e350 cdi engine seized

[Fayiz]

Hi there, I hope everyone is well.

been so busy, finally found the time and following up from my last post on the forum

after the sudden cut out of my e350 cdi coupe while driving, followed by no crank, not even a click, unfortunately it turned out to be a seized engine, had me shocked in a way, I suspected everything else but the engine, as I thought if it was the engine I would've heard it go? but oh well, and I know it's hard to say without stripping the whole thing, but what's common to go on these? especially without making odd noises, any idea?

it's a shame really and the car did serve me pretty well, is also a good spec, so rather than just letting it go at a complete loss, I'm thinking about either an engine swap or a rebuild, depending on how much it sets me back

in terms of engine swap, my engine code is 642.836, however I wanted to ask, if I was to get an engine from let's say, a saloon e350 cdi, which is essentially the same engine, but has a different engine code, would it be suitable to use? some have told me yes, some have told me no, so just confused really, and finding a specific coupe engine isn't seeming to be the easiest of things atm lol

what do you guys think? thank you

 

[toteimerced]

If you’re using just the short block, as opposed to a full replacement, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, if you’re using your original ancillaries.

 

[DSM10000]

Hi there, I hope everyone is well.

been so busy, finally found the time and following up from my last post on the forum

after the sudden cut out of my e350 cdi coupe while driving, followed by no crank, not even a click, unfortunately it turned out to be a seized engine, had me shocked in a way, I suspected everything else but the engine, as I thought if it was the engine I would've heard it go? but oh well, and I know it's hard to say without stripping the whole thing, but what's common to go on these? especially without making odd noises, any idea?

it's a shame really and the car did serve me pretty well, is also a good spec, so rather than just letting it go at a complete loss, I'm thinking about either an engine swap or a rebuild, depending on how much it sets me back

in terms of engine swap, my engine code is 642.836, however I wanted to ask, if I was to get an engine from let's say, a saloon e350 cdi, which is essentially the same engine, but has a different engine code, would it be suitable to use? some have told me yes, some have told me no, so just confused really, and finding a specific coupe engine isn't seeming to be the easiest of things atm lol

what do you guys think? thank you

Very sorry to hear about the engine failure.

Do you have any independent MB specialists near you that could advise?

 

[ALFAitalia]

How many miles? A sudden stop with no prior warnings or rattles or smoke does not seem like a seizure to me. Gearbox/TC locked up perhaps. Have you tried turning the engine a bit with the crank pully bolt to see if there is any movement at all? I take it that you've had a tech look at it.
I bought a motorcycle with a seized engine once....turned out to be a piece broken off the clutch basket jammed in the teeth between the clutch basket teeth and the crank sprocket....the clue was that it turned over, by hand, backwards OK.. I rode it round to the sellers house next day....he was delighted as you can imagine!!!

 

[Fayiz]

If you’re using just the short block, as opposed to a full replacement, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, if you’re using your original ancillaries

yeah I was thinking the same to be honest, another question please, if I was to get hold of an engine from a 265 bhp model, is it essentially the same engine and would it work? I guess I can change over some parts from mine if required to make it work if needed?

Very sorry to hear about the engine failure.

Do you have any independent MB specialists near you that could advise?

did have one locally but haven't been able to get in touch with him for quite some time

How many miles? A sudden stop with no prior warnings or rattles or smoke does not seem like a seizure to me. Gearbox/TC locked up perhaps. Have you tried turning the engine a bit with the crank pully bolt to see if there is any movement at all? I take it that you've had a tech look at it.
I bought a motorcycle with a seized engine once....turned out to be a piece broken off the clutch basket jammed in the teeth between the clutch basket teeth and the crank sprocket....the clue was that it turned over, by hand, backwards OK.. I rode it round to the sellers house next day....he was delighted as you can imagine!!!

it's covered around 138k miles, and yeah I've tried turning the engine via the crank pulley bolt which is what essentially convinced me alright it must be seized, (since I was really hoping it isn't) I also removed the auxiliary belt and starter motor to double check, still no movement

could a gearbox / tc lock up stop an engine from moving or is that not possible?

 

[Petrol Pete]

How many miles? A sudden stop with no prior warnings or rattles or smoke does not seem like a seizure to me. Gearbox/TC locked up perhaps. Have you tried turning the engine a bit with the crank pully bolt to see if there is any movement at all? I take it that you've had a tech look at it.
I bought a motorcycle with a seized engine once....turned out to be a piece broken off the clutch basket jammed in the teeth between the clutch basket teeth and the crank sprocket....the clue was that it turned over, by hand, backwards OK.. I rode it round to the sellers house next day....he was delighted as you can imagine!!!

Reminds me of when my brother (a mechanic back then) blew up the engine on his 1000cc Kawasaki motorcycle , he sourced a replacement engine with a cracked crankcase from a crashed bike for 'pennies' , during preparation to dismantle the engine and make one good one out of 2 bad ones he discovered it was not a crack but a bad casting edge that had oil on it from a small leak elsewhere on the engine.

few days later he was back on the road for cheap.

 

[DSM10000]

yeah I was thinking the same to be honest, another question please, if I was to get hold of an engine from a 265 bhp model, is it essentially the same engine and would it work? I guess I can change over some parts from mine if required to make it work if needed?


did have one locally but haven't been able to get in touch with him for quite some time


it's covered around 138k miles, and yeah I've tried turning the engine via the crank pulley bolt which is what essentially convinced me alright it must be seized, (since I was really hoping it isn't) I also removed the auxiliary belt and starter motor to double check, still no movement

could a gearbox / tc lock up stop an engine from moving or is that not possible?

Your engine ECU would probably have to match any replacement.

 

[Fayiz]

Your engine ECU would probably have to match any replacement.

according to my findings, seems like they use the same ecu, but not 100% sure, any idea?

 

[DSM10000]

according to my findings, seems like they use the same ecu, but not 100% sure, any idea?

Just for clarity.

The seized engine was 231 Hp?

I imagine that the ECU may be the same but I doubt the software is.

The 265 Hp engine, as well as producing more power and torque has significantly lower emissions so there must be other changes.

 

[Fayiz]

Just for clarity.

The seized engine was 231 Hp?

I imagine that the ECU may be the same but I doubt the software is.

The 265 Hp engine, as well as producing more power and torque has significantly lower emissions so there must be other changes.

yes correct, the seized engine is 231...

so would it be alot more complicated than let's say, plug and play? I'm not too bothered about like, the lower emissions and so on, which I guess might've been a different exhaust? just want something that works really, as car has been sat a while now

only reason I ask is because I've been offered an engine at such a price that's honestly hard to turn down, perhaps I can enquire about other certain parts too that I may need? if you know what they may be please

thanks

 

[DSM10000]

The lower emissions etc on the uprated engine would involve a lot more than just an exhaust change.

As said, find an MB specialist and get advice.

 

[MrGreedy]

Go with an exact swap.
My concern would be that if you do something other than a direct swap of like for like parts, it's not until you get elbows deep in strip down, do you discover there are loads of little bits and pieces that are not the same, and then sink a small fortune chasing you tail to get it back together.
Then you find the ECU is different, and you could be in a whole world of pain.

Time or a little bit more expense finding the correct engine will be well worth it in the long run. Maybe you can find a nice low miler with rear end damage?

And if you find out what went wrong, please let us know.
(E350 CDI owner here on 110k)

 

[ALFAitalia]

Me too!......231 horse version too......97,000 miles.

 

[tonysmb]

The 265bhp version had numerous internal differences; IIRC, the common rail fuel pressure was higher as well, so that would most likely mean that it's unlikely to be a simple swap

 

[DSM10000]

The 265bhp version had numerous internal differences; IIRC, the common rail fuel pressure was higher as well, so that would most likely mean that it's unlikely to be a simple swap

Also , I believe, different Turbocharger, injectors and camshafts?

These changes would also have required different software to accompany the hardware changes.

 

[Fayiz]

Go with an exact swap.
My concern would be that if you do something other than a direct swap of like for like parts, it's not until you get elbows deep in strip down, do you discover there are loads of little bits and pieces that are not the same, and then sink a small fortune chasing you tail to get it back together.
Then you find the ECU is different, and you could be in a whole world of pain.

Time or a little bit more expense finding the correct engine will be well worth it in the long run. Maybe you can find a nice low miler with rear end damage?

And if you find out what went wrong, please let us know.
(E350 CDI owner here on 110k)

Yeah to be honest I'd much rather go for an exact swap, will save the hassle

and sure if I manage to find out for sure, I will do, one thing I believe must've played a part was oil cooler failure, I was told my car has a minor oil leak but wasn't physically losing oil and was told nothing to worry about for now, but I've now noticed that my coolant is pretty dark, as in mixed with oil, which could suggest oil cooler failure, followed by lack of lubrication and an unfortunate failure.

lesson learnt.

Me too!......231 horse version too......97,000 miles.

generally they're pretty solid engines to be honest with you, was just gutted at the way mine cut out half a mile down the road with no odd noises and turned out to be the engine seized, car was running pretty well, but as mentioned above, I didn't notice the oil cooler failure, which must've contributed.

The 265bhp version had numerous internal differences; IIRC, the common rail fuel pressure was higher as well, so that would most likely mean that it's unlikely to be a simple swap

yeah I've heard so too, not really worth the hassle

Also , I believe, different Turbocharger, injectors and camshafts?

These changes would also have required different software to accompany the hardware changes.

yes correct, apparently different turbo, injectors, other internals, exhaust system and of course software