I have seen the gauge go past 80*C when on the highway....somewhere around 90-95...but I never saw 100...as far as I know.

I thought 100*C was still acceptable when driving...but 110-115 is the time to cool down?

Or---since we have the aluminum heads--we are way more susceptible to losing the head gasket on a high mileage engine?

I think my head gasket is leaking oil at the back of the head on the passenger side towards the firewall...but my car has no smoke symptoms. Hopefully I can get my car on the road so I can help compare stories sooner.

Good luck at the dealership/shop. Keep us fully posted!

-Mike

[mrrixx]

Hi Guys...
Sorry For the massive delay. My computer died and it toke a while to replace it.

Anyways, I decided to let a so called Mercedes tech repair it at a local shop. I towed to his shop and 1 1/2 weeks later he still did not start the work. So I got a tow truck and took it back to my house to do the work myself. The job was really not that bad. The head was in great shape just needed the gasket changed.

The hardest part for me to figure out was the TDC on cylinder #1. The repair manual stated to just align the marks on the cam and crank and you will be at TDC. But what thru me was how do you really confirm you are on the #1 cylinder? I still don't know, maybe I was lucky because the car is running fine now...

Thanks for all the help guys...You ROCK!!!

PS Jettstream2: My 190D smoked at idle...When I hit the gas all you can see behind the car was a big white cloud...

Rick