E200 smoking - Help

[paddockpete]

I have a 94 E200 and it has started smoking badly.

You can start it up and it ticks over fine, but after a few miles of driving it starts to smoke on acceleration and get progressively worse. Is the engine completely knackered or could there be another explaination??

 

[JamieD]

Hiya,
could be one of several things. what colour is the smoke? do you have any coolant / oil loss? any overheating or power loss?

 

[paddockpete]

Smoking E200

Hi,

No obvious oil or coolant loss, nor are the two mixing. It isn't overheating and it is driving pretty normnally. Thesmoke is blue.

Thanks

 

[Ron Palfrey]

Blue smoke indicates oil burning. I assume you have serviced the car regularly and the oil and filter has been changed when due. How many miles since the last oil and filter change. Is it "using" a lot of oil? Is the oil level up to the mark on the dipstick?

If the oil level is too high, i.e. above the mark through overfilling this will cause blue smoke as excess oil is forced into the combustion chambers. If so let the excess oil out.

Assuming it has been properly serviced, if it has just started suddenly it could be a broken piston ring. This doesn't happen frequently in my experience though, and I would usually expect to hear some accompanying noise.

If it has come on gradually then it could well be general wear to the piston rings and bores. It could also be worn oil seals on the valves which go hard over time and allow oil to get into the combustion chamber via the valve guides.

To check for bore wear and/or oil seals, other than by a compression test, drive the car down a longish hill on the over-run, i.e. accelerator off, then if you accelerate firmly at the bottom of the hill it will smoke as it burns any build up of oil in the combustion chambers.

Ron

 

[Chippydad]

Hi,
Valve stem oil seals, Had mine done last year (260E e class 1990) Well worth the £130 i paid at a non dealership.