E320 CDI Engine Flooded

[David Hallworth]

Hey Guys,

I've been looking at a E320 CDI that has basically been driven into a puddle and stopped.

From what I can make out from the seller the engine is Hydrauliced but with no other damage to the car.

The insurance company have deemed the car a total loss due to the fact that Mercedes want £10.5k for an engine + fitting.

Has anyone had any experience of rebuilding one of these engines?

My main concern is if the car was in top gear at 70mph when it happened and the torque convertor had locked up, would it have ripped the torque convertor to shreds when the engine stopped suddenly with the car still moving.

Any suggestions that you guys have would be more then welcomed.

David.

 

[nick mercedes]

Hey Guys,

I've been looking at a E320 CDI that has basically been driven into a puddle and stopped.

From what I can make out from the seller the engine is Hydrauliced but with no other damage to the car.

The insurance company have deemed the car a total loss due to the fact that Mercedes want £10.5k for an engine + fitting.

Has anyone had any experience of rebuilding one of these engines?

My main concern is if the car was in top gear at 70mph when it happened and the torque convertor had locked up, would it have ripped the torque convertor to shreds when the engine stopped suddenly with the car still moving.

Any suggestions that you guys have would be more then welcomed.

David.

A used engine might be a better and cheaper solution.

 

[yachtman]

Hey Guys,

I've been looking at a E320 CDI that has basically been driven into a puddle and stopped.

From what I can make out from the seller the engine is Hydrauliced but with no other damage to the car.

The insurance company have deemed the car a total loss due to the fact that Mercedes want £10.5k for an engine + fitting.

Has anyone had any experience of rebuilding one of these engines?

My main concern is if the car was in top gear at 70mph when it happened and the torque convertor had locked up, would it have ripped the torque convertor to shreds when the engine stopped suddenly with the car still moving.

Any suggestions that you guys have would be more then welcomed.

David.

personally would not touchwith a barge pole

what about all the wet electronics!!! damaged cats, buggered turbo,
with how high the air intakes are allthe gearbox eletronics must have got wet as well.cant imagine it did the drive line much good either.


recomend..... walk away

 

[lynall]

Even with a second hand lump, theres plenty of other things that will keep on going wrong.

Im sure a while ago i read somewhere that a lot of flooded cars were now break only by the insurance companies due to health risks from the water which will contain sewage etc!

So the bloke drove into a puddle deep enough to hydraulic the engine at 70mph!


Lynall

 

[nick mercedes]

Even with a second hand lump, theres plenty of other things that will keep on going wrong.

Im sure a while ago i read somewhere that a lot of flooded cars were now break only by the insurance companies due to health risks from the water which will contain sewage etc!

So the bloke drove into a puddle deep enough to hydraulic the engine at 70mph!


Lynall

OP's cars only been through a deep puddle and sucked up some water though, bit of a different world from flood damaged car.

 

[David Hallworth]

Im sure a while ago i read somewhere that a lot of flooded cars were now break only by the insurance companies due to health risks from the water which will contain sewage etc!

If any of the water gets into the cabin of the car it is a break only criteria that insurance companies set.

So the bloke drove into a puddle deep enough to hydraulic the engine at 70mph!

Lynall

I don't know what speed the bloke drove into a puddle, I was just highlighting that it was a concern that it might have damaged the drivetrain.

The car is about £20k cheaper then what it should be if I were buying a second hand one with same age/mileage from a dealer so I'm just trying to gauge what other peoples consensus is.

I'm only toying with the idea of buying the car at the moment so am unsure.

David.

 

[nick mercedes]

The car is about £20k cheaper then what it should be if I were buying a second hand one with same age/mileage from a dealer so I'm just trying to gauge what other peoples consensus is.

Is it recorded?

 

[David Hallworth]

yes, it's recorded on HPi as having been a total loss.

The only downside to that is that the residual values are going to be low but that's not a worry as this is going to be a car that gets used for commuting and general day to day running around.

In general a written off car is only worth a couple of grand less then a non written off car if they are in good nick too.

David.

 

[BlackC55]

I take it it is a v6 diesel?

 

[David Hallworth]

yea.

It's a 2008 (08) with 5k miles on it.

3.0 V6 Diesel, the 224bhp version.

David.

 

[BlackC55]

the chances of finding a second hand engine are very slim. You maybe lucky though.

It needs investigation first to see what is damaged. Most of them are not worth the repair.

 

[crockers]

If any of the water gets into the cabin of the car it is a break only criteria that insurance companies set.



I don't know what speed the bloke drove into a puddle, I was just highlighting that it was a concern that it might have damaged the drivetrain.

The car is about £20k cheaper then what it should be if I were buying a second hand one with same age/mileage from a dealer so I'm just trying to gauge what other peoples consensus is.

I'm only toying with the idea of buying the car at the moment so am unsure.

David.

A little confused -- the car is 20k less than it should be but insurer wrote it off for a £10k repair. I know a new car (under 1 year) is written off if repairs cost over 50% of new value...so in my calculations that is an affordable repair by the insurer ..........unless there is a lot more wrong that you haven't been told about.

 

[David Hallworth]

I've found a 2nd hand engine for £4500.

There's also a guy on ebay who offers low mileage replacement engines fitted for £3k.

David.

 

[BlackC55]

£4.5 k! That is robbery.

I am sure a re-build would be cheaper.

Can I see the website and ebay page please?

 

[nick mercedes]

£4.5 k! That is robbery.

That is robbery, a used V6 diesel should be around the £1500 mark, it's not like there's much of a market for them.

 

[David Hallworth]

Trade price for a new engine from our local Mercedes dealer is £7.5k exchange.

Retail is £10.5k.

Here ya go:

Ebay link

The quote I have for the other engine is an email quote from a Mercedes specialist breaker:

Vehicle Details:
MERCEDES E320 CDI AVANTGARDE AUTO 2008 ...

Quote Details:

Part 1: ENGINE - \nPrice: 3,750.00\nWarranty: 90 Day Guarantee\nDelivery: Next Day Delivery
Condition: Used
Additional Notes:
old unit required in exchange
Additional Notes:
Please Supply Part Number(s) Of Your Old Unit

P&P 75.00

TOTAL INCLUDING VAT + DEL = £4,398.75

David.

 

[nick mercedes]

Trade price for a new engine from our local Mercedes dealer is £7.5k exchange.

Retail is £10.5k.

Here ya go:

Ebay link

"The following components of your existing engine must be free of cracks and or damage and capable of being re-machined to use again:

1) The cylinder head casting including camshaft, lifters and valve guides
2) The cylinder block casting
3) The crankshaft
4) The connecting rods"

 

[nick mercedes]

TOTAL INCLUDING VAT + DEL = £4,398.75

Seems like a lot of money to me.

How much is a short motor from MB?

 

[Lugy]

For what it's worth my mate drove his Astra through a pretty shallow puddle slowly but still managed to bend a conrod, it was sorted easily enough with a replacement engine bought for £795.

I also flooded an engine, I was driving along a country lane in my Saab (taking a female friend home no less ) when decided it was thirsty. Luckily I was crawling through and knew what to do as soon as I felt it happening, I also had my tools so after taking the plugs out and turning the engine over for 30 seconds and soaking the plugs in WD40 she fired into life and carried on with no problems at all

Anyway I'm going off on a tangent.....

 

[Peter DLM]

Hydraulic'd engines are an easy fix, a couple of conrods, a few other pieces, easy.

Buy the car, fix it yourself....not that hard. I've never heard of any more damage than that. There is a risk that there was so much water that the inside of the engine now resembles an anchor, but every insurance write-off engine will have had the head off in the Dealers workshop and a report on how much damage has occured. If you can find this report, it should be with the car or the salvage yard, then you can make a choice from there.