Hello guys,

1990 300 SEL w/ 165 K.

I've just noticed black smoke coming from my exhaust pipe... it's not a little neither. Anyway, when I accelerate tons of the black smoke comes out then when I'm driving I look out of my rearview mirror and don't see any while the car is driving. As soon as a stop at a light or get stuck in traffic then hit the gas to resume I see it coming out again, lots of it. Also, I’ve noticed when I start the car in the morning I see black spots on the ground, similar to black powder residue coming out of the tailpipe. I did indeed take it to a mechanic (not specialized in MBs) he said it's an internal engine problem and he wasn't too sure but he did say I have to take care of this issue before I blow the engine...Yikes! When he told me that I just parked the car and haven't driven it since. I did speak with a friend of mine who knows a little bit about cars and he said it's most likely an internal stem gasket that needs to be replaced which will cost at least $1k for labor and parts from a reputable MB shop and since I love my car I'm willing to do almost anything for her but I am afraid to take her into a MB dealer to have them check it, I think most of them are a bunch of rip-offs. I just need to get an idea of what is causing this problem. Any thoughts are highly appreciated.

Thx


Fondest regards,

300 SEL MAN

 

Black smoke = oil your engine needs some serious work.

 

C280 Wizard,

I should just take it into a MB dealer, right? I wonder what caused this. I take care of the care pretty well. When you said serious engine work are you referring to a rebuild?