Recently my w123 met its' untimely demise. And I am trying to determine what happened. I was driving and suddenly engine didn't sound right. I shut her down and then restarted her only to have a bunch of white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Long story short it died on the side of the road. When putting the car on a flat bed to tow home a bunch of oil leaked from somewhere. It was not engine oil as it is still at the full level.
The engine appears to be locked. Fan turns but cannot move engine at the power steering pump.
I removed the valve cover and saw that one of the cam lobes(sp) was scored. It looked as if was rusted but it felt rough. What would cause this?
Any ideas, I don't want to get rid of the car and I am willing to put another engine in it if necessary.

Thanks in Advance

Charlie

common failures of these engines include:

1. spun crank bearing
2. worn cylinder sleeves
3. broken or bent crank shaft
4. vacuum pump jamming timing chain (will usually break camshaft or bust off cam supporting towers)
5. also have seen one 617.952 engine that shattered the flex disc and busted the end of the crank off when it did.
6. cracked head and or blown head gasket from possible overheating, causing hydrolocking. this sounds like your problem based on the white smoke but could be wrong just a start though.

__________________
1987 300D 180k
1985 300SD 330k Helga
1992 300D Lola 269k- Sold
1986 325 coupe Bessie >300k Original engine(ODO Broke) sold
2006 2500HD Druamax Linda- Tows boat and looks pretty in garage thats about it

Failed oil pump? Aren't some run via chain and some via gears? What was the oil pressure when the event occurred?
Was the leak oil or transmission fluid? Don't know where oil at the front of the car could come from if it wasn't engine oil.---oh wait a minute. It depends on which model. If it's a wagon, it could be hydraulic fluid. You need to put your exact car in your signature.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

it's a sedan. Wouldn't water appear in the oil if were a blown head gasket?

depends on where its blown. if water is leaking into just the combustion chamber of one of the cylinders. you man not necessarily see water in the oil. if it has made it to the oil it is now sitting fairly undisturbed at the very bottom of your oil pan. it doesn't take much water to hydrolock a cyl.

__________________
1987 300D 180k
1985 300SD 330k Helga
1992 300D Lola 269k- Sold
1986 325 coupe Bessie >300k Original engine(ODO Broke) sold
2006 2500HD Druamax Linda- Tows boat and looks pretty in garage thats about it

I am leaning toward replacing the engine rather than repairing this one. Would this be the less expensive way to go?

definitely cheaper to replace than repair. back when these cars were new mercedes provided a "cage motor" that had all the accessories bolted to it ready to go because rebuilding just didn't make sense because parts are very expensive. I believe that w.hunter has put together a 617.95x rebuild parts list for various levels of rebuilding the engine. that would give you an ides but i know its well over $2000 just in parts. I picked up a good low mileage 617,952 from a junk yard for $150 last summer for a project. was a complete engine minus the turbo.

__________________
1987 300D 180k
1985 300SD 330k Helga
1992 300D Lola 269k- Sold
1986 325 coupe Bessie >300k Original engine(ODO Broke) sold
2006 2500HD Druamax Linda- Tows boat and looks pretty in garage thats about it

were you able to test the motor before you bought it? How did you happen to find it? I'm in bham alabama, anyone know of any good junk yards to look at?

I couldn't test the engine until i got it home. I asked the junk yard people if i could start it while it was still in the car but they quickly declined my request, but told me if i got the engine home and it was bad i could bring it back, so i would have only wasted two hours pulling it an loading it. once it was home I started it up hanging from a fork lift with no glow plugs (didn't bother to hook them up).

I am in Utah so i have no clue of where you would find one down there but it should be rather easy because there are a lot more of these cars in your neck of the woods than up here.

__________________
1987 300D 180k
1985 300SD 330k Helga
1992 300D Lola 269k- Sold
1986 325 coupe Bessie >300k Original engine(ODO Broke) sold
2006 2500HD Druamax Linda- Tows boat and looks pretty in garage thats about it

Update:
I drained the oil and for the first couple of seconds it was straight coolant. I would assume that this engine is toast and not worth repairing. Any ideas as to what may have caused this?

If you have coolant draining out of the sump then I would vote for a bust head gasket.

What car / engine are we talking about? Is it indeed an OM617 - if so I and others can post some price indications...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Yes it's a 617 turbo. 368k on the clock. '85 300D

In that case I estimate that if you go for a rebuild - parts alone for an OM617 turbo won't give you much change from $3000 - new pistons would be a big chunk of that if they turned out to be necessary. A new oil pump which I guess would be sensible as the sump has been full of water would also be a large chunk... if you need more and more you could end up paying way more than $3000 though => $4000 + + + + It depends on what you need and what you do.

If you replace the camshaft you'll be encouraged to replace the followers - they are about $400 for a set of ten - I don't know what the higher lift turbo camshaft costs but my non-turbo one was about 100 euros at the dealer...

If your crank is buggered you'll find you can't get hold of them new anymore from the dealer. You might be lucky to find one elsewhere but that would also be loads of money.

There is a link here that has a list of parts you need for a turbo engine:-

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=274085

The price is now out of date ($1500) - basically it is a list of everything you'd need if none of the bigger bits are broken.

So if you don't have that kind of money then I'd go for a good second hand engine.

I would be wary of someone who is selling a reconditioned engine for a price that does not correspond with the cost of the parts I've just mentioned.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

The real key is to get the head off so you can see what is and isnt.

__________________
1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Sounds like classic hydrolock to me. Probably a bent rod or 2 as well as coolant in the bearings. The motor may be good as a boat anchor !!

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving