Tragedy Strikes - 1986 300 SDL overheats on the interstate
 

I guess I'm venting here more than anything else, but I suppose I would not mind getting a few guesses as to what the future holds formy 300 SDL.

Quick background: I just received the vehicle from my grandmother about a month ago. My grandfather bought the car in 1986 and drove it until he died in 1996. My grandmother drove it until now. It was meticulously taken care of by my grandfather, always at the dealership. My grandmother, a little smarter with her cash, found a local, independentmechanic who specialized in Mercedes. Bottom line, it was well maintained and currently has 114k miles.

Today, while driving on the interstate at approximately 75 mph, the vehicle began smoking furiously. We immediately pull over and I recognize the smell as coolant. Before you ask, I'm not sure how hot the temp got because the wife was driving and I was sleeping at the time and she did not look at the guages. Over the past month, however, the temp never got over 80C, even with the AC on and on the interstate. Also, I drove the car down from Memphis to Tampa when I first got it a month ago. It did great!

Anyway, here are the symptoms. All the radiator fluid in the reserve was gone. Also, it is now leaking oil. Not a lot, but it is definitely leaking. After sitting on the side of the road for about an hour waiting for a tow truck, I tried to crank it. First, no glow light on the dash. And then, it would not crank. I knowthe engineis suseptable to cracking, so that is what I'm thinking. Anyway, anyone else want to take a shot at guessing? It's going to the mechanic tomorrow, if anyone cares, I'll share the prognosis.

RE: Tragedy Strikes - 1986 300 SDL overheats on the interstate
 

I'm no master technician but I guarantee it's a blown head gasket. You're most likely going to need an engine rebuild if she didn't notice anything until the obvious occured. That engine should be shot running 75mph for a while with no coolant [&:]

Btw, the 300SDL is part of the 300-series/300e/E-class. It'll be moved down to the diesel section though so more people can diagnose it better.

RE: Tragedy Strikes - 1986 300 SDL overheats on the interstate
 

Sorry for the bad experience.
What was the final verdict on your car with the mechanic?