My W164 is DEAD (cue taps....)
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My W164 is DEAD (cue taps....)
Hello everyone. I hope the hoildays are treating you well. As the title says, my car is dead. Long story short, it's a 2011 ML 350 Base with 265K on it (ballpark)??? It's been a great car with no major issues; routine maintenance as I like to be on top of all the A/B/C. I'm on SoCal where the weather is mild yearlong but went to Mammoth where it was 8 degrees. The day I was set to go home the car would not start; check that....it started and sounded fine then proceeded to rough idle hard and shut down. It would not start again. Called for a jump hoping its was the battery but that did nothing. Got it back down to my mechanic and he's tested the starter as well as other possible culprits (timing chain/injectors) with no answers. The engine has completely seized and will not turn manually. He's drained the fluid and dropped the oil pan but it was clean with no metal. He's now trying get his hands on a used engine at the same time trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. I've accepted the fact that this engine is toast but I'm curious as hell (so is he). So I thought I might throw this to the forum to see if anyone has any ideas with the information we have so far....automotive murder/mystery if you will.
Any suggestion will also be appreciated as to what you would do in my shoes. Happy Holidays!!!
Cheers
Any suggestion will also be appreciated as to what you would do in my shoes. Happy Holidays!!!
Cheers
Out Of Control!!
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
Has he inspected the cylinders? I think you had a misfire likely from a failing piston ring or failing cylinder lining/oiling and the piston seized and hence locked the engine
I wonder if an extremely cold start caused a combustion/mixture problem that snowball this problem into a seized engine
I wonder if an extremely cold start caused a combustion/mixture problem that snowball this problem into a seized engine
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Has he inspected the cylinders? I think you had a misfire likely from a failing piston ring or failing cylinder lining/oiling and the piston seized and hence locked the engine
I wonder if an extremely cold start caused a combustion/mixture problem that snowball this problem into a seized engine
I wonder if an extremely cold start caused a combustion/mixture problem that snowball this problem into a seized engine
Cheers.
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From: Melbourne, Australia
2010 ML550 VIN WDC1641722A564750, 2010 B180
Sorry to hear that. A broken ring as noted earlier, or possibly a timing chain issue like a stuffed guide/tensioner has caused it to lock up? Another possibility is a valve train issue like a broken/dislodged lifter that's locked a cam up and brought everything to a hault.
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ML 350 Blutec
My ML-350 BT:
https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...fm-recall.html
Engine and install gona be around 8k USD. We didnt go for it as warranty was only 3 months being offered. Be carefull alot of scams for used engines. Let you Mec handle it.
https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...fm-recall.html
Engine and install gona be around 8k USD. We didnt go for it as warranty was only 3 months being offered. Be carefull alot of scams for used engines. Let you Mec handle it.
Last edited by music; Dec 4, 2024 at 09:02 AM. Reason: add text
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Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 28
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From: Los Angeles, CA
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Sorry to hear that. A broken ring as noted earlier, or possibly a timing chain issue like a stuffed guide/tensioner has caused it to lock up? Another possibility is a valve train issue like a broken/dislodged lifter that's locked a cam up and brought everything to a hault.
My ML-350 BT:
https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...fm-recall.html
Engine and install gona be around 8k USD. We didnt go for it as warranty was only 3 months being offered. Be carefull alot of scams for used engines. Let you Mec handle it.
https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...fm-recall.html
Engine and install gona be around 8k USD. We didnt go for it as warranty was only 3 months being offered. Be carefull alot of scams for used engines. Let you Mec handle it.
I believe he dropped the engine today so we'll figure out more in the next few days. I'll keep everyone posted. He did drop the oil pan and found it clean; no metal parts or shavings.
Cheers
Last edited by ElementaryDW; Dec 7, 2024 at 12:53 AM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Melbourne, Australia
2010 ML550 VIN WDC1641722A564750, 2010 B180
There's not much you can do other than change your oil more frequently..I do mine every 5k miles to try and avoid this, but it's no guarantee as theyre plastic and the same with all euros, they age and break. How often did you change your oil?
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MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Melbourne, Australia
2010 ML550 VIN WDC1641722A564750, 2010 B180
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UPDATE:
An engine has been found with 114k coming out of an 2011 E350. Along with a bunch of other stuff that will be replaced as the engine is already out, it's going in this week.
An engine has been found with 114k coming out of an 2011 E350. Along with a bunch of other stuff that will be replaced as the engine is already out, it's going in this week.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2014
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From: Melbourne, Australia
2010 ML550 VIN WDC1641722A564750, 2010 B180
Change the guides whilst its out and make sure it's not an engine with the balance shaft problems.
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FINAL UPDATE:
The engine is in and by all accounts it sounds the same and feels likewise. Odd that this whole thing came up so suddenly. It's practically all new parts in there now; made sense as the engine was out to the tune of $4k. Don't know if there's anything anyone can rheme from this. I don't believe during regular timing chain replacement, guides are replaced. If it is the case, that's the lesson I learned.
Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.
Cheers
The engine is in and by all accounts it sounds the same and feels likewise. Odd that this whole thing came up so suddenly. It's practically all new parts in there now; made sense as the engine was out to the tune of $4k. Don't know if there's anything anyone can rheme from this. I don't believe during regular timing chain replacement, guides are replaced. If it is the case, that's the lesson I learned.
Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.
Cheers
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2016
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From: NE OHIO
1998 SL500,2011 GL550,2009 ML350,past 1995 E320 Cabrio ,2005 ML500,2006 ML500,1996 SL500,1972 280SEL
before
Can you tell us what happened the last couple of days before it quit?
Idle problems?
Any engine codes?
thanks
Idle problems?
Any engine codes?
thanks
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Let's see. The car was "normal" meaning it did have a stored code for intake manifold which didnt actuate CEL. It did have one active code for oxygen sensor I was aware of. Only other quirk was on cold start, I would start the car and turn it off after 3 seconds because it would make slapping sounds. My mech said it was not getting oil up fast enough probably due to a leak/bad gasket from oil pump. He said the E class R class doesn't see this much but tye placement of the pan in the MLs might be the reason. But daily it was not an issue. Just got use to starting it twice when cold starting.
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2011 ML350
Let's see. The car was "normal" meaning it did have a stored code for intake manifold which didnt actuate CEL. It did have one active code for oxygen sensor I was aware of. Only other quirk was on cold start, I would start the car and turn it off after 3 seconds because it would make slapping sounds. My mech said it was not getting oil up fast enough probably due to a leak/bad gasket from oil pump. He said the E class R class doesn't see this much but tye placement of the pan in the MLs might be the reason. But daily it was not an issue. Just got use to starting it twice when cold starting.
Back in October I told my mechanic that every morning when I started the car I would here a "metallic rattling" sound after about three to four seconds then it would go away. This only happened after sitting overnight.
Below were his notes:
"Verified intermittent rattle from left cylinder adjuster assemblies, added cleaner to oil system and performed test per SDS nothing conclusive. Possible sticking of adjusters or lubricating valve assemblies. Will need to remove valve cover for further diagnosis, recommend driving the vehicle for 2,000 miles and again add cleaner to the system and flush oil to try to clean out passages"
So I'm almost at 2,000 miles and this week the noise came back, I plan to take it back tomorrow to my mechanic. Ironically I was scheduled to head to Lake Tahoe this week where a storm has just moved in but I will probably cancel. I wonder if I would be heading down your same road if I did take the car to near freezing temperatures?
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From: NE OHIO
1998 SL500,2011 GL550,2009 ML350,past 1995 E320 Cabrio ,2005 ML500,2006 ML500,1996 SL500,1972 280SEL
