A journey into the the infamous Om642 oil cooler leak! - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

KrustyKustom · #61 10-01-2016, 12:13 AM

Jay Bob, thanks for posting your progress. I have a 2011 GL350 and a 2012 Sprinter with the OM642 and I have studied and maintained them for 5 years now. I kinda like it, it is busy under the hood for sure but I have had really good service from mine. The 2011 did need oil cooler seals and needed a timing chain at 58k miles (Tech service bulletin). I think where most folks start disliking the V6 diesel is when maintenance or something is not followed as its intended and the results are not usually good as they are not forgiving in this department. Many a Sprinter owners have goofed up a oil change or something like that and spun a main bearing only to find there is no oversize bearings, pistons etc. available.

Then there is the FedEx driver that comes to my office, he has a 2013 with the V6, with 464k miles. Hammer down miles might I add.

Use the right oil and keep those fuel filters changed.......

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

jay_bob · #62 10-01-2016, 12:25 PM

Good to hear, I am using Mobil1 ESP 0W-30. Changed the fuel filter 2 yr ago, will put a new one in when I reassemble.

Next big thing I will have to do to this vehicle is transmission service. At 138k now so that will likely be next fall's project.

dieselbenz1 · #63 10-01-2016, 01:54 PM

Great work you are doing and I look forward to the tx service. Any chance we could have a look at the new fuel tool I couldn't see anything on line. Oh ya as for the WIS the. Cd you purchased was it around $11?

engatwork · #64 10-01-2016, 07:45 PM

fuel tool pic

jay_bob · #65 10-02-2016, 10:36 PM

Got the oil cooler, manifolds, swirl flapper motor, wire harness, and fuel returns installed tonight.

Picture of the cleaned out valley and installed purple seals, note the weep hole at the back of the recess for the oil cooler. Make sure yours is clean and there are no odd parts in the well back there - found several artifacts from prior dealer services.

Make sure all the threads are clean and dry - I chased each one out with a twisted up paper towel until it came out clean.

The kit gives you the all important purple seals and 10 new bolts for the cooler. Not sure why they did this but I went ahead and used them.

Then I moved on to the manifold installation. You have to put the little aluminum collar with the two o-rings in. This marries the two halves of the manifold together.

Also there are a couple new o-rings for the air intake and EGR tube on the drivers side manifold in the kit.

The WIS suggests using the fuel filter ring to hold the two halves together for assembly. I tried this but it was too flexible to keep the collar from popping out. So what I did was to install the drivers side manifold first by itself. I put a couple of the bolts in loosely to get the drivers manifold in position. Then I put the collar in the hole on the drivers side manifold and then brought in the passenger side manifold. Again I put a couple of the bolts in loosely after getting it lined up on the collar. Note that a sliver of the collar shows when the manifolds are properly installed. It will bottom out on each side once the manifolds are in proper position.

Then I took the remaining bolts one by one out of the egg carton and put them in their proper locations. Then I followed the torquing sequence in the WIS. It is really important to make sure the right bolts go into the right holes, there are multiple different lengths of bolts.

Next was the swirl flapper motor. The kit gives you a new motor and 4 new clip pieces. These fold into a square around the peg on the linkage and insert into the square holes on the motor arm and the flapper arms on the manifold.

Put the linkages on the motor first. The short black linkage goes on the passenger side of the motor arm (the one that is underneath the motor body when it is at rest). This linkage is symmetrical so it can go either way. The longer linkage (with the adjustment in the middle) goes to the driver side. There is one post that is almost straight up, that goes to the motor, and the post that is at an angle goes to the manifold arm.

The clips fold into squares around the ball head and insert into the square holes from the bottom up. They need to click into place.

Then I worked on threading the wire harness and fuel return lines back into place.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vqy3lzv0vwm35o4/2016-10-02%2021.51.29.jpg?dl=0

picture of fuel line tool. About $45 at the dealer. The left end has a 12-pt 17 mm? pattern cut out to go around the line, and the right end accepts a 1/2 inch drive ratchet.
This will also be helpful when torquing the hard lines, as this tool places the axis of your torque wrench at the centerline of the hard line nut. This ensures an accurate torquing.

The picture engatwork posted is for removing the injectors on an OM606, I happen to have one of these too...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/32j8r1l2ql1grx8/2016-10-02%2021.52.09.jpg?dl=0

Hopefully get the turbo back in tomorrow afternoon before I have to hit the road again...

jay_bob · #66 10-03-2016, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselbenz1

Oh ya as for the WIS the. Cd you purchased was it around $11?

I think I paid somewhere around that, definitely less than 20.

But have a look at this thread. This is definitely bootleg software so you may get some unwanted visitors with it.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/380945-win-10-fsm.html

I think it is crazy that MB won't let you have access to this at a reasonable price. Guess they want to keep their service departments in business. Same thing with the Xentry diagnostics. I would be willing to pay around $500 to $1000 if it was a legitimate MB system, even if they arranged it so that when you purchased it, you had to register the VINs that you personally hold the title to, to keep you from using it to fix other people's cars.

jay_bob · #67 10-08-2016, 10:06 PM

Got back in town on Thursday so after having to work Friday morning I got back into it just as the rains came in.

First order of business was the fuel rails. This was actually quite straightforward. First place the drivers side rail in position and put the bolts in but do not snug them down, leave them about a 1/2 turn loose so the rail can float slightly. Don't forget to work in the little stub return line just above the HP pump. Fit the crossover pipe to the drivers side rail and then bring the passenger side rail to meet the crossover pipe. Set the passenger side rail in position and again loosely bolt into place.

The hard lines need to bottom out in the fittings and should just slip right in, there should be no stress on the line whatsoever. Then bring the nut up to the fitting and turn it counter clockwise until you hear it click. Then carefully, finger tightening only, turn the nut until it is snug.

Then install the line from the HP pump to the drivers side rail. Pay attention to the over/under of all the wires and fuel return hoses at this stage.

Install all 6 of your injector lines, first to the rail and then into the injectors, again reverse rotate and then snug up the nuts.

Once you get the hard lines in position, torque down the rail bolts. Then start torquing your line nuts to the rail and the injectors. This ensures the hard lines have no stress and are in their natural positions. Remember this all has 30,000 PSI on it when it is running, as opposed to the IDI engines with 2,000 PSI.

Then it was time to fit the fuel filter and hook up the rest of the low pressure fuel supply and the injector return lines. Be sure the collars on the return lines snap down into the locked position.

Next came the turbo. Helpful hints: Be sure to put the gaskets on the exhaust manifold runners before installing the turbo (or you get to take it out again like I did). And go ahead and put the main exhaust gasket on while it's on the bench, instead of having to install it looking in a mirror at the back of the turbo.

The oil tower is not too bad. The gasket sits down on the holes in the block and the tower goes over it. Then the turbo perches on the top of the oil tower. There is a small flat gasket that goes between the turbo and the tower that likes to move around. I got some heavy duty thread from my wife's sewing basket (the spool said it was for buttons and carpet) and threaded the gasket and turbo together. After I got the turbo wrestled into place, I slipped a phillips head into one of the bolt holes, carefully lifted the turbo slightly, and pulled out the thread. I imagine the old school style waxed dental floss would work here too.

There are 5 bolts on the turbo. Two stretch bolts on the oil tower, two on the bracket behind the turbo (the drivers side one is almost impossible to see) and then the little bolt in front that goes on the bracket to the manifold.

Once you get the turbo bolted down it's time to hook up the exhaust manifolds, the EGR 90 degree pipe and the big exhaust outlet. These are actually not too bad considering they are behind the turbo.

What was a bad deal was the stinking heat shield behind the turbo. This was pure hell to get back in, because you barely have any room to work. I am 6'3" with an 8' reach and I had to end up climbing up and laying over the engine (on blankets) to get to the heat shield. It is razor sharp to boot so my hands are cut in several places and my forearms look like I have been in a fight.

I got tired of working for the night so that is where I left it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/au6vwjvomhqgknk/2016-10-07%2020.55.46.jpg?dl=0

This morning the storm slowed down by around 10 am to the point where I could open up the garage without getting blasted by wind and rain.

First I had to search for the 10 mm socket I dropped putting in the stinking heat shield. After an hour of searching with my USB borescope camera I finally found it (with my hands) resting on top of the cross member holding up the transmission.

Ok back to work. I finished up installing the intake air tract at the front of the engine and getting the intercooler plumbing hooked up.

Then I connected the radiator hose (the big one and the bleeder hose) to the thermostat and hooked up a radiator pressure test kit. Sure enough the system held 10 pounds while I went in and had lunch.

I installed the air boxes with new air filters and a new bat wing. I left off the padding over each cylinder head to check for fuel leaks on startup.

Then I filled the cooling system 50-50 G-05 and distilled water (that was hard to find in Columbia, people panic bought everything that was water in a container, my wife had to end up getting to the grocery store when they opened on Thursday morning after they had gotten their truck). The cooling system self bleeds on this engine, there is a network of bleeder hoses that goes back to the expansion tank. No need to back fill it from the upper radiator hose or elevate the front like the older models. Just pour it into the expansion tank.

Next came the new oil filter and 9 quarts of Mobil1 0W-30 ESP.

After one more good look over it was time for the moment of truth.

I got my wife to operate the starter while I watched the engine compartment for leaks. It took about 4 or 5 cranking cycles to get all the air purged to the point where it would run. I let the fuel pump run about 20 seconds between cranks, to give the starter a rest and let the fuel pump keep filling up the system. Finally on about the 5th crank the engine sputtered to life, rough at first, and then smoothed out.

Observing no leaks I took it out for a drive. The first couple times I accelerated it stumbled a little as it got the rest of the air out of the system and then it was smooth. I cranked the heat to max and put the console display on the temperature gauge and got it up to its usual 90 degree operating temperature. I got back home and after I let it cool down it needed about another pint of water. I put the sound deadening back over the cylinder heads and buttoned everything up on top.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/idg5578orjm5dy7/2016-10-08%2016.45.53.jpg?dl=0

I left the bottom pans off and parked it over a piece of fresh cardboard. Hopefully it will be clean in the morning...

Update, cardboard was clean this morning but had a spot about the size of a quarter after we got home from church. Hopefully its just some residual stuff working its way down, will keep an eye on it...

jay_bob · #68 10-10-2016, 02:24 PM

And one more important safety tip, courtesy of a generator field mechanic:

Do not place your body in the potential line of fire from fuel leaks. Remember this fuel system operates at 30,000 psi. It will drive the fuel into your skin and you will be heading to the ER, or you will have a nasty case of injection poisoning, that can be fatal. If you see it leaking, shut it down, throw a rag on it, and stand back until the pressure falls.

Likewise do not break any line connections until the system has had a chance to bleed down the pressure. This happens automatically but it takes several minutes. Put a rag over the first connection you break when removing the rail, just in case the auto bleed did not happen.

Also take seriously the "high voltage" symbol on the intake pipe, the piezoelectric injectors operate at several kV...back in the day I got the snot knocked out of me by a gas grill piezo igniter (the red knob you push that goes 'thunk' and makes a spark by the burner).

jay_bob · #69 10-11-2016, 02:10 PM

Took the car to the dealer this morning to do the adaptations on the new MAF sensors. Turns out that you have to do a MAF adaptation even when changing the air filters as it affects the engine operating parameters.

They did a before and after printout on the DAS system, the car knew that both low beam headlights and the left front marker light had failed in the past. Various alarms for intermittent switch failures. Also it knew that someone had farted in the passenger seat

. They cleared all the old codes and gave me 10 pages of printout.

The car is running absolutely fantastic, better than it ever has in the 3 years we've had it.

dieselbenz1 · #70 10-11-2016, 08:54 PM

Thank you excellent details you presented. I often wondered how to deal with the fuel pressures. I now assume every time the car is shut down the fuel pressure bleeds down? I tried to help a friend just disconnect the turbo controller and couldn't even figure out through a mirror how to remove the catch on the control rod! Intimidating under the hood for me anyways hopefully not for long though.

jay_bob · #71 10-12-2016, 07:04 AM

I'm pretty certain the way this is handled is there is an electronic device at the forward end of the left (drivers side) rail. Out of this device is a small nipple that ties into the fuel return line. I suspect that when the engine is shut down this valve opens and dumps the pressure into the fuel return. I think it also is used to regulate rail pressure during operation.

jay_bob · #72 10-13-2016, 08:33 PM

Wife gets out to the end of the driveway yesterday and says the console is giving a low coolant message. I head out and sure enough the reservoir is down about a half inch. Ok grab the jug and put a few ounces in, figured it was still burping.

Well today I got underneath to see if there were any new oil drips (none that I can see, yay) but I saw coolant drips on the undercarriage (boo).

So I got out the trusty pressure tester and sure enough the car is slowly losing pressure and all of a sudden the puddle starts growing out the side behind the tire on the floor...uh oh. The engine was still somewhat warm, it had been parked about an hour and a half or two. So whatever was leaking was very slight and only when the engine is warm.

Then I caught a glimpse of fluid dripping down in the back left corner. That is where the EGR valve and the myriad of coolant hoses reside.

Sure enough after pulling the air box for a better view, there was a little 1/4 inch line with a coolant hose on it that was peeing like a new puppy when pressurized. Turns out I had neglected to slip the hose clamp between the double knuckles on the line, it was clamped past the first knuckle towards the end of the hose. It is a very short hose so it had no room to blow off the end of the hard line, and it only was loose enough to leak only when heated up and under pressure.

Just something to watch out for, make sure that you are between the knuckles on these small lines buried behind the engine. It's difficult to see the hose and manipulate the clamp so this one is easy to miss the double knuckles on the line.

iwrock · #73 12-01-2016, 01:06 AM

Well, looks like my 07 CDI is leaking about a cup of oil every other day now...

Haven't crawled underneath it just yet to find out the source of the leak, but suspect my oil cooler is leaking. Would a reasonably competent DIY'r be able to tackle this, or should it just get farmed out? I'm a bit pressed for time (especially in the coming month or two) and am thinking it might be easier to have it done.

jay_bob · #74 12-01-2016, 08:17 AM

If you get all the tools and parts together it is doable on a long weekend. Dealer will probably charge $3-4k for this. I did it for around $1500 and that included the special tools.

BTW coming up on 2 months, hasn't leaked a drop and it's still running great. It's been on several runs up to Clemson and back (Go Tigers) and not had any trouble whatsoever.

dieselbenz1 · #75 12-01-2016, 10:39 AM

The dealers here charge 6k cdn but that includes 2 new manifolds to address the swirl flaps also.