- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 10,981
- Location
- South Bucks
- Car
- CLS63 SB, ML63, CLK350 'Vert, Triumph Sprint (Bike not Dolly...),
Well, the ML 420 let me down today. Perhaps it knew it was being sold...
I took the buyer, who had come quite a way, for a test drive, and on the way back on the motorway gave it full wellie. Oh S**T!! What's all that bluish-white smoke? Clears when I ease off, smokes a little on the overrun, comes back with throttle, smokes a bit at idle. More throttle = more smoke. Full throttle = lots of smoke.
Got it home, gently undid the coolant filler cap, and there's lots of black engine oil under there. My first thought was that the buyer might be trying the old con trick of putting oil in the coolant, but there was a LOT of oil there, and both exhaust pipes were oily on the inside; they weren't before. I can't see any way that putting oil in the coolant could make the exhaust smoke like that.
I can't see it's going to be anything other than a head gasket failure. Does anybody think differently? I do hope (but not expect...) so.
I took the buyer, who had come quite a way, for a test drive, and on the way back on the motorway gave it full wellie. Oh S**T!! What's all that bluish-white smoke? Clears when I ease off, smokes a little on the overrun, comes back with throttle, smokes a bit at idle. More throttle = more smoke. Full throttle = lots of smoke.
Got it home, gently undid the coolant filler cap, and there's lots of black engine oil under there. My first thought was that the buyer might be trying the old con trick of putting oil in the coolant, but there was a LOT of oil there, and both exhaust pipes were oily on the inside; they weren't before. I can't see any way that putting oil in the coolant could make the exhaust smoke like that.
I can't see it's going to be anything other than a head gasket failure. Does anybody think differently? I do hope (but not expect...) so.
