Hello, I have some bad news regarding our daily driver 85 300td.
A few weeks ago now, we had some very cold weather up here and we sought help from this great forum with regards to getting the car started in that cold weather, which we received with much appreciation going to several members. (Thanks again) We did get the car going.

Had the car running for a week or two after getting it started in that cold snap. I then noticed that I was getting alot of whitish smoke even after being warmed up...which was suddenly unusual for this car. (It has done this in the past). We drove home and I checked the antifreeze level and found some evidence of oil in the coolant overflow tank.

The bad news is that I think we may have a blown headgasket. I have parked the car now until I can get the 420 sel out of the garage so I can look further into this one.

I was having this same problem off and on for over a year now with the small amount of whitish smoke. I thought it was indicating to adjust the valves because the smoke seemed to subside after the adjustment but maybe this was in the works for awhile now and I was in denial ?

The white smoke out the back end is waayy more noticeable now....under load it is like I hit the smoke screen button...and forgot to turn it off.
There is no denying the visible oil film in the coolant overflow tank. I see no evidence of coolant in the oil. I sure hope I did not damage anything.

I saw no change in performance on the last drive home which surprises me. This car performs very well and always has... even now... aside from the smoke. I think this is why I had a hard time believing that we were having problems with the headgasket and in combination with the scenario of adjusting the valves and seeing the smoke issue resolve itself We decided to keep driving it.

Because the amount of smoke in the past was minimal and only happened at stop lights and after idleing...I was also hoping for maybe an overfueling condition, which at the time explained (to me anyways) the difference in the performance between this one and my other car. (1980 300TD)

I have resurected the 1980 300TD for the remainder of the winter and it is running great except it is having transmission problems with second gear skipping. I am having a bad winter and hope my tranny holds up until we can get the headgasket changed on the 85 300TD.

I think I will try Phil for this one if he still ships up here to Canada. I have never ordered parts online before and wonder about duty and taxes for the parts I will need. His (Peach Parts) prices are looking really good compared to places around where I live so far, but am worried about the difference in his prices compared to the parts places around here. Mainly concerned that his prices are too good to be true...like by the time the parts get here they may be more expensive than if we just bought them from local suppliers? Are there any Canadians on here that have got parts from Phil at Peach Parts? I have often considered his parts but have never really needed anything substantial that was such a big difference in price...but I am thinking it may be the best way to go for us right now.

Thanks if you made it this far through my novel.

Did you check the underside of the oil filler cap?

Sixto
87 300D

for what?

evidence of water in the oil...
it'll collect on the cap after a cool down period...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

O.K I'll take some pics tomorrow when it is light outside. Thanks

I have some pics of the inside of the overflow/expansion tank? I also have a pic of the underside of the oil filler cap. As you can see from the pictures there is obviously oil in that overflow tank....and as far as the underside of the oil filter cap...I can't tell for sure but it does'nt look like there is any antifreeze in the oil?

(the second pic is my finger after swiping it on the bottom of the expansion tank....this car had new antifreeze put in at the start of winter and I check it all the time. It did not look like this last time antifreeze was added, about two weeks ago.)

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Pictures of the underside of the oil filler cap...

I hope I caught this in time.
Pics of this oil cap did not turn out very well...The underside was just as black as usual...with no foam or antifreeze separating from oil.

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Check for oil in the turbo area. You could have a bad seal and it's leaking into the exhaust. Look at the hot side(rusty not aluminum) behind the main housing and at the bottom of the down-pipe. Look at the wastegate actuator for oil leaking out of it that is the low spot on the turbo. If it looks wet you can pull the down-pipe and look into the exhaust to see if there is any wet oil. Smell the oil smoke to see if it smells like burning oil or unburnt fuel(acrid to the nose). If it smells like burning oil then suspect the turbo seals.

I thought it was nigh impossible to blow the HG on a 617

Lord Knows, I tried hard enough with mine one night from ATL to SAV.
Triple Digits the whole way,even through Henry,Forsyth,Truetlen,Etc.
At the beginning,Sparks flying out the Exhaust pipe behind in the Dark.


[D.C. he's got OIL in his cooling system as evidenced by the sludge in the overflow tank.
'Only one way for that to get there.]

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

Do a cmpression test before you rip into the head.

Thru all of this, I have not heard you mention the coolant level dropping. If the smoke you see is coolant being ingested by the engine, then the level should be dropping, of course. Oil film in the coolant tank could also come from the tranny cooler, although I'd expect you'd recognize the difference. Also, if the tranny cooler, the tranny fluid would look like pepto bismol

__________________
RM Smith
1988 560SL

"Where is it again that we are going, and why are we in this handbasket"?

Any update?

__________________
RM Smith
1988 560SL

"Where is it again that we are going, and why are we in this handbasket"?

Sorry, I still have the other car in the garage at the moment. Won't be any updates until I can get it in there and perform some of the suggestions to check certain things before ripping it apart. (Trans cooler breach) I am guessing it will go the way of a new head gasket but want to be sure before getting into this one.Thanks.

Yes, the coolant level had been dropping, but I was always tightening a hose clamp thinking it was just leaking out. It may have been a little of both in hindsight?

I'll check this out too ...but I am just not understanding how these turbo leaks even if I did have them could be related to oil in the antifreeze...unless you are thinking that the turbo leaks could be giving me the false impression that I am burning coolant, when in fact I may be burning oil that is supposed to be going to the turbo. If this was happening at the same time as well as a trans cooler breach into the antifreeze then I could see your point. I'll check the trans cooler breach as soon as it gets in the garage. It is possible that what appears to be oil is tranny fluid but with nothing resembling red in the overfill tank and the fact the trans has shifted fine it is a long shot but worth checking out. I guess checking the tranny fluid for pepto bismal coloring will be first on the list when the garage is availible. Thanks.