W124 oil consumption

[43235]

I've got an '88 230 CE and have to top up the oil every month or so. I dont do many miles only about 80 a week, but when I went to change the air filter there was oil deposits in the pan. Advice much appreciated.
Also, can anyone recommend a good body repairer around Gloucester as some prat of a boy racer pranged the side of my car when it was parked up. Cheers.
Chris

 

[NormanB]

Hi 4 something.

You do not say how many miles.

It may be that you are getting a bit of blow by the rings and this is forcing more oil mist through the breather system. But this is worst case. Unless your motor has been abused then the bottom ends are pretty robust.

Try not adding too much oil. Maintain the fill level midway between high and low and see if that makes a difference.

Oh yes, if you are only doing 80 miles a month this may be part of the problem. If you are doing lots of short trips and the engine is not getting to operating temperature then you will get poorer ring sealing and more blow by - higher oil consumption. Just a thought.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Robert Cox]

Hi,

I have an '86 230E W124 which would have the same engine as your 230CE. I also get oil deposits in the air cleaner base, but after 351,000kms it's to be expected. There's obviously some blow-by.

However, between oil changes (10,000kms) I never have to add a drop of oil, and the level stays constantly on the "max" mark on the dipstick.

My wife uses the car daily and does about 40kms per day.

You may have worn or sticking rings. Your short trips could increase oil consumption as already mentioned.

Cheers.

 

[43235]

Thanks for that fellas. The car has 90k miles on the clock so not that many really. As I said before I travel about 80 miles a week, so the engine not reaching operating temp is not an issue. So, worse case scenario being worn rings, where do I go from here?(the engine doesnt produce any blue smoke through the exhaust though)
Chris
Formerly Porsche 944 now Merc 230 CE

 

[Robert Cox]

90,000 miles is barely run-in ;-)

I can remember a friend buying a brand new '86 W124 and having the "low oil" light come on after very few kms.

In his case it turned out to be bad valve stem seals, despite no blue smoke from the exhaust. My mechanic confirmed that this was a problem with early models. The seals rapidly hardened with heat and allowed oil to get into the combustion chambers.

Yours may still have the original seals. (I doubt if your rings would be worn after such a low mileage - mine are the originals - and my mechanic reckons the "lower" end of the 102 engine is good for 500,000kms - not so the "upper"! - I've had the camshaft rebuilt and rockers replaced.)

If nothing else, it's worth trying new valve seals before going for new rings, since they are inexpensive and a good repair shop can replace them without removing the head, by using compressed air to keep the valve closed while compressing the valve spring.

Hope this helps...