Engine failure??

[Migg]

Dear all,

My 2010 R350cdi with 100k on the clock and always well maintained has badly let me down on a French motorway last week.
A faint noise coming from the engine at 70mph grew to the point where I decided to leave the motorway. With the car idling at the toll booth, the engine made squeaking and serious knocking noises.
The rescue guy said that it sounded like a broken piston rod, which meant an engine replacement!!
No warning light on the dash, no signs of oil/ water loss; I had checked levels before embarking on the journey.
How is this possible on an engine like the OM642 and it's reputation for reliability??
Has anyone heard of similar stories?
I look forward to hearing your points of view.

 

[whitenemesis]

The rescue guy said that it sounded like a broken piston rod, which meant an engine replacement!!

Has that diagnosis been confirmed?

 

[Migg]

Hi,
No, not technically, but the engine does sound really dodgy!

 

[whitenemesis]

Is it still running?

 

[BTB 500]

How is this possible on an engine like the OM642 and it's reputation for reliability??

You can be unlucky with any engine. There are probably millions of OM642s out there across the dozens of models that have used it (including Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge vehicles), so some are bound to break. I had the exhaust manifold liners delaminate on mine at 93k miles, taking out the turbo. This is a known issue with the engine, but still relatively rare.

 

[DSM10000]

There is an Aviation version of the OM642 so it must have a reasonable design integrity

As said , any engine can fail at any time regardless of how well maintained.

 

[DSM10000]

Hi,
No, not technically, but the engine does sound really dodgy!

Is the car still in France? Has it been inspected?

 

[mersum1es]

Frontmost crank shaft bearing slipped off? Common 'understructure' failure in OM651, much more rare in OM642 but remember reading few.

 

[Migg]

Is it still running?

I could start it up after turning it off, and it seemed to be able to idle without stopping.

 

[Migg]

Is the car still in France? Has it been inspected?

It's been collected today, back home on Friday. No, it hasn't yet been formally inspected.

 

[Migg]

Frontmost crank shaft bearing slipped off? Common 'understructure' failure in OM651, much more rare in OM642 but remember reading few.

Ok, is it a catastrophic failure?

 

[mersum1es]

Ok, is it a catastrophic failure?

Not sure, never read so throughfully those stories... also might depend how early it is catched. But of course lotsa labor time... of course verything is repairable, depends how much you are willing to pay. But I guess you need to get it diagnosed. Let's add broken injector to check list, after piston movement and compression is tested. And that turbo (broken by manifold debris)

 

[Migg]

Not sure, never read so throughfully those stories... also might depend how early it is catched. But of course lotsa labor time... of course verything is repairable, depends how much you are willing to pay. But I guess you need to get it diagnosed. Let's add broken injector to check list, after piston movement and compression is tested. And that turbo (broken by manifold debris)

Ok, I guess the next step is to get an expert assessment of the issue.
I'll keep you guys posted, thank you for your comments and reactions.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Very sorry to hear this . Until the engine has been inspected by someone who knows what they are looking at it's just a guessing game . If nothing is obviously visible from the outside it would be injectors out and a borescope look inside at the pistons/valves etc.

I would suggest not trying to start the engine .

Best of luck , keep us informed.

 

[johnsco]

Referring to Post #1 ...
If it was a broken piston rod, I would expect it to sound much worse than that.
These are very robust engines.
With a bit of luck it may not be anything too serious.
Good luck.

 

[BTB 500]

I do remember Olly (PCS) talking about OM642 crankshaft bearing failures here. Unfortunately the search tool isn't working at the moment

 

[Migg]

Referring to Post #1 ...
If it was a broken piston rod, I would expect it to sound much worse than that.
These are very robust engines.
With a bit of luck it may not be anything too serious.
Good luck.

Thanks for trying to be reassuring, the engine did sound quite bad. What do you mean by sounding much worse? It is difficult to describe with words, but is squeaked and knocked quite loudly.

 

[Migg]

I do remember Olly (PCS) talking about OM642 crankshaft bearing failures here. Unfortunately the search tool isn't working at the moment

Ok, what would that do, in terms of noise and damage?

 

[KennyN]

Ok, what would that do, in terms of noise and damage?

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[johnsco]

Thanks for trying to be reassuring, the engine did sound quite bad. What do you mean by sounding much worse? It is difficult to describe with words, but is squeaked and knocked quite loudly.

I have seen two engines with a broken rod.
In one of them the rod crashed out thru the side of the crank-case.
In the other, the rod snapped and the two ends proceeded to smash into each other and broke the crank-pin.
If you have a broken rod or lose your big-end cap, you'll sure know about it.