has anyone ever blown up a 617 engine? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 08-06-2007, 11:43 PM

For what it's worth, my 83 300SD has 2 positions for the throttle.....on and off. I run this thing in the 3500 to 4000 rpm range almost daily and routinely put 1,000 miles per week on her. Currently it has just over 337,000 miles. I run the s**t out of it, I'm sure it will fail someday but they are cheap to fix and replace. Just keep the oil changed every 3,000 or so, adjust the valves once a year or so, add whatever diesel injector clean is on sale every few thousand miles or so and keep the throttle hammered.

Oh yea....this will probably piss a few people off but who cares!! As far as oil and filters go buy whatever is on sale at walmart or local parts house. As long as it is 15-40 and diesel rated IT DOES NOT MATTER NO MATTER WHO TELLS YOU DIFFERENTLY. Oil is oil is oil is oil, prove there is one superior to another and you will be a VERY wealthy man. I say show me one person who has had a failure due to "inferior" oil and can prove it was the oil.

Thats my rant and 2 cents worth............let the remarks begin.

79300sdtd · #2 08-06-2007, 11:46 PM

i killed one... but the timing chain broke.

i believe it is like brian says. i think a guide failed then broke the chain.

Brian Carlton · #3 08-06-2007, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Head

Oh yea....this will probably piss a few people off but who cares!! As far as oil and filters go buy whatever is on sale at walmart or local parts house. As long as it is 15-40 and diesel rated IT DOES NOT MATTER NO MATTER WHO TELLS YOU DIFFERENTLY. Oil is oil is oil is oil, prove there is one superior to another and you will be a VERY wealthy man. I say show me one person who has had a failure due to "inferior" oil and can prove it was the oil.

Thats my rant and 2 cents worth............let the remarks begin.

There's quite a bit of evidence that certain oils will allow you to run them longer and the resulting wear metals will be less than other oils.

If you are a person who changes oil at 3K religiously, I'd agree that any diesel rated oil will do just fine for you.

You'll never have a "failure" due to "inferior" oil. The only possible outcome is increased wear..........a very difficult task to prove.

BTW, what "inferior" diesel rated oil do you use?

funola · #4 08-07-2007, 10:33 AM

What is that Wlamart brand of 15W40 in the blue container? Who makes it for them? Is that inferior oil?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

There's quite a bit of evidence that certain oils will allow you to run them longer and the resulting wear metals will be less than other oils.

If you are a person who changes oil at 3K religiously, I'd agree that any diesel rated oil will do just fine for you.

You'll never have a "failure" due to "inferior" oil. The only possible outcome is increased wear..........a very difficult task to prove.

BTW, what "inferior" diesel rated oil do you use?

LUVMBDiesels · #5 08-07-2007, 11:12 AM

I bought the car with about 104K on it. I changed the oil every month with Rotella 15w40 dino (about 3200 miles) I was going down the Thruway at about 75mph when it began knocking and shaking (145K miles). Had it towed home. Pulled the engine and put in a 1982 671.952 out of a 300D ($500). I use Rotella 5W40 synthetic in this engine as Mobil 1 is hard to get around here.

I have been meaning to get into the original engine and see what if anything broke. It still ran, but without any power and made lots of nice black smoke

It did not loose any oil so nothing punched through. The block and pan are intact looking at it.

pawoSD · #6 08-07-2007, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

I bought the car with about 104K on it. I changed the oil every month with Rotella 15w40 dino (about 3200 miles) I was going down the Thruway at about 75mph when it began knocking and shaking (145K miles). Had it towed home. Pulled the engine and put in a 1982 671.952 out of a 300D ($500). I use Rotella 5W40 synthetic in this engine as Mobil 1 is hard to get around here.

I have been meaning to get into the original engine and see what if anything broke. It still ran, but without any power and made lots of nice black smoke

It did not loose any oil so nothing punched through. The block and pan are intact looking at it.

Maybe a ring failed allowing oil into the chamber and complete loss of compression on that cylinder? Just a guess. I have no idea.

LUVMBDiesels · #7 08-07-2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Maybe a ring failed allowing oil into the chamber and complete loss of compression on that cylinder? Just a guess. I have no idea.

That is what I am leaning towards, that or an injector failed. Once I open it up I will let everybody know what I find. Of course it has been sitting around for over a year now... I am hoping it is something easy to fix so that I will have a relatively low time spare engine. If not, then I have a lot of spare parts!

#8 08-07-2007, 12:03 AM

Actually, I agree with Diesel Head regarding oil. If you are going to change your oil every 3000 miles any diesel rated oil of the correct weight will be adequate. The main advantage of good synthetic oil is longer oil change intervals (I go about 5000 miles) and the availability of 5W40 which provides easier cold weather starting and better cold lubrication.

No one is going to prove an engine failure due to inferior oil, any effects will be subtle and may show up after many miles (maybe more timing change stretch or shorter bearing life). Certainly, "running the s**t out of it" will affect the engine life more than the quality of the oil. If you abuse it long enough, you will eventually have a non-oil related failure anyway.

However, oil is very cheap and driving around at 4000 rpm is pointless.

#9 08-07-2007, 12:08 AM

Regarding the original question, I came close to trashing mine by having debris from a broken vacuum pump get into the timing chain. Fortunately, the chain did not completely fail, but it was an expensive mess.

RichC · #10 08-07-2007, 07:35 AM

I have used my 81 300D like a truck.
Pulling a trailer with a Camaro on it across two states.
Pulling a 82 300SD across town.
Taking stuff to the dump, etc, etc...

And I have put a lot of hard, fast miles on it.
Especially right after I bought it.
I wanted it to blow sooner rather than later when I had a bunch of money in it.

The car actually liked the abuse.
It seems to like a good hard Italian tune up.

Somewhere around 300,000 miles now, and she still sounds great.
Except for that loose A/C belt.
Need to fix that today.

Have Fun
RichC

t walgamuth · #11 08-07-2007, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Head

For what it's worth, my 83 300SD has 2 positions for the throttle.....on and off. I run this thing in the 3500 to 4000 rpm range almost daily and routinely put 1,000 miles per week on her. Currently it has just over 337,000 miles. I run the s**t out of it, I'm sure it will fail someday but they are cheap to fix and replace. Just keep the oil changed every 3,000 or so, adjust the valves once a year or so, add whatever diesel injector clean is on sale every few thousand miles or so and keep the throttle hammered.

Oh yea....this will probably piss a few people off but who cares!! As far as oil and filters go buy whatever is on sale at walmart or local parts house. As long as it is 15-40 and diesel rated IT DOES NOT MATTER NO MATTER WHO TELLS YOU DIFFERENTLY. Oil is oil is oil is oil, prove there is one superior to another and you will be a VERY wealthy man. I say show me one person who has had a failure due to "inferior" oil and can prove it was the oil.

Thats my rant and 2 cents worth............let the remarks begin.

Oil is not oil, but probably any good diesel rated oil is fine. And they surely are not cheap to fix.

Tom W

winmutt · #12 08-07-2007, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Head

For what it's worth, my 83 300SD has 2 positions for the throttle.....on and off. I run this thing in the 3500 to 4000 rpm range almost daily and routinely put 1,000 miles per week on her. Currently it has just over 337,000 miles. I run the s**t out of it, I'm sure it will fail someday but they are cheap to fix and replace. Just keep the oil changed every 3,000 or so, adjust the valves once a year or so, add whatever diesel injector clean is on sale every few thousand miles or so and keep the throttle hammered.

Oh yea....this will probably piss a few people off but who cares!! As far as oil and filters go buy whatever is on sale at walmart or local parts house. As long as it is 15-40 and diesel rated IT DOES NOT MATTER NO MATTER WHO TELLS YOU DIFFERENTLY. Oil is oil is oil is oil, prove there is one superior to another and you will be a VERY wealthy man. I say show me one person who has had a failure due to "inferior" oil and can prove it was the oil.

Thats my rant and 2 cents worth............let the remarks begin.

And don't believe everything you read. If you run high rpms run synthetic. It tends to retain less air and therefor lubricate better. Something you really need when you boil the oil in the turbo charger on every run practically. Some on here claim it can stop chain stretch.

The turkish made oil filters are the ones to get all the other have cotton gin waste in them. Basically the husks of the cotton not so good for the engine.

Filters. I wrote up a decent thread on them http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=185905&highlight=air+filter . Compare them side to side and remember that increased surface area means increased intake means more air for these hungry beasts. I am updating it today with my newest finds.

Clearly abusing wear parts will lead to increased replacement. CHECK YOUR FLEX DISCS. I don't think I can put more emphasis on that. An engine wont last forever but these diesels are pretty tough. Keep them well lubricated and running cool and they will last practically forever. (Of course it may require taking the head off every 400k).

Use googles search site and poke around on here, if you are asking a question someone already answered it.

pawoSD · #13 08-07-2007, 10:46 PM

I've been unable to find these turkish Fram filters....autozone will only get them "by special order" and I hesitate to order one when I could potentially be spending $11 for some cheapo one that I'd not even use....it'd be a waste of $11. I've been using Hengst filters....or dealer ones.

#14 08-07-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I've been unable to find these turkish Fram filters....autozone will only get them "by special order" and I hesitate to order one when I could potentially be spending $11 for some cheapo one that I'd not even use....it'd be a waste of $11. I've been using Hengst filters....or dealer ones.

pep boys has a sale on them every now and then. last time i got 12 frams for $7,50 the pair...