hello,
My father has a mercedes c200 cdi avant garde diesel auto. An incident occurred to it a little while ago.
Firstly, on occasion, the warning message 'too much oil' would come on, usually at speeds higher than 50 or 60, and disappear after slowing down. This warning had been appearing on and off for at least 6 months (at speeds > 50) . The thing is, theres no oil dip, and when you wait for the computer to tell you the level (engine off on level road), it said level was ok. So, stupidly or otherwise, I did not consider this a serious issue.
Secondly, I was driving it, very fast indeed. It may well have been around 110, but it may well have been a much slower, more sensible 70mph. Anyway, for some reason, (please dont ask
) sometimes when I drive and I'm on a bit of a hill, I occasionally slip the auto gear into neutral, let it roll, foot covering footbrake, then I slip it back into drive. A good friend of mine years ago told me that auto boxes are both robust and intelligent. He was a professional lorry driver, loved cars, and I have no reason to doubt him; especially so for a mercedes gearbox.
So, gas off, slipped it into neutral, coasted (at 110, or maybe 70 mph?) for about 10 seconds, slipped it back into drive (did not give it any gas before applying) and the engine cut out. I came to a halt some seconds later and the engine would not start for at least 2 minutes. When it did finally start, the engine sounded reall bad; literally like a handful nuts and bolts in a washing machine. I drove at no more than 50 to get it to a safe location.
The damage : new diesel particulate filter, one piston, one big end, one injector, a few other things. Gearbox seems ok. Since getting the car back, the engine occasionally died. After returning it two or three times, engine now loses coolant and needs to be topped up once every two or three days; and the engine management light remains on (indicative of DPF not generating, or something like that).
The cost to my father is around two thousand. Now the starter motor has just blown. Im worried that other things may start failing.
A friend at work googled around, and is confident that the cause was due to excessive oil pressure, which caused oil to be blown back and damage the DPF, among other things. Im trying to convince myself that it was driving at the ridiculous (or sensible) speed of 110 (or 70) which drove the already-too-much-oil pressure to be so high, and bang. However, I have a terrible fear that putting the gear in neutral, then back into drive without any gas, was the cause of the problem (or at least exhacerbated it).
I haven't told the old man or the mechanic about me mucking around with the gearbox. I'm 90% convinced that the gearbox tomfoolery has nowt to do with it so Im treating it as a need-to-know; but I'm not 100% sure. Plus im worried that other parts may start failing.
Big question is: Any guesses on cause, and should I mention the gearboxfoolery?
I know I was very, very stupid.
Thanks all.
Sad.
My father has a mercedes c200 cdi avant garde diesel auto. An incident occurred to it a little while ago.
Firstly, on occasion, the warning message 'too much oil' would come on, usually at speeds higher than 50 or 60, and disappear after slowing down. This warning had been appearing on and off for at least 6 months (at speeds > 50) . The thing is, theres no oil dip, and when you wait for the computer to tell you the level (engine off on level road), it said level was ok. So, stupidly or otherwise, I did not consider this a serious issue.
Secondly, I was driving it, very fast indeed. It may well have been around 110, but it may well have been a much slower, more sensible 70mph. Anyway, for some reason, (please dont ask
) sometimes when I drive and I'm on a bit of a hill, I occasionally slip the auto gear into neutral, let it roll, foot covering footbrake, then I slip it back into drive. A good friend of mine years ago told me that auto boxes are both robust and intelligent. He was a professional lorry driver, loved cars, and I have no reason to doubt him; especially so for a mercedes gearbox.So, gas off, slipped it into neutral, coasted (at 110, or maybe 70 mph?) for about 10 seconds, slipped it back into drive (did not give it any gas before applying) and the engine cut out. I came to a halt some seconds later and the engine would not start for at least 2 minutes. When it did finally start, the engine sounded reall bad; literally like a handful nuts and bolts in a washing machine. I drove at no more than 50 to get it to a safe location.
The damage : new diesel particulate filter, one piston, one big end, one injector, a few other things. Gearbox seems ok. Since getting the car back, the engine occasionally died. After returning it two or three times, engine now loses coolant and needs to be topped up once every two or three days; and the engine management light remains on (indicative of DPF not generating, or something like that).
The cost to my father is around two thousand. Now the starter motor has just blown. Im worried that other things may start failing.
A friend at work googled around, and is confident that the cause was due to excessive oil pressure, which caused oil to be blown back and damage the DPF, among other things. Im trying to convince myself that it was driving at the ridiculous (or sensible) speed of 110 (or 70) which drove the already-too-much-oil pressure to be so high, and bang. However, I have a terrible fear that putting the gear in neutral, then back into drive without any gas, was the cause of the problem (or at least exhacerbated it).
I haven't told the old man or the mechanic about me mucking around with the gearbox. I'm 90% convinced that the gearbox tomfoolery has nowt to do with it so Im treating it as a need-to-know; but I'm not 100% sure. Plus im worried that other parts may start failing.
Big question is: Any guesses on cause, and should I mention the gearboxfoolery?
I know I was very, very stupid.
Thanks all.
Sad.
haha.
