Engine oil sludge

[pulledup]

Iv'e a W203 c200k (1.8).

Car driving fine until on the motorway today when it started to have
engine vibrations and suffered a loss of power. The engine management light came on also. It continued to drive but there wasnt the proper power and clearly was not right.

I pulled into a lay by and put the car into neutral but the engine was vibrating badly. I called a Merc garage and boy told me to stop engine, get out, lock and then get back into car. I did so and started it and all was smooth again albeit with the engine management light still on.

I drove the car to the Merc garage and on opening the oil cap you could see the problem. The oil was like a gunge. Boy tells me the wrong oil had been put in and and this is what happens with this engine. He plugged in into the computer and this confirmed what he said.

He says even a total flush and new oil will only be a temporary solution beacuse it will be impossible to remove all the contamination. He believes that the engine is now on the way out and eventually the timing chain will go.

Has anyone had a similar experience ? I'm just seeking other opinions to see if in fact this is likely to happen or has happened to anyone else. If so how long can the engine be expected to last ?

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated, thanks.

 

[momomo]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Firstly who changed the oil on the car last? You need to find out what oil was used and if it was indeed the incorrect oil.

 

[pulledup]

I bought the car off a dealer and included in the price was a full service inc. an oil change. The mechanic today says it supposed to be the synthetic (0-30 i think he said) and he say it was likely just the ordinary 10/40 put into it and that has likely caused the problem.

Sorry just on a different matter, where do I stand with buying it from a dealer ? Do I have any legal rights for him to sort this or give me my money back. I bought the car at the end of May. (Just over 4 months ago)

 

[jaymanek]

That doesnt sound at all right to me. using 10w40 will not result in these problems. Id guess that the car wasnt serviced and you simply have old oil in there.

The computer can in no way tell you that the wrong oil was used.

And a flush followed by the correct oil will be more than fine.

I think your actual problem will be down to something else. A common problem is valve seat failure on these engines.

 

[momomo]

...

 

[pulledup]

Thanks for that. So you think that a flush followed by new oil might actually be fine and the engine might actually be ok ?

And if it is valve seat problems, how can that be checked and what is the story with fixing that. Is it a matter of just replacing them or is the problem likely to be a terminal one ?

Im a complete novice when it comes to these matters so thanks for everyone's patience.

 

[BlackC55]

Iv'e a W203 c200k (1.8).

Car driving fine until on the motorway today when it started to have
engine vibrations and suffered a loss of power. The engine management light came on also. It continued to drive but there wasnt the proper power and clearly was not right.

I pulled into a lay by and put the car into neutral but the engine was vibrating badly. I called a Merc garage and boy told me to stop engine, get out, lock and then get back into car. I did so and started it and all was smooth again albeit with the engine management light still on.

I drove the car to the Merc garage and on opening the oil cap you could see the problem. The oil was like a gunge. Boy tells me the wrong oil had been put in and and this is what happens with this engine. He plugged in into the computer and this confirmed what he said.

He says even a total flush and new oil will only be a temporary solution beacuse it will be impossible to remove all the contamination. He believes that the engine is now on the way out and eventually the timing chain will go.

Has anyone had a similar experience ? I'm just seeking other opinions to see if in fact this is likely to happen or has happened to anyone else. If so how long can the engine be expected to last ?

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated, thanks.

Get a second opinion. This seems a little far fetched.

 

[jaymanek]

The oil needs to be changed so just do this. Then you need to tell us exactly what came up when the codes were read as I can assure you the computer did not say "I dont like the oil I have in me".

We can then go from there.

I am only guessing with the valve seats, it could be one of many things.

If it does turn out to be the valve seats then its no small job as the head has to be removed and reconditioned.

 

[pulledup]

Ok thanks. Ill get the oil changed tomorrow. To be fair, when he plugged the computer in he didnt actually tell me what the codes where or what they suggested. He just said he thought it was due to incorrect oil. Ill get him to see exactly what codes are coming up, although now the engine management light is now out. I assume he reset it.

How can the cause of this be determined ? Will I get him to do a compression test to see if there is some problem there ? Or will the codes give an indication of the cause of the problem ? Obviously I dont want to continue to drive the car if it is causing more damage and something is causing this oil to go like this.

 

[jaymanek]

A compression test will quickly rule out any valve issues so worth doing.

I wouldnt worry too much until you have the problem again or until the light comes back on.

 

[pulledup]

Anyone know which oil I should insist on for this change ? Is 0w30 the best to go for ?

 

[jaymanek]

0w-30, 5w-30, 5w-40 fully synthetic all ok for yours IIRC.

Just ensure it meets MB Spec 229.1, assuming your car is a W203?

 

[pulledup]

It is a W203 yeah. Says in the manual 229.3 or 229.5 spec. oil.

Thanks again.

 

[Bellow]

Consider keeping a small amount of the oil for analysis. If problems persist, you can then ascertain any wear metals in the oil, indicating where the problem may be.

 

[jaymanek]

229.3 is fine.

 

[Insain]

i have the same car and the correct oil is 10w/40