HelP!!! W163: Engine shut down in the middle of the road, wouldn't start up again..but finally did!

[DSM10000]

Not on this car. I'll look into getting one. Still too much on my head with this..

I don't think that you can take out breakdown cover and then use it to move a car that has already broken down your road
There is usually a period where that part of the cover doesn't apply.

 

[DexterML]

If you don't mind us asking, how much was the car?

I don't mind at all. about £700, with an additional £400 on repairs so far, most of it the 2 calipers as you can imagine. Not a hell of a lot of money, that is why I was thinking maybe I'll pay for the welding to be done, if it proves to be an honest 'worker'. The car had only 93500 miles on the clock. and had had the same owner since 2007...

I mean i know I didn't pay 3k for it, but I am not debating the money.. just the mechanics of the thing. I hope I am not unreasonable. I do appreciate everyone's input so far.

 

[DexterML]

I don't think that you can take out breakdown cover and then use it to move a car that has already broken down your road
There is usually a period where that part of the cover doesn't apply.

True, didn't think of that.

 

[ChipChop]

Early ML's use a body on frame or chassis construction. They are not a monocoque. My understanding is it is rare for the chassis to rust as it is quite a burly construction. As the suspension is mounted to the frame any rust on the body is not structural and will not be an mot fail. Might pay to have the car mot'd before you pay for welding that may not be required.

 

[DexterML]

Early ML's use a body on frame or chassis construction. They are not a monocoque. My understanding is it is rare for the chassis to rust as it is quite a burly construction. As the suspension is mounted to the frame any rust on the body is not structural and will not be an mot fail. Might pay to have the car mot'd before you pay for welding that may not be required.

View attachment 124153

Hello ChipChop

I will most definitely look into that. I am pessimistic however as my mechanic clearly said, the front chassis , both left and right, is heavily corroded. I'll try to wiggle under the car and have a look at the chassis myself to better gauge if the frame is corroded.
This potentially changes things! Thank you for that. Mine is a 2001, is it still on the early model spectrum where the body is mounted on the frame you think?

thank you for that

Another thing...

so does the ML have 2 fuel pumps, one in the tank and one belt driven (the High pressure one) on the engine? I am only asking because I couldn't find a fuse for the fuel pump....

 

[ChipChop]

Hello ChipChop

I will most definitely look into that. I am pessimistic however as my mechanic clearly said, the front chassis , both left and right, is heavily corroded. I'll try to wiggle under the car and have a look at the chassis myself to better gauge if the frame is corroded.
This potentially changes things! Thank you for that. Mine is a 2001, is it still on the early model spectrum where the body is mounted on the frame you think?




thank you for that

Yes your 2001 ml 270 cdi is a body mounted on a seperate chassis design. All of the w163 from 1997 to 2004 were. The later w164 ML's were monocoques.

Maybe ask your mechanic to check if it is the chassis that is 'heavily corroded' or the body. There is a reason you still see so many tatty old ML's for sale and that is because the chassis resists rust well but the body does not. Hence MOT pass.

Best of luck. The om612 engine in your ML is a great diesel engine. No dpf. A crankshaft position sensor would probably fix your cutting out issues.

EDIT- The HP pump is driven by the camshaft/ timing gear at the front of the engine not a belt. Not sure if there is a lift pump in the tank.

 

[DexterML]

Yes your 2001 ml 270 cdi is a body mounted on a seperate chassis design. All of the w163 from 1997 to 2004 were. The later w164 ML's were monocoques.

Maybe ask your mechanic to check if it is the chassis that is 'heavily corroded' or the body. There is a reason you still see so many tatty old ML's still for sale and that is beacause the chassis resists rust well but the body does not. Hence MOT pass.

Best of luck. The om612 engine in your ML is a great diesel engine. No dpf. A crankshaft position sensor would probably fix your cutting out issues.

Thank you ChipChop... this is actually a very hopeful bit of information ! I won't get my hopes up, but it is something to look into.

many thanks

 

[Fastcar155]

Scrap it

Hello all

W163 2001 2.7 CDI ...as per the title, the engine just died as I was accelerating out of a roundabout. It refused to fire up again. It eventually fired up again after about 30 minutes and has been starting ever since. (half tank, not quarter in)

This is serious, I don't trust the car. This was after I returned from the repair shop having new calipers fitted and sorting out the Coolant leak.
Although the news were grim, massive corrosion underneath, All brake lines, both rear sills, O/S/F sill corroded, Front chassis heavily corroded. - I still don't know how the car went through an MOT last October, I mean this is beyond my brain's capacity to comprehend- I was pleased I could finally drive it. As I was driving it around, and as I was coming out of a roundabout, it died. It just died. It wan't the battery, as it kept trying to start it. I looked both online and on the fuse boxes to find the fuse for the fuel pump, but I couldn't find one.
Didn't matter, because as the car was on the flatbed, I tried once more, I don't know why, and it fired up. It has been firing up ever since.
Then the key wouldn't come out of the ignition cylinder.... had to try starting the car about 10 times before it released it.

Also during the drive, the anti spin triangle came on, after a left turn and I guess was trying to do something with the brakes...not sure because I could hear something happening, but it didn't affect the speed of the car.
After that the BAS/ESP light came on, which was on when I got the car, but had been off for a few days ( i wasn't driving the car, I was just starting it, to keep the battery level up)

I mean it is really dangerous having the car just dying on you while you are driving and you are in the middle of the road.
Has anyone got any ideas before I just scrap this Frankenstein car ?


2001 ML270 93500 miles
coolant warning light..................................... fixed
Coolant leak.........................................................fixed
Radio not on......................................................fixed
Lamella sunroof not fully opening (opened twice, small gray plastic bit broke off, not it wont' fully open, erratic operation)
BAS ESP light on (resetting, removing K25 etc, doesn't do anything for it)
Massive water leak, entire floor is soaking wet, even the glove box (!!?).
Driver's lock doesn't turn................................................................................................................fixed
Seat controls don't work
Brake switch maybe on the way out
FOBs don't lock/unlock (new batteries) ................................................................................(fixed, one works now, the second starts the car, but won't synch)
Brake discs need replacing all around
Front calipers seized.......................................................................................................................fixed
bonnet struts broken (ordered)
Boot struts broken.........................................................................................................................fixed
running board only on one side
broken front bumper (AMG style ?)
Rust around tailgate handle
Rust under the doors.
o/s/f lower ball joint needs replacing
o/s/f rack gaiter needs replacing
All brake lines corroded
Both rear sills corroded
0/s/f sill corroded
Front chassis o/s and n/s heavily corroded.
faded bonnet
rear bumper off its clips
rear wiper jet not working

Hi , regarding the car cutting out I had a Mazda Xedos 6 that had the same issue as your car.It took Mazda UK couple of days to find the problem , blocked fuel filter in the fuel tank.

Did the garage fit the brake parts and tell you the car was bag of

 

[DexterML]

Hi , regarding the car cutting out I had a Mazda Xedos 6 that had the same issue as your car.It took Mazda UK couple of days to find the problem , blocked fuel filter in the fuel tank.

Did the garage fit the brake parts and tell you the car was bag of

I will change both the fuel filter and the crankshaft position sensor as these are relatively cheap and I don't mind doing them, and I will take it from there.

No, the garage did not fit the brakes and then tell me the car was c%$p... the mechanic (who is brilliant by the way) asked me what to do after inspecting the car.
I told him to proceed with the new calipers as I really wanted and needed to have this car up and running. As I mentioned above, my thoughts were that if the car proves itself to be a decent worker in the next few months, I would consider doing the welding necessary to keep it. That is what I explained to my mechanic. His advice from the moment he carried out the inspection was to just scrap the car or get rid of it in any way possible. But even he didn't expect the engine to die on me like that. I called him straight after the engine cut out for advice.
The man is brilliant, hands down.

 

[neilrr]

Hello neilrr

Is this an actual thing? I mean the link you posted is real, I just couldn't tell if you were serious about it.

It's an actual thing, I'm being serious. Loads of people (even some on here) run cars on biodiesel or waste veg oil (WVO). Your car is exactly the kind of MOT'd banger many Biopowered - vegetable oil and biodiesel forum - Index users look for. With 6 or 7 mths MOT left someone will take a chance for a few hundred quid.

 

[ChipChop]

It's an actual thing, I'm being serious. Loads of people (even some on here) run cars on biodiesel or waste veg oil (WVO). Your car is exactly the kind of MOT'd banger many Biopowered - vegetable oil and biodiesel forum - Index users look for. With 6 or 7 mths MOT left someone will take a chance for a few hundred quid.

Sadly the om612 common rail diesel engine in a ML 270 CDI would not take kindly to using alternative fuels such as biodiesel or vegetable oil.

Pre CDI Mercedes indirect injection diesel engines are the ones needed for that. Last of those cars were the Bosch pumped diesel w202 c classes and pre facelift w210 e classes.

 

[neilrr]

ChipChop,

Have you experience making biodiesel & running vehicles on it?

 

[ChipChop]

ChipChop,

Have you experience making biodiesel & running vehicles on it?

Just veg oil. Straight from the supermarket shelves to the tank of my 190d. £1 a litre at Sainsburys. Been that price for a long time now.

 

[Stratman]

^^^^How much for a 25L drum from Costco or a cash and carry?

 

[ChipChop]

^^^^How much for a 25L drum from Costco or a cash and carry?

Never used Costco Stratman but probably cheaper than £1 a litre. Processed (cleaned) waste veg oil can be as low as 30 something pence per litre.

 

[Spider10]

Cheap as chips to run ,I had it for a year

 

[Ted]

WVO, cheap as chips!!

 

[ChipChop]

Cheap as chips to run ,I had it for a year

Looks fun. What diesel engine was in your 'Lotus 7' type car?

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , a friend of mine had an Austin Gypsey with a 4 litre Rolls Royce engine .

The engine would run on anything but was a little difficult to start.

I am talking over 50 years ago but he could only drive the car at night , the smoke it made was similar to a second world war destroyer making smoke , and sometimes it smelt like chips

 

[Spider10]

Looks fun. What diesel engine was in your 'Lotus 7' type car?

1.8 TDI out of a mondeo TBH it was good fun and only £100 to insure it's now got a rover v8 init (after I sold it)