Losing oil somewhere - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Dobber · #1 07-21-2010, 01:20 PM

My 1995 E300 Diesel (non-turbo, 160k miles) drinks oil pretty regularly, but it never leaves a drop in the driveway. I recently drove from TN to Northern MI and back and had to add about 7 quarts of oil along the trip. The car has plenty of power and got 32 mpg for the trip. Can someone direct me to a thread to start troubleshooting where the oil might be going?

junqueyardjim · #2 07-21-2010, 02:20 PM

Where did you go in Michigan UP. I was born and raised near the Soo. Anyway, at that rate of dumping oil you have to be able to see it go somewhere. You have to be leaving a visible trail of oil. Maybe you are leaving a lot of it on the windshields of the cars behind you. If the bottom of your car is not soaked in oil I would be surprised. But you say it leaves no trail. Do you ever see it smoke a lot on acceleration, After a down hill run or after a lot of very slow running. Seven quarts of oil in 2000 miles is hard to hide.

#3 07-21-2010, 02:30 PM

I would do a compression test, if it's actually using that much you may be low on compression too.

whunter · #4 07-21-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dobber

My 1995 E300 Diesel (non-turbo, 160k miles) drinks oil pretty regularly, but it never leaves a drop in the driveway.
I recently drove from TN to Northern MI and back and had to add about 7 quarts of oil along the trip.
The car has plenty of power and got 32 mpg for the trip.
Can someone direct me to a thread to start troubleshooting where the oil might be going?

32 mpg = good compression...

The options are limited.
#1. 1995 E300 Diesel Crankcase Breather Pipe kit
#2. External gasket/seal.
#3. Valve guides.

Next time you are coming this way, call me before you leave..

barry123400 · #5 07-21-2010, 04:32 PM

Leakage between the oil feed passage through the head gasket area near the number one cylinder perhaps. I do not know if it is bad enough yet to identify it. I believe this is also a common failure on these engines.

It can become so bad that the number one cylinder will spit oil out with the injector removed when cranked.

With no visable leakage anywhere externally this could well be another possibility to consider. It should get worse I suspect if this is it. Pulling the number one injector may or may not show the fault yet.

Dobber · #6 07-21-2010, 10:27 PM

We were travelling to Marquette. Wife's family is from there. Also fought the A/C all of the way up there. The dampers all closed. Fan was blowing and compressor was running, just couldn't get the air to the cabin. Oxidation on the KLIMA, I think, was the culprit. After the engine would cool for awhile, A/C would work for 100 miles or so, then the dampers would cut off. I pulled the relay and cleaned the posts and it doesn't "seem" to do it anymore. Wouldn't you know it, the UP had a heat wave while we were up there and it was in the 90s!

Dobber · #7 07-21-2010, 10:31 PM

Thank you guys for the direction. I will have to check into these things. Going to have to wait for a good weekend to dig into it.

Dobber · #8 07-21-2010, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whunter

32 mpg = good compression...

The options are limited.
#1. 1995 E300 Diesel Crankcase Breather Pipe kit
#2. External gasket/seal.
#3. Valve guides.

Next time you are coming this way, call me before you leave..

No plans right now for the next trip. If we head up there for some reason I'd love to stop by.

Diesel911 · #9 07-21-2010, 11:45 PM

32 mpg = Good Compression

What would the milage be if he was burning the Oil? Meaning if you were burnig Oil you would have good Fuel milage.

Is it possible that his Oil Rings or his Scraper Rings are Stuck and soaking them in something like Marvel Mystrey Oil would un-stick them?

A different Year and Mode; but, I have been planning to change the Valve Guide seals on my and will be watching to see if it decreases my Blow-by.

layback40 · #10 07-22-2010, 03:32 AM

Has the motor ever had alternate fuel eg WVO in it?

Dobber · #11 07-22-2010, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by layback40

Has the motor ever had alternate fuel eg WVO in it?

I've never put wvo in it in the last year I've had it. I bought it used from NC, so I can't say what PO did.

Dobber · #12 07-22-2010, 04:39 AM

It's always had good power. It used to start hard and smoke after glow, but not since I changed the ip delivery valve seals a few months ago. The fuel would drain out if I parked it on uphill incline and would take forever to start. Not so anymore.

layback40 · #13 07-22-2010, 04:54 AM

Is the exhaust pipe end very oily?
If its loosing oil out of 1 cylinder chances are its not burning it clean. If its burning on all cylinders, you may not see an oily tail pipe. I cant understand why you are not seeing a lot of smoke. A quart every 300 miles is a lot by any standard. It has to be either the head gasket, the rings the breather system or the valve guide seals. I cant think of any other way for oil to get in to the combustion chamber on a N/A. I assume there is no oil showing in the coolant, so the head gasket is less likely.

Parrot of Doom · #14 07-22-2010, 04:56 AM

It might not leave anything on the driveway because the oil is only leaking under pressure.

You should get it on ramps, with the engine running, and remove the undertrays to see what's what. The last oil leak I had was at the oil cooler.

Diesel911 · #15 07-22-2010, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dobber

It's always had good power. It used to start hard and smoke after glow, but not since I changed the ip delivery valve seals a few months ago. The fuel would drain out if I parked it on uphill incline and would take forever to start. Not so anymore.

Speaking of the IP there is a Thread somewhere one of the Members said the Seal (O-ring?) on their Fuel Supply/Lift Pump was allowing Oil from the IP sump to be sucked into the Fuel Supply Pump and ultimately injected and burned in the Engine.

I believe the OP said the rebuild kit for the lift pump was about $30.

I looked at my notes and found the below. Look at Post #3 by Beagal and notice he has "Engine oil contamination of fuel" in the first line of his post. (Also he mentions he has another thread on the subject.)

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=261822