skratchmoney

This is my first post on this forum and in need of some help. I recently acquired a 1995 E320 sedan which was owned by my parents. The car has had cooling problem. It would over heat during the hot summer months. Should I get a new water pump the radiator was recently replaced? Also, my father had told me that he changed the oil on it one time and after driving it oil bursted all over the engine? His thoughts were that he put too muc oil into the car? We took it to a mechanic and told us that the car was fine. Ive been driving it now for a few months and have Noticed Smoke coming out from under the hood which smelled like oil or gas and it would get into the car whenever i use the heater? Any one know how to fix this problem? Also on Idle the engine would shake as if the RPM are getting really low. Do I need a tune up to fix that problem? I recently got an Oil change from Firestone. Also, the check engine light is On. Should I just bring the car to another mechanic or is there anything I can do? Any help is appreciated. I will post pics when i get home. thanx

shdoug

Welcome to the forum!

Start by finding out what the check engine light means. Codes are pretty easy to check on your car. Here's how:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ht=fault+codes

Kestas

What is the pattern of overheating?... only at idle?... or when it's running down the highway?

A good place to start would be to replace the thermostat. In fact, it may be a good idea to go through the car and bring all the tuneup stuff up to date - plugs, filters, coolant change.

Check and make sure the cooling fans work and come on when needed.

I'm not sure how oil can burst all over the engine. Perhaps related - you should know that the upper timing cover seal is a weak point of this engine and needs to be replaced every once in a while.

Spend an hour or so reading through old discussion about E320s on this site. That's what I did when I got my car. You'll learn a lot about your car.

neanderthal

on my BMW 2002, a missing exhaust manifold stud can mean an oil leak right onto the exhaust manifold. theres an oil gallery behind the stud. smokes like crazy for just a long time for just a few drops.

Rio Z Lander

yeah i have the same problem with the smoke but only when i take the oil cap off to add oil. mine overheats in the summer. runs well other than the alternator.
i would not worry to much but i would go and have it looked at when you can

allan l

I had the same problem with a '94 E320 Coupe. I changed various items, but the real problem was that the temperature controlled viscous coupling in the centre of the cooling fan was not coming in when it should. It should be hard-on when the engine coolant is around 90 to 95 Deg C ie. below water boiling point.
To check if the fan is working correctly try the "carrot test". With the engine running at normal temperature ie. very hot and the fan working, carefully insert a long carrot into the path of the fan blades. If the carrot is cut by the blades, then the viscous coupling is OK. If the carrot stops the fan blades from turning, then your viscous coupling needs replacing.
The viscous coupling should be routinely changed at 100,000miles or 10 years.

Allan L

crr1612

thats quite the test...