230CE head gasket problem
#1
03-06-2010, 12:14 PM
230CE head gasket problem
W124 E Class 92 vintage 2.3 CE (Four pot engine)
OK, so posted elsewhere on here about my heater woes. Tried to sort today only to find bigger (potentially bigger) woes. Brown runny sludge in the coolant. The header tank had loads in it and there was loads in the pipe upstream from the duovalves. All told methinks oil in water. Now there is definitely no water in the oil. So the car actually is running fine, with a top up of around a litre of oil every 5000 miles. So the big question is, am I right assuming HG failure is the cuplrit for oil in water? If so how much money will a headgasket change be? And anyone got any good recommendations for mechanics in/around the Petersfield (Hants) area who would be up to tackling the job and do it well? (maybe an ex MB mechanic?)
Failing that anyone had any luck using something like K Seal or Steel Seal on a HG failure of this type?
The car is in fair nick and it seems a shame to have her just sitting there!
OK, so posted elsewhere on here about my heater woes. Tried to sort today only to find bigger (potentially bigger) woes. Brown runny sludge in the coolant. The header tank had loads in it and there was loads in the pipe upstream from the duovalves. All told methinks oil in water. Now there is definitely no water in the oil. So the car actually is running fine, with a top up of around a litre of oil every 5000 miles. So the big question is, am I right assuming HG failure is the cuplrit for oil in water? If so how much money will a headgasket change be? And anyone got any good recommendations for mechanics in/around the Petersfield (Hants) area who would be up to tackling the job and do it well? (maybe an ex MB mechanic?)
Failing that anyone had any luck using something like K Seal or Steel Seal on a HG failure of this type?
The car is in fair nick and it seems a shame to have her just sitting there!
#2
03-06-2010, 04:08 PM
hey, yeah thats a head gasket, id get it taken care of as quickly as possible to evade major engine damage. im not sure of anyone in your area, im in mn usa... i know that i usually charge $400 +parts cost for inline head gaskets on the side, most independent shops get around $1500 total.
this is probably the root cause of your heater problems as well...
this is probably the root cause of your heater problems as well...
#3
03-06-2010, 05:36 PM
Want a holiday in sunny UK? Seems like it could be cheaper to fly you here, although you'd have to bring your head skim equipment! Thanks for the heads up. I thought as soon as i saw the sludge in the heater pipe that it was the cause of my frozen toes! But thanks for the input,
#4
03-07-2010, 05:31 AM
You are talking about 'brown runny sludge' and this does not have to be oil at all.
Like I stated before..............people should not put normal water in the cooling system and the 'brown runny sludge' is exactly the reason why you should not do this.
With normal water you will get corrosion in your cooling system and when you mix this with the calcium in the water you will get 'brown runny sludge'.
The cooling ports in the engine are very small channels,which can easily be clogged up with this sludge, which will result in unequal cooling of the engine (local overheat), which can cause a gasket to blow out.
I understand that normal drinking water is much cheaper than engine coolant, but it is a kiss of death for your engine. I have seen hoses partially clogged up because of all the 'sludge' in the cooling system.
Now that you write about this sludge it would not surprise me if the blown gasket is the result of your cooling problem.
However, you may be lucky and perhaps this sludge is causing your cooling problem, since it is blocking your cooling system.
So, while you are checking the head gasket you may want to clear out all the cooling channels in your engine. With the cylinder head removed you will have good access to these channels.
________
Web shows
Like I stated before..............people should not put normal water in the cooling system and the 'brown runny sludge' is exactly the reason why you should not do this.
With normal water you will get corrosion in your cooling system and when you mix this with the calcium in the water you will get 'brown runny sludge'.
The cooling ports in the engine are very small channels,which can easily be clogged up with this sludge, which will result in unequal cooling of the engine (local overheat), which can cause a gasket to blow out.
I understand that normal drinking water is much cheaper than engine coolant, but it is a kiss of death for your engine. I have seen hoses partially clogged up because of all the 'sludge' in the cooling system.
Now that you write about this sludge it would not surprise me if the blown gasket is the result of your cooling problem.
However, you may be lucky and perhaps this sludge is causing your cooling problem, since it is blocking your cooling system.
So, while you are checking the head gasket you may want to clear out all the cooling channels in your engine. With the cylinder head removed you will have good access to these channels.
________
Web shows
Last edited by Mambo; 09-01-2011 at 09:49 PM.
#5
03-07-2010, 06:15 PM
just finished with cooling problem myself. couple of suggestions;
1. take a compression check on each cylinder
2. sludge could be somebodies attempt at some sealer product
3. mercedes(behr) radiators have very fine water passages and plug easly. Sealants will plug them up big time.
4. on my 300e the auxillary water pump went out and cut output from heater alot
do all my own work on the head, less than $500
1. take a compression check on each cylinder
2. sludge could be somebodies attempt at some sealer product
3. mercedes(behr) radiators have very fine water passages and plug easly. Sealants will plug them up big time.
4. on my 300e the auxillary water pump went out and cut output from heater alot
do all my own work on the head, less than $500
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