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Thanks for sharing your experience. This is very scary to read for me. My 2013 ML350 is at 250 000 km (around 155 000 miles) with a full delete and it runs perfectly (except the front collision radar that seems busted). It doesn't burn any oil. In Canada, we will be getting the AEM letters soon to schedule appointments to install the new parts. I'm really debating whether to go with the AEM or just stick with my delete... decisions decisions...
I have the same dilemma with my E250 BT, but in my case AEM is replacing DPF. Nox and reflashing the ECU, so I already bought 2nd ECU and have friendly technician, who will mate 2nd ECU to my car. He is just too busy to make 250 miles trip here. This way I will go for AEM with hollow DPF to bring the car to factory standards, when 2nd ECU will stand by inn case after 4 years warranty expires, I will have more DPF problems.
So far all reviews of performance after AEM are positive. Suppose vehicle is using more DEF, but none of the posters come with solid numbers. DEF is cheap enough, when I actually care about my health.
I spoke to foreman at Fletcher Jones Mercedes here in Newport Beach, we did another oil consumption test and official number is 970ml per 1,000km which is way excessive. He said the normal is 800ml per 1,000 km tops. I asked for engine replacement, HE will request with extended warranty and Mercedes hope they approve it. If they don't Pacific Benz here in Costa Mesa, CA quoted me $9500 for long block with shipping and $2700 for labor and 7 days to everything for reman engine with 100,000 mile warranty.
They way i see it if i don't get the engine replaced I will need a new DPF filter in 6 months or so, and my AEM Emssions Warranty will probably expire by then because we all get I think 48,000 miles warranty on AEM components.
These cars a great, wish they didn't have all these problems, poorly thought-out DPF regen process with lack of any indication that it is happening.
Just wanted to give a s update - I got a new engine ( Mercedes’ factory rebuilt ) installed in my GL350 covered by extended warranty due to high oil consumption.
it took 2 + months engine came from Germany. FJM did an excellent job. Warranty paid for everything , I am happy and FJM is happy they got paid for a big labor job.
i have now put 20,000 miles on this new engine, zero oil burn.
i started off on a new engine on a right foot ~ started changing oil every 5,000 miles with Liquimoly top tec 4200 5w-30 , with liquimoly proline engine flush before I drain the oil , every time, and adding ceratec friction modifier every 20,000-30,000 miles
Hi all, I don't post much but thought this would be some good info for those with high oil consumption issues.
It's long so if you want to see the solution just scroll to the bottom.
The back story:
We picked up our GL350 a couple years back with about 90k on the clock. I have no idea what the service history was before we purchased it. I knew when I purchased it there was a slight oil leak from the valley weep hole indicating cooler seals starting to leak. I am a mechanic and machinist and so that oil leak did not scare me at all, having done my research and knowing what it takes to fix the problem. The leak did not get bad enough to do the cooler seals until about 105k miles. So I did the seals, replaced the oil cooler while in there and some other miscellaneous while were here type stuff. All was good until about 110k where a random out of the blue engine light and limp mode happened. This turned out to be a DPF code for regen frequency and a clogged DPF. So I pulled the DPF off and cleaned it out. All seemed good for a couple months until a routine dipstick check showed oil off the bottom of the range, so not thinking much of it I put the 2 quarts in it that it takes to be back up to full, and proceeded to check it a couple weeks later only to find it low again... so the search began to find where the oil was going. This went on for about 5k miles until I started to get serious about solving the oil consumption issue.
So first, check the PCV valve on the back of the pass side head. I could not find anything wrong with it but I put a new one on anyway. the old one did show lots of oil and there was considerable amounts of oil at the turbo inlet. This had no change on the oil consumption issue. Next, turbo. The turbo showed some signs of wear, indicated buy some rub marks from the compressor wheel on the housing. This is typically indicating the bearings are worn and so I replaced the center cartridge thinking I might have found the oil consumption issue as bad turbo bearings, and seals will leak oil into either the intake or exhaust. But no joy, oil consumption was as bad as ever and getting worse.
Good news was the engine light was staying off and as long as we kept the oil full we kept running it.
Then the DPF clogged again, as it was obvious the oil consumption was going out the exhaust this made sense, so off it came and got washed out again. But the oil use was getting worse, now at just over 120k it was getting to the point of dpf regen issues again as it could not handle the oil burn. We fought with that for another couple thousand miles until we are here at 125k oil consumption is so high its not reliable, Engine light is perma on. Oil burn is about 1 qt 150ish miles. Time to do some real diagnostics.
Just because I know someone will ask. Since I have owned it all oil changes were done at 6-8k miles and only 3 oil brands were used all with the 229.52 spec, Mobil 1, MB branded, and Liqui moly.
The Diagnosis:
First I did the scan tool compression test, which showed low compression on #2 and #5. Not being a big believer in computer diagnostics for that I went straight to Leak down test. This showed #2 as the worst at around 20% or 80% blow by all coming out the PCV vent. #5 was not quite as bad but not good as was #1. Borescope down the injector hole showed nothing bad except a bunch of oil on the top side of the piston, I could still see the cross hatch and no scoring on the cylinder. So I thought well its got ring issues, time to pull it apart and maybe I can just ball hone the cylinders and put new rings on. Keep in mind it started and ran perfect.
Out it came, yes in the GL it comes out the top pretty easy.
It's a complicated engine compartment but not that bad to get out.
Tore it down , and yep all the oil control rings were completly packed with carbon and stuck in the grooves on the pistons. I actually happy at that point, all the cylinders looked good, no scoring or bad wear, bearings looked like new on both the rods and mains, so I thought hone the cylinders and put new rings in, it will be good..... Then I got the measuring tools out and that is where it went down hill. The cylinders all measured right at the limit for out of round and size except #5, that one was bad, out of round was .002" or .050mm out of round at the top. MB spec max out of round is .0007mm. Then I took a look at the heads, and all the exhaust valve stems look terrible at the rocker and the rockers match, also the lifters look terrible where the ride in the heads... so it needs heads redone...
So after pricing out all the parts and machine shop labor to bore, hone, refresh the heads with new valves, lifters, rockers etc. the cost would be somewhere around $6000 to $6500. And then I needed to assemble and put it back in. This is a totally doable option but I thought let me see what is out there for engines....
The Solution:
As some of you know the price for used OM642 engines is somewhat rediculous or even stupid these things are not made of gold, and I'm not paying 6-8K for a engine with 150k+ miles on it that may have the same problems or develop them in a couple thousand miles. I don't know who is buying these used engines for that much or if they are not selling, but you would think if the salvage yards were not getting that $ they would lower the price. Anyway I found a couple reman shops offering rebuilt engines for between $7500 and $8000, this sounded like a good plan at this point due to warranty offerings from both, but some searching online returned more bad reviews than I was willing to dismiss and decided this is not the way to go.
So out of just pure curiosity I called my local MB dealer...
IF you have read this far here's the best option:
GET A REMAN straight from MB!! The basic engine, is what they call it. It comes as a long block, meaning you will need to swap your accessories, intake manifolds, exhaust manifolds, Turbo, wire harnesses, injector lines, and all other little stuff that bolts on the top. But it comes with new injectors, glow plugs, oil cooler, sensors in the pan, cam sensor, oil pan, turbo pedestal, oil filter housing, water outlet neck and lifting eyes. 4yr 50k mile warranty and is stood behind by MB. This thing is more new than reman though, the heads and block are definetly new as is the oil filter housing and injectors, and glow plugs. the only parts I can verify that are not new is the oil pan and front timing cover.
Best of all.... Came in at right around $8K. This price will vary depending on your dealer. I know that is not chump change, but lets be real here, I could rebuild mine at a cost of $6500 + my labor. and if I screw something up or have a problem it's all on me, the parts are not cheap and one minor problem can be expensive. And that does not include new injectors. Just the injectors cover the $1500 difference. Its a no brainer.
They do want the core back at a core cost of $3200 so keep that in mind.
OH comes with the motor supports that the grey goo leaks out of too..
Sorry for the super long post, but I know I did a ton of searching when I started down this path, and this information would have saved me some time. I hope It helps someone else diagnose and solve there problem.
I just unpacked the new engine today so it will be a little while before I get it all back together.
-Dave
did it come with new EGR valve or you had to transfer old EGR to a new engine
Do you know if 1 liter of oil consuption is high for 1250 miles ? I have an OM642 engine with 136700 miles without any oil leak but it seem to have an high oil consuption, because it's twice that I add 1 liter for 1250 miles…
Hello,
We have had consistent oil consumption problems ever since the emissions control recall. As I have stated in past posts, the dealership has done everything they can to help and we spent $600 for the oil consumption test. We love our vehicle and have changed numerous parts regarding oil consumption based on dealership recommendations. They have done their best to help us! We have spoken to others in a similar situation and it a problem Mercedes Canada is aware of but refuses to acknowledge. Since my last post, we brought the vehicle in for service on March 1, 2024 and an oil change was done at that time. I am presently not working and have not used the vehicle as often as usual. On March 27th, 2024 I was driving from Vancouver to Blaine, Washington (about 30 km) and the add oil warning came on. I immediately stopped at a gas station and luckily happen to run into a retired mechanic from Mercedes in the US who took a look at the oil level. To my surprise he said that I was almost completely dry and that the residue was black. I told him I had just has a full service that included an oil change and he was extremely surprised. I notified my Mercedes dealership to let them know and again contacted Mercedes Canada to no avail. We filled the oil at this time only to have the oil warning come on again today, April 18th, 2024. Mercedes is aware of this problem and does not at this time have a plan to help other than denial. Please contact Mercedes and post if you are experiencing this problem as I know many others are. They are responsible and need to stand for their product as they are losing credibility.
Do you know if 1 liter of oil consuption is high for 1250 miles ? I have an OM642 engine with 136700 miles without any oil leak but it seem to have an high oil consuption, because it's twice that I add 1 liter for 1250 miles…
That is alot IMHO. My om651 burns hardly any oil in 6000 miles, my 6.7 cummins (187000 miles) in my truck goes thru about 1 liter in 15k miles (oil change interval) with dyno oil.
I guess the OP didn't update with the success of his install. Learning about the issues others have had, since I've had my OM642, I am emphatic about PCV catch cans, and not the small ones they sell for 4 cylinder engines (see mine below). While I would consider my oil consumption fairly normal at this time, I think I'm going to start using VALVOLINE PREMIUM BLUE FULL SYNTHETIC DIESEL ENGINE OIL SAE 5W-40 every other oil change on my 162k mile engine; this oil apparently contains solvents that can facilitate the dissolving of the gunk that leads to stuck rings.
I also understand that the DPF & SCR are sensitive and can be harmed by the oil additive packs that various specification oils may have, but I'm willing to use a non-229.5 spec oil every now and then to prevent stuck rings. My understanding is that most "modern" diesel engine oils are now designed to be DPF and SCR friendly.
My catch-can is packed with stainless steel pot scrubbers as a filter/cooling media, and has draincock on the bottom with a short piece of hose, so I can collect the precipitate into a soda bottle, from under the car. It's made out of 1-1/2" galvanized pipe and 3/4" PEX fittings on the hose lines. I used a 1-1/2" pipe bracket, and existing stud points on the frame of my GL350, to mount the setup. OM642 Plumber's Special catch-can. Catch-Can Mounted using a Pipe Hanger Strap. Tapping the PCV line to loop-in the catch-can circuit.
02-22-2022, 10:15 AM
