Hi, I have to confess, and apologise, that I have joined this forum in order to pick your collective brains as I have a real problem with my S280 and a number of mechanics have had to admit defeat. I have a 2005 W220 S class, petrol with an LPG conversion kit fitted, 98k miles.
I bought the car privately in September 2017 and it has driven like a dream until recently. One morning I started the car and noticed a huge plume of white / blueish smoke from the exhaust. The smoke stopped on driving but over the next few days things deteriorated, I started to notice a slight misfire then, intermittently the car emitted massive amounts of white / blue smoke, only for a second, but enough to make cars behind change lane in order to see where they were going ! I made an appointment with a local garage but on the way the car lost power, started to vibrate and produced a lot of smoke again. A diagnostic showed a misfire on no 2 and 5 cylinder, so the coil packs were replaced as was the air filter. On idle the car was then showing no faults, and drove fine for about 6 or 7 miles when the exact symptoms reoccurred. The mechanic recommended a local Merc specialist who had the car for the day but reported that they couldn’t find no fault with it !
The car continued to drive okay but I noticed that the smoke continued to be produced on acceleration after slowing down, taking a bend or negotiating a roundabout. That may sound nuts but it can’t be a coincidence as I could almost predict where it would happen on my regular routes. The car also started to use oil at a ridiculous rate, requesting a litre of oil after about 80/100 miles
I put the car in a different garage who did a compression test, and a ‘leak down’ test. I was told that the results were fine, all cylinders showing around 190/ 200, and all pretty much equal. The guy checked the bores and told me they appeared normal also. The guys at the garage said the smoke did have a smell of oil but that it was combined with a smell they did not recognise and had not smelled before. They even asked two mechanics from a rival garage nearby to smell the exhaust fumes and they were equally stumped. I was advised that the car had not been well maintained before I bought it and that the plugs were heavily coated in carbonised oil and the leads were in poor condition, all of which was identified during the compression test. They used flushing oil and changed all plugs and plug leads hoping that may solve the issue. After running the car on idle for 30 mins and a quick test drive, they reported that the car still smoked on start up but not when driven. I collected the car but after 20 mins the same issue repeated itself in exactly the same circumstances but was now lacking any real power. Once I arrived home I tried to rev the engine but even with my foot to the floor it would not go past 4000 revs.
As stated the car is drinking oil, but there are no obvious leaks on the driveway, it is not overheating, and is not losing coolant. I rang the mechanic and he simply said he did not know what the problem was.
The car itself is in fantastic condition ( engine aside)and I’d hoped to keep it for several years so I am reluctant to scrap it even though I only paid £2.5 k for it but none of the pros seem to be able to tell me what the problem is.
Can anyone help ?
Apologies for such a lengthy post but I thought if I am seeking your help then I should provide as much info as possible.
Thanks for your interest.
Regards
Alan
I bought the car privately in September 2017 and it has driven like a dream until recently. One morning I started the car and noticed a huge plume of white / blueish smoke from the exhaust. The smoke stopped on driving but over the next few days things deteriorated, I started to notice a slight misfire then, intermittently the car emitted massive amounts of white / blue smoke, only for a second, but enough to make cars behind change lane in order to see where they were going ! I made an appointment with a local garage but on the way the car lost power, started to vibrate and produced a lot of smoke again. A diagnostic showed a misfire on no 2 and 5 cylinder, so the coil packs were replaced as was the air filter. On idle the car was then showing no faults, and drove fine for about 6 or 7 miles when the exact symptoms reoccurred. The mechanic recommended a local Merc specialist who had the car for the day but reported that they couldn’t find no fault with it !
The car continued to drive okay but I noticed that the smoke continued to be produced on acceleration after slowing down, taking a bend or negotiating a roundabout. That may sound nuts but it can’t be a coincidence as I could almost predict where it would happen on my regular routes. The car also started to use oil at a ridiculous rate, requesting a litre of oil after about 80/100 miles
I put the car in a different garage who did a compression test, and a ‘leak down’ test. I was told that the results were fine, all cylinders showing around 190/ 200, and all pretty much equal. The guy checked the bores and told me they appeared normal also. The guys at the garage said the smoke did have a smell of oil but that it was combined with a smell they did not recognise and had not smelled before. They even asked two mechanics from a rival garage nearby to smell the exhaust fumes and they were equally stumped. I was advised that the car had not been well maintained before I bought it and that the plugs were heavily coated in carbonised oil and the leads were in poor condition, all of which was identified during the compression test. They used flushing oil and changed all plugs and plug leads hoping that may solve the issue. After running the car on idle for 30 mins and a quick test drive, they reported that the car still smoked on start up but not when driven. I collected the car but after 20 mins the same issue repeated itself in exactly the same circumstances but was now lacking any real power. Once I arrived home I tried to rev the engine but even with my foot to the floor it would not go past 4000 revs.
As stated the car is drinking oil, but there are no obvious leaks on the driveway, it is not overheating, and is not losing coolant. I rang the mechanic and he simply said he did not know what the problem was.
The car itself is in fantastic condition ( engine aside)and I’d hoped to keep it for several years so I am reluctant to scrap it even though I only paid £2.5 k for it but none of the pros seem to be able to tell me what the problem is.
Can anyone help ?
Apologies for such a lengthy post but I thought if I am seeking your help then I should provide as much info as possible.
Thanks for your interest.
Regards
Alan