JR-GL350

UPDATE.

I finally bought a 2010 GL 350 with 160k for cheap. It's been 5 weeks now.

Everything is good except one little detail, HIGH oil consumption and there are no visible leaks. Oil rings where changed not long ago. Car runs perfect, no hesitation, no smoke, full power.
There are some movement in the shaft of the turbo, a mechanic suggest me to rebuild it but I don't want to start spending crazy money doing lots of repair trying to stop the oil consumption without success.

I have a check engine light with two codes: P2005 and P2459. Intake Manifold Runner Control Stuck Open Bank 2 and Diesel Particulate Filter Regeneration Frequency. The second one it's related to the high oil consumption.

I heard a lot of stories about OM642 with this problem and people spend 3 or 4k without solving the issue.

Oil consumption is about 2 quarts each 500 miles, the two big guesses are: Turbo or Piston scored.

Mechanic told me a compression test on a diesel is about 4 hs labor, and result, sometimes, are not conclusive of cylinder problem.

Questions: Can a defective shaft/seal in the turbo generate this oil consumption?
If the oil its going trough a defective cylinder, it's doable to repair it at a reasonable price or it's cheaper to get a new engine?

If the oil consumption doesn't increase, maybe I will use it like that till the final day

I know, DPF and EGR problems are on the way.

Suggestions ? Rebuild turbo first ?

Thanks!

KrustyKustom

One of the first things I would check is the crankcase breather/oil separator. I think the 2010 has the newer style centrifugal oil separator (attached to passenger side intake cam). But the earlier ones had a rubber diaphragm which at age or higher miles comes apart allowing heavy oil vapor right into suction side of turbo.

Look on top passenger side valve cover at the back, follow the 3/4" hose from turbo to valve cover. I would pull air filter intake (plastic Y) and see if turbo blades are gunked up and look for pooled oil.

Also at idle I would remove oil fill cap and see how much blow by there is. Good basic test for rings. Remove oil cap and set it on the valve cover hole not twisting it tight. If the cap dances it has some blow by, if the cap is still not much blowby.

JR-GL350

I did the test as you suggest, open cap, spitting oil, sound loud !

alx

You had oil seals redone and now it burns oil again. My guess is seals again.

However, don't guess. Have compression done and take it from there. It is either piston seals (compression will show) or turbo seals. Both are expensive to fix so you want to get the culprit on first try. So invest in the compression test to be sure. If compression is low uniformly it also can be valve guides. 2 quarts in 500 miles is a lot. You might have a combination of the three things mentioned above. Divide and concour to determine cause.

KrustyKustom

That has a sharp metallic sound. I will have to do mine and compare, but mine you hear mainly clicking of injectors I think.

smiledr996s

Curious if this normal ?

Mine acts and sounds the same. But no oil consumption,

Jason B

Which part is normal?

smiledr996s

The sound as well as oil and smoke blowing out. This is how mine appears as well when the engine is warmed up.

Shpuld i I be able to open the cap and just hear the ticking of injectors with no notice of oiil spitting out the oil fill once cap is removed?

if someone coul post a video of a warmed up motor acting better

Callisto1

Just tested mine. Same splatter and clatter. 65k miles, and have never needed to add any oil between changes.
I do use a heavier 20W50 oil (that meets the 229.51 spec) because of tropical temperatures.

smiledr996s

I appreciate the feedback, and prefer your description.


Curious what oil your using and what your temps are there. I have been sticking with 5w40 weights (since mobil1 dropped their 5w40) I am currently using Castrol edge turbo diesel, but looking to switch to a motul product.

Callisto1

I've been using a Valvoline full synthetic called SynPower. The specs are what you would expect from a higher viscosity product, but to get the 229.51 approval they took out basically all the zinc, phosphorous and molybdenum. I would prefer to use the Motul, Amzoil or Redline higher viscosity oils, but worry what the long term effect on the DPF would be.

If I could find a DPF cleaning fuel additive that I trusted, I would probably go with the Amzoil 20W50.

That said, I often end up running the Mobil1 5w30 because that's what the dealer puts in whenever I take it there for something major. (Like the oil cooler, engine mounts, and coming soon I'm sure, the timing chain.)

smiledr996s

It's 229.51.

Callisto1

I'm sure the Motul 8100 is a great product. Very impressive Viscosity Index:172.
However, meeting to MB spec, it also has a very low sulfated ash, zinc, phosphorus etc to ensure it doesn't clog the DPF. It is great that Mercedes unlike VW actually tried hard to meet the emissions standards. But for those of us with the GL350, we are now paying the price with engine failure. I am not a petrochemical engineer, but there is a lot of chatter about whether Mercedes engineers sacrificed engine longevity in the goal of low emissions. I'm inclined to worry less about DPF and emissions, in the hopes of keeping the engine going. Hence the higher viscosity oils, and considering the highers SAPS versions as well.
Also, since replacing the melted engine mounts and oil cooler sealers, I have removed the belly pan to allow more air circulation around the engine.

JR-GL350

Why not try to remove the DPF and EGR with reprogramming?

I live en Montreal, so in winter I'm with 5-30 but now I will change to Motul 8100 XClean 5W-40 for the other 3 seasons. Winter I will keep using 5-30.

smiledr996s

If the oil is 229.51 rated then it should be ok for the DPF and sensors shouldn't be?

Callisto1

Yes, should not cause any problems with DPF. But here is what Motul says about the product: (cut and pasted from their spec sheet on the 8100 X-Clean 5W-40)

"The MB 229.51 requires among many other severe constrains from the lubricant a reduced content of
Sulfted Ash, Phosphorus and Sulphur in order to be compatible with MERCEDES exhaust gas after
treatment systems."
The issue is whether those "constrains" reduce the protective qualities of the motor oil in favor of protecting the DPF. JR-GL350 suggested "Why not try to remove the DPF and EGR with reprogramming?" That is way beyond my DIY pay grade, and I will leave it to others to comment on that.

smiledr996s

I just ordered a eco tune and probably will delete the dpf. At that point I can run whatever oil. Still will try to run on with low emissions but that will protect the engine


I am curious what to look for in an oil that offers the best protection. For convince and cost it would nice to run a shell rotella product.

007_e350

I've tried oem oil Mobil 1, liqui moly 229.51 and a few others and didn't see any difference as long à you change it art 4k like I do

chsu74

Why would you need to change oil every 4K miles? There are Blackstone oil reports that show 7K oil changes is fine.

Callisto1

And my latest Blackstone report after 5k on Mobil1 said to try changing at 3k.

chsu74

Please post the oil testing results. I think all are interested in oil tests that show MB's 10K OCI is actually 3K.

Callisto1

Sorry, I typed a long reply and lost it all when I posted and the connection failed. So abbreviated this time.
Background: Changed oil at 59.5k and used Valvoline SynPower 20W50 full synthetic, an MB 229.51 spec. 2 weeks later took the family to NC mountains and within a couple days found a drip line leading up steep driveway to our cabin.
On vacation, and local NC dealer is (relatively for MB) affordable, so they replace seals, put in new oil, drive it 25 miles, and replace oil again. All with Mobil1 5W30. They say the double oil change is required by MB after cooler seal replacement.
That was at 61k. Double flush of oil with Mobil 1. Posting this now, will post the report next so as not to lose the whole thing again.

Callisto1

Here are screen shots of my Blackstone report 5k later, at 66 k.

chsu74

Thanks. I have not been able to find 229.51 20W50 weight oil easily.. Viscosity is thick because of the 20W compared to the 5W spec basis probably.

The flush of oil after cooler seal replacement is probably a preventative measure.

The high iron content from your oil report is something to watch. A lot of wear.. fuel contamination is low.

alx

lol @ oil changes @ 5000 or even 7500.

most fleet om642 motors see 10-12k miles oil changes and live a long long time. i am starting to see trucks with over 500k miles on the sprinter side and they all do the 1-2 quarts burn rate between oil changes which is more than adequate imo.