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GregW

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So there I was doing 70 on the M25 coming back from the in-laws Christmas Day when the engine started to rev its brains out...rev counter hard to the right, lots of smoke....got to the hard shoulder took the key out, got out and stood and watched while it just revved and billowed out smoke, then a hose went and all the coolant drained onto the hard shoulder, eventually the engine died.

AA took us home and the car hasn't moved since...
 

Naraic

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But, apart from that, the car's ok.
 

LostKiwi

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Not good. Killed itself burning its own oil....
 
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GregW

GregW

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Hmm...turbo was replaced about 20 months ago...
 

John Laidlaw

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Diesel engine runaway...quite rare
 

ernieh

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Hmm...turbo was replaced about 20 months ago...

Was it an MB replacement as there is a 2-year warranty on their work? If not MB, is there any other warranty that you can invoke?

ERnie
 

Linuus

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Very strange case, this you notice a raise of temperature or any light on the cluster?! If a faulty thermostat doesn’t allows coolant to flow and cool down. But the smoke, could be so many things :/


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LostKiwi

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Typically diesel runaway occurs when oil finds its way into the inlet tract. This can be failed turbo shaft inlet side seals, failed rings/cracked piston allowing combustion gasses to pressurise the crankcase and push engine oil up into the breathers or a failed headgasket allowing oil under pressure to enter a cylinder.
The engine then starts to burn the oil and turning off the key only removes the diesel from the equation but by then its already running on engine oil anyway. At this point it will have run away with itself and be consuming oil as fast as the engine itself can pump it until it either seizes from coolant system failure or from lack of oil. In some cases they throw a conrod out the side of the block. The only way to stop it is to cut off the air supply which is pretty difficult when its in that state!
 

John Laidlaw

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Diesel engines will burn almost anything in combustion too when it’s that far gone
I read somewhere you could also try to induce a stall but I wouldn’t be too keen in sitting in the car personally whilst all that’s going on!
 

star

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Overfill of oil can cause it too.
 

Craiglxviii

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Diesel engines will burn almost anything in combustion too when it’s that far gone
I read somewhere you could also try to induce a stall but I wouldn’t be too keen in sitting in the car personally whilst all that’s going on!
Hard to do that in a Merc with a real gearbox though John!
 

M80

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Typically diesel runaway occurs when oil finds its way into the inlet tract. This can be failed turbo shaft inlet side seals, failed rings/cracked piston allowing combustion gasses to pressurise the crankcase and push engine oil up into the breathers or a failed headgasket allowing oil under pressure to enter a cylinder.
The engine then starts to burn the oil and turning off the key only removes the diesel from the equation but by then its already running on engine oil anyway. At this point it will have run away with itself and be consuming oil as fast as the engine itself can pump it until it either seizes from coolant system failure or from lack of oil. In some cases they throw a conrod out the side of the block. The only way to stop it is to cut off the air supply which is pretty difficult when its in that state!

Perhaps a fraction more feasible would be to block the exhaust,
with a plug that is correct sized and mechanically possible to lock in. Unlikely anyone would have one readily available as the runaway starts. And it's surprising how much pressure will build in the exhaust, especially with it revving to max.

I guess I've talked myself out of that one.
 

LostKiwi

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Perhaps a fraction more feasible would be to block the exhaust,
with a plug that is correct sized and mechanically possible to lock in. Unlikely anyone would have one readily available as the runaway starts. And it's surprising how much pressure will build in the exhaust, especially with it revving to max.

I guess I've talked myself out of that one.
Yeah....
Better to starve oxygen. At least the plug used will be held in place by the engine running!
Its a brave man who opens the bonnet and starts tinkering when its running flat out though.....
 
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M80

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Not as extreme but last year on a dry berth I started the inboard 10Hp diesel engine on the boat. A test.
It requires a 12 volt pulse to the solenoid to shut down and a terminal had corroded, I now understand its design much better.

So no sea water cooling it, it would soon overheat its small reservoir of coolant. The engine was encased in panels. My thinking was to give Larisa the horseshoe life ring and tell her to push it hard onto the stern exhaust. She got showered in the mucky sea water that was still in the system from years previous. This also uses to cool the exhaust while afloat and then exhausts with the engine gasses.
Worse she couldn't stop the flow and the engine ran on.
I eventually gained access to the engine and manually closed the valve. No damage and at least I didn't get wet.

One day I might tell you of the time Larisa did a Natalie Wood trying to transfer from the tender to the boat (now afloat) at 11:30pm alcoholised.
 

davemercedes

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So there I was doing 70 on the M25 coming back from the in-laws Christmas Day when the engine started to rev its brains out...rev counter hard to the right, lots of smoke....got to the hard shoulder took the key out, got out and stood and watched while it just revved and billowed out smoke, then a hose went and all the coolant drained onto the hard shoulder, eventually the engine died.

AA took us home and the car hasn't moved since...

Hard luck! Hope you sort something out...

It seems that by comparison I was very lucky with my S203 on Christmas Eve - with the car packed full of presents for grandchildren it lit up the transmission warning and went into limp mode. It was finally traced to a loose/broken boost pipe - all sorted by Mercland without breaking the bank either, thank goodness!
 

Botus

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The only way to stop it is to cut off the air supply which is pretty difficult when its in that state!

when I was at college the tutor got very upset when I thought about blocking air filter on a diesel....


NEVER EVER DO IT - it will just suck skin of your hand and carry on.....
 

Arudge

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I wouldn't fancy blocking the exhaust to stall the engine......

FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!!

 

Craiglxviii

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Indeed it can.
I had a work colleague 'top up the oil' on his new Passat and it did exactly the same thing....
Had a colleague get the nickname of “Smokey Joe” after filling up a great big side- loader fork truck with about twelve gallons of oil. He turned the engine off and jumped down from the cab- his usual trick, it would stop within a foot or so against engine compression.

Only, this one didn’t. Straight through a hangar door, through a partition wall, stopped by a block wall where it stayed with rear wheels spinning against the (luckily freshly painted) floor until all the oil burnt off, about 3 hours later. We came out of there looking like coal miners!!!
 

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