After putting in rebuilt injectors, installing a new starter and battery, I went to take it for a test drive, got about 500 feet and clunk clunk fssssss. It ran really rough before it died. Tried starting it again and huge billows of white smoke came out the tail pipe.

I checked the oil and something (not oil) was WAY up the dipstick. So the crankcase was completely full of . . . what?



My guess is that after pulling the injectors, since the lines were over the top of the holes that they dribbled fuel into the cylinders, which then leaked past the rings into the crankcase. But to overfill the crankcase, that would have to be a LOT of fuel. Is it possible that the full gas tank when warm had positive pressure and pushed fuel through the IP and out the lines?



As the oil filler cap say, don't overfill the crankcase! So, being overfull, it did what exactly? Seems like it blew a head gasket and did some other damage.

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1986 300 SDL, gray on black, #14 head, 180K miles
1982 300 CD, silver on palomino, 290K+ miles [sold]
1980 300 SD, white on palomino, 500K+ miles when retired [uncle's car - inspiration for the above]

Water/coolant ?

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=156207&highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

a couple weeks ago I pressure checked the cooling system. no leaks. also did the cold coolant line squeeze check to see if the head is cracked. Line was soft, so no crack. So i can't believe it blew a head gasket from just sitting there and never overheating. Also, the car got about 500 feet before it died - never even warmed up.

so, back to original questions above . . .

__________________
1986 300 SDL, gray on black, #14 head, 180K miles
1982 300 CD, silver on palomino, 290K+ miles [sold]
1980 300 SD, white on palomino, 500K+ miles when retired [uncle's car - inspiration for the above]

What car? What engine?

Sorry to hear this...

__________________
My occupational hazard bein'
my occupation's just not around...
1980 300SD
1980 300SD

Possibly dropped enough fuel into one (or more) cylinders to get hydro-locked? Resulting bang may have opened up all manner of pathways for fuel or coolant to get into the crankcase.

__________________
1961 220b: first project car - sold.
2000 CLK 430: first modern Benz - sold.
2001 CLK 55: OMG the torque!!! - sold
1972 280SE 4.5: Baby Gustav
1991 300TE 4Matic: Gretel the Snow Bunny - sold
1978 300SD: Katz the Free Man - given away
1980 Redhead: Darling Wife

What did it smell like? Was your oil a milky color on the dip?

__________________
hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

This is/was my 1986 300SDL.

I cranked the motor over with the injector out to blow out any sitting fuel. Dipstick fluid not milky, just has black oil at the bottom and clear liquid higher up. couldn't smell anything disticntive.

It only ran for about 10 seconds after it started making noise, so if it is water, it probably didn't have a chance to mix up. Also, it doesn't seem like water could leak in there in the 500 feet I drove, when there was none in there before.

__________________
1986 300 SDL, gray on black, #14 head, 180K miles
1982 300 CD, silver on palomino, 290K+ miles [sold]
1980 300 SD, white on palomino, 500K+ miles when retired [uncle's car - inspiration for the above]

If that much coolant went into your oil the radiator would be pretty much empty.

Fuel can get in from the lift pump in theory, but it would take a while to fill a couple of gallons, probably more than 500feet.

Drain it and figure out what it is. If fuel, the engine is probably not toast. Overfilling with oil/fuel can lead to a runaway which is the biggest risk.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Jeff - my theory is that the open injector lines dripped fuel over a few weeks into the cylinders then leaking into the crankcase.

When I started it for a few seconds, it ran really rough (like it was on 3 out of 6 cylinders) and sent out huge billows of white smoke. wouldn't that mean that the head blew and/or some other major internal damage?

__________________
1986 300 SDL, gray on black, #14 head, 180K miles
1982 300 CD, silver on palomino, 290K+ miles [sold]
1980 300 SD, white on palomino, 500K+ miles when retired [uncle's car - inspiration for the above]

Not necessarily. Misfiring diesels often blow white diesel mist out the exhaust.

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1981 Mercedes 300TD, 1994 Honda Civic Del Sol
http://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/67195.pnghttp://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/103885.png

Agreed, blue/white smoke can be un-burned diesel, which can also come from the oil pan if whipped up by the crank.

Gravity would need to drip it in, and I don't think that even with the car standing on its front bumper that there's enough pressure to get by the delivery valves.

Pull the injectors, try to blow through them. If you can blow through one or more, it's bad and overfueling like crazy.

You will need to drain the oil first anyway, if it has water in it even sooner than immediately would be good. Once you have determined that it is fuel, I'd suggest pulling the lift pump.

When did you last check the oil before this incident?

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

After you installed the rebuilt injectors, how long did it run before you put it in gear and went for the test drive?

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Very interesting points gents, that offer a glimmer of hope.

This was the test run after installing rebuilt injectors. While it's hard to fathom, that is the major variable here.

Just changed the oil and verified the level within 5 miles of driving. But didn't check it again immediately prior to the incident.

You mean R&R the lift pump? why?

ran it about 1 minute after installing the injectors and before driving it.

__________________
1986 300 SDL, gray on black, #14 head, 180K miles
1982 300 CD, silver on palomino, 290K+ miles [sold]
1980 300 SD, white on palomino, 500K+ miles when retired [uncle's car - inspiration for the above]

First step.

Drain the oil, and verify what the excess fluid is..

There is NO further diagnosis possible UNTIL that is done.





.

__________________
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1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

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It IS fuel that filled up the crankcase. Smells like it, it mixes well with oil and the radiator is full of water (didn't all drain into the crankcase).

If it was not open injector lines dripping into the open injector holes over past few weeks, then it must be the rebuilt injectors over fueling, correct?

I did notice a lot of smoke when I first started it, but thought it was just from sitting. But then, I guess it didn't taper off like normal.

Other than draining the crankcase and trying new/different injectors, any suggestions?

__________________
1986 300 SDL, gray on black, #14 head, 180K miles
1982 300 CD, silver on palomino, 290K+ miles [sold]
1980 300 SD, white on palomino, 500K+ miles when retired [uncle's car - inspiration for the above]