And the problem was?????

turbopete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
14,209
Reaction score
331
Age
48
Location
Spennymoor
Your Mercedes
2017 '17' Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi ST Line X 180 (sorry)
correct if you guessed theres no compression. BEST cylinder has 300 psi pressure. rest go downwards to as low as 150 psi. :(

no idea where to go from here. cant afford another car, cant afford to fix this one at the prices ive had so far. i really like this car too, thats the annoying thing. im gutted :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
 

roadhog

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2
Location
Sunny Norfolk
Your Mercedes
W124 300D x2, C124 300
*knows how a vulture feels* :shock:

Hi TP, that's bad news. Any idea where it's losing the compression? Valves? Rings? I'm guessing it was on a cold engine?
 
OP
turbopete

turbopete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
14,209
Reaction score
331
Age
48
Location
Spennymoor
Your Mercedes
2017 '17' Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi ST Line X 180 (sorry)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
tested cold, yes. they didnt do a leak check, but the car has only used 1.5 litres of oil in 12k miles, so id guess its not rings. the garage says theyd not just do the top end if possible though as the bottom should be worn at the same rate. cant decide what to do for the best. rebuild it? 2nd hand engine? re-con engine? get rid? either way its gonna cost me a fortune that i dont really have!
 

roadhog

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2
Location
Sunny Norfolk
Your Mercedes
W124 300D x2, C124 300
Assuming the bottom end is OK, getting the head reworked shouldn't be too expensive. I had an RS2k 16v head overhauled and including gas flowing it was something like £275, was a few years ago though.

Get the head off, have a look at the bores, do a leak test on the rings then call me. I'll get a trailer sorted in the meantime. :D
 

television

Always remembered RIP
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
164,073
Reaction score
367
Age
89
Location
Daventry
Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
I thought that these things went for many miles
 

carloss

Banned
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
587
Reaction score
1
Your Mercedes
jaguar xk
Can you excuse my stupidity but i never thought that oil burners had 300psi

per cylinder
 

djb

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
245
Reaction score
1
Location
uk
tested cold, yes. they didnt do a leak check, but the car has only used 1.5 litres of oil in 12k miles, so id guess its not rings. the garage says theyd not just do the top end if possible though as the bottom should be worn at the same rate. cant decide what to do for the best. rebuild it? 2nd hand engine? re-con engine? get rid? either way its gonna cost me a fortune that i dont really have!

I would go with your thoughts re bottom end.

How much would crew engines charge for a exchange head? or dronsfield for a second hand one?
 
OP
turbopete

turbopete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
14,209
Reaction score
331
Age
48
Location
Spennymoor
Your Mercedes
2017 '17' Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi ST Line X 180 (sorry)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
I thought that these things went for many miles

so did i!

Can you excuse my stupidity but i never thought that oil burners had 300psi

per cylinder

diesels run far higher compression pressures than petrols. they rely on compression for them to fire!

I would go with your thoughts re bottom end.

How much would crew engines charge for a exchange head? or dronsfield for a second hand one?

thats something i will have to look into when time allows. worst part is, unless something changes during the week, im out of work on friday :(:(
 

meanie

Senior Member
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
581
Reaction score
0
Location
Oxon
correct if you guessed theres no compression. BEST cylinder has 300 psi pressure. rest go downwards to as low as 150 psi. :(

no idea where to go from here. cant afford another car, cant afford to fix this one at the prices ive had so far. i really like this car too, thats the annoying thing. im gutted :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

I think I read somewhere that you have some mechanical experience.
So why not give the job a go youself. As it stands, the car is pretty much scrap anyway so you have nothing to lose. And there are plenty of good lads here to point you in the right direction.
 

rich.g.williams

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
753
Reaction score
180
Location
Cardiff, South Wales
Your Mercedes
C200 Kompressor Coupe 2003
excuse my lack of knowledge on this however you say oil consumption is low therefore piston wear is unlikely

that leaves badly seated (or burnt) valves or valve stem seals (if there are any age is a factor for seals)

reseating valves and replacing valve stem seals on a small 8 valve engine is not hard, not sure about doing a 16 valve diesel

is there a way to prove what's causing compression loss in each cylinder?
 

Dosco

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
3,942
Reaction score
5
Age
83
Your Mercedes
W211
Wow TP life is delivering you some challenges at present, I would not buy a Duck if I were you in case it sinks.;)

On a more serious note the suggestion for having a go for yourself would seem to be a good solution at least you could pace the repair to suit the 'pocket' I guess the downer for that is space to work and of course the tools to do the job. Getting a motor from a breaker might be okay but you could of course end up in the same stew - unless of course you had confidence in its heritage.

If I lived nearer I would willingly give you a hand, having trodden your path in the past I do know how much of downer this lot can be - onwards and upwards young man and 'nil carborundum'
 

Silver_Star

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
2,302
Reaction score
14
Location
Rural Leicestershire near where Pork Pies and Stil
Your Mercedes
W203.006, S211.208 Land Rover 90
It is strange that this has happened at such low mileage. I wonder if previous owners may have been running on WVO/SVO?

If I were in your shoes I think I would give the DIY route a go, just get a specialist to rebuild the head. That is what I did when the cambelt snapped on my girlfriends Astra. I just stripped the head down, sent it away to be dipped, skimmed, pressure tested and 16x new valves and seats cut. It cost just shy of £200 to have this done. It was a company on eBay I used something along the lines of head.first I think they were called.

You have nothing to loose by DIY removing the head yourself and taking a rain check.
 

roadhog

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2
Location
Sunny Norfolk
Your Mercedes
W124 300D x2, C124 300
Can you all please stop encouraging TP to DIY this, I have plans for that car and I need it fixed properly! :lol:

PS: Don't tell him... :D
 

Dosco

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
3,942
Reaction score
5
Age
83
Your Mercedes
W211
Can you all please stop encouraging TP to DIY this, I have plans for that car and I need it fixed properly! :lol:

PS: Don't tell him... :D

Have no fear cos when he says "okay I will give it a whirl2 THEN the 5th columnist will start to work on him and he will drop it like a hot spud-u-like hey presto you get a reel cheep deel. By the way the fund is coming along nicely and when me and the present are back from our world cruise I will hand him whats left which he can use to pay his fare back after delivering the motor to your goodself:cool:
 

roadhog

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2
Location
Sunny Norfolk
Your Mercedes
W124 300D x2, C124 300
There was me all prepared to collect but if he wants to deliver it I'm not going to stop him. :D
 

simon_wall69

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
502
Reaction score
1
Location
Stone, Staffordshire
I would be very surprised if there was bottom end damage, never, ever heard of it on one of these. The multivalves do go flat in time and valve seat recession happens eventually on these engines. If you wonder about where compression has lost, you should be pretty confident it is this. I would be prepared to wager as well that it is #5 and #6 cylinder that pressure is down; it does happen.

Surely, the car is still driveable just down on power, so all is not doom! Why don't you give it time and do the valve seats or replace the car when you can afford it or diy it when you have time?
 

Dosco

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
3,942
Reaction score
5
Age
83
Your Mercedes
W211
Talk about kicking a man while he is down ;) :D

So what are these plans then?

...In strict confidence and without prejudice, nudge & a wink etc Roadhog is after his car but here is the clever bit TP will put it right first drive it to RH and then thank him for taking it off his hands. Mean while I am running a masterly or as some might say a dastardly plan of raising money to support TP's effort to repair the car, on a reasonable 90% commission of course.

So keep quiet about it we don't want him getting wind of the master plan it really needs to be a surprise:rolleyes::shock:
 
OP
turbopete

turbopete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
14,209
Reaction score
331
Age
48
Location
Spennymoor
Your Mercedes
2017 '17' Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi ST Line X 180 (sorry)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #19
I think I read somewhere that you have some mechanical experience.
So why not give the job a go youself. As it stands, the car is pretty much scrap anyway so you have nothing to lose. And there are plenty of good lads here to point you in the right direction.

i may have to do this! and you are right, im ford trained. mercs are another planet in comparison though!

excuse my lack of knowledge on this however you say oil consumption is low therefore piston wear is unlikely

that leaves badly seated (or burnt) valves or valve stem seals (if there are any age is a factor for seals)

reseating valves and replacing valve stem seals on a small 8 valve engine is not hard, not sure about doing a 16 valve diesel

is there a way to prove what's causing compression loss in each cylinder?

its a 24 valve engine. you can get a leak check that blows compressed air into the cylinders when on the firing stroke and air escapes to the crankcase if rings are a problem,and the manifolds if its valves. problem is i dont know anyone with one that fits a diesel engine

It is strange that this has happened at such low mileage. I wonder if previous owners may have been running on WVO/SVO?

If I were in your shoes I think I would give the DIY route a go, just get a specialist to rebuild the head. That is what I did when the cambelt snapped on my girlfriends Astra. I just stripped the head down, sent it away to be dipped, skimmed, pressure tested and 16x new valves and seats cut. It cost just shy of £200 to have this done. It was a company on eBay I used something along the lines of head.first I think they were called.

You have nothing to loose by DIY removing the head yourself and taking a rain check.

i suppose it could be reassembled if there was a big problem and driven to where i could get the engine replaced. as for previous owners running bad fuel, i dont know. but the clear plastic fel lines that i replaced were a murky redish brown colour before i changed them, so WVO is a strong probability!

I would be very surprised if there was bottom end damage, never, ever heard of it on one of these. The multivalves do go flat in time and valve seat recession happens eventually on these engines. If you wonder about where compression has lost, you should be pretty confident it is this. I would be prepared to wager as well that it is #5 and #6 cylinder that pressure is down; it does happen.

Surely, the car is still driveable just down on power, so all is not doom! Why don't you give it time and do the valve seats or replace the car when you can afford it or diy it when you have time?

its not so much the power as the poor starting when hot. i plan to continue using it for now, until time allows me to have a look inside. as far as i was told, all cylinders except one, dont know which, was below the minimum 300 psi spec.
 

rich.g.williams

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
753
Reaction score
180
Location
Cardiff, South Wales
Your Mercedes
C200 Kompressor Coupe 2003
are you sure the poor starting when hot is caused by low compression? maybe its an air leak or something

as long as one or two cylinders are good enough to fire the engine should be off, single cylinder diesel engines can be incredibly easy to start
 

AIB understand your special Mercedes deserves a special insurance policy. We have a refreshing attitude to insuring high performance, modified, imported or classic and vintage cars and deal with the UK’s leading insurers. We offer discounts for length of ownership, where the vehicle is kept overnight and limiting the mileage and can also cater for those clients who need higher mileage and business use. To obtain a quotation please call the team on 02380 268351 or visit us atAIB Insurance
Top Bottom