When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Am so pissed …. Just had a MB Indy shop install a new MB water pump on my 04 SL55 with 81k last week and after 2 low coolant warnings (I topped them off) I found coolant is now mixing in my oil which you see the milky dirty oil in the pic with the oil cap removed.
The car was running perfectly before this, except for a noisy water pump. The oil was clean and I wasn’t leaking any coolant.
What could they have screwed up on this repair to cause the coolant to get into the oil?
They have damaged the head gasket? Or damaged one of the cooler lines?
I’m unbelievably upset at the shop and will call them Monday morning since they’re not open this weekend. Thanks for any feedback.
There were two (2) Low Coolant warnings, and you topped them off (how much water did you add). When did you do this? After you allowed the engine to cool down completely?
If so, the coolant circuit should have been pressure tested overnight before any work was done to determine whether you had a blown head gasket or any other leak.
If and after it was found that there was no coolant leak, it should have been followed with a compression test on all cylinders.
At this stage, do not run the engine; run the test as outlined under 1-2 to avoid ruining it.
I don't think replacing the water pump caused the issue. Before this was done, a proper analysis of why you had a coolant loss should have determined what must be done first.
How much and where your coolant leak is will determine whether it's a head(s) of only or engine out job from here on.
Unfortunately, all this could have been avoided by following the correct procedures in the first place.
I saved a 2009 SL63 AMG engine after the owner told me he had to add about (1) quart of water to the coolant (some 2009 SL & S63 engines had known faulty head bolt issues that caused the leak). It became an engine-out job replacing lifters, etc. (while you are in there). This was about two years ago, and the car is still running strong and has many more miles to go.
The question is, is it economically visible to spend the $ money, or do you like the car so much that you want to get it done the right way? My 2007 SL55 has given me 132K smile miles and continues to do so every time I drive it. I regard myself fortunate to have the ability (know-how and tools) to do all my work on all my cars.
If you are not in that position, keeping an older car in excellent condition in the long haul is much harder.
There were two (2) Low Coolant warnings, and you topped them off (how much water did you add). When did you do this? After you allowed the engine to cool down completely?
If so, the coolant circuit should have been pressure tested overnight before any work was done to determine whether you had a blown head gasket or any other leak.
If and after it was found that there was no coolant leak, it should have been followed with a compression test on all cylinders.
At this stage, do not run the engine; run the test as outlined under 1-2 to avoid ruining it.
I don't think replacing the water pump caused the issue. Before this was done, a proper analysis of why you had a coolant loss should have determined what must be done first.
How much and where your coolant leak is will determine whether it's a head(s) of only or engine out job from here on.
Unfortunately, all this could have been avoided by following the correct procedures in the first place.
I saved a 2009 SL63 AMG engine after the owner told me he had to add about (1) quart of water to the coolant (some 2009 SL & S63 engines had known faulty head bolt issues that caused the leak). It became an engine-out job replacing lifters, etc. (while you are in there). This was about two years ago, and the car is still running strong and has many more miles to go.
The question is, is it economically visible to spend the $ money, or do you like the car so much that you want to get it done the right way? My 2007 SL55 has given me 132K smile miles and continues to do so every time I drive it. I regard myself fortunate to have the ability (know-how and tools) to do all my work on all my cars.
If you are not in that position, keeping an older car in excellent condition in the long haul is much harder.
I hope this helps, good luck,
I wish you well,
HK
@Hendrik Koster thank you for the feedback which is very helpful.
The low coolant issues only came up after the new water pump was installed as my only issues prior to that was just the noisy water pump but coolant level was always normal and the coolant temps normal.
I dont believe the shop pressure tested the coolant system before installing the new pump, but I will ask them tomorrow when I have the car towed over to their shop.
I got the car back a week ago Saturday after a initial 45 minute drive I let the car sit overnight and thats when I saw the fluid was about 2 inches below the full line in the coolant reservoir so I added about 24 ounces of fluid that i had pre-mixed (50/50 distilled water and MB blue coolant). Drove the car that next day for about another 30 minutes in the morning and let it cool before checking again that evening to see the coolant level again had dropped about 2 inches from the coolant reservoir fill line so again added 24oz more fluid. At this point I thought it was just not properly bled so drove it again on the 3rd day and ran with the heat on and after that 3rd drive it again was showing low coolant about 2 inches below the fill line and thats when I decided to check the oil cap and saw the milky oil.
The car has 80k miles on it and the timing cover o-rings are 20 years old and likely have hardened (i'm told) and didnt seal properly allowing coolant to mix into the oil pan. Another forum member suggested that the timing of this issue with the new water pump install was because there are a few water pump bolts that attached to the timing cover and when those were removed it released just enough tension to allow coolant to pass through the worn o-ring seal.
I've done a fair amount of basic work on the car (alternator, plugs, coils, belts, fluids etc) but this job is way beyond my abilities if it confirmed to be the timing cover o-ring seals. I'm going to have to make a hard decision at that point as I'm told this repair is either an engine out job or can be done from the top but with many hours of labor to get to the o-rings (Subframe needs out, suspension, both oil pans out, supercharger, all timing covers off. And all accessories).
will drain the oil tonight and see what that looks like and am assuming it will show coolant contamination / mikly in color.... will have it towed to the shop from there and have to make some hard decisions if its worth it for me to repair it since its my 4th car and the repair could be 50% of the cars value and not worth it...
I appreciate your input thanks again... will share an update as I learn more. .
You need to do a pressure test on the cooling system and an engine compression test. If the compression test is good, you won't need to take the engine out. You should be able to find your coolant leak and repair it with the engine in the car.
One or two oil and filter changes should be made, and you should be in good shape.
You need to do a pressure test on the cooling system and an engine compression test. If the compression test is good, you won't need to take the engine out. You should be able to find your coolant leak and repair it with the engine in the car.
One or two oil and filter changes should be made, and you should be in good shape.
Best,
HK
@Hendrik Koster thank you and I’m going to do exactly as you suggest have the shop do coolant system pressure test and then cylinder compression test. I only briefly drove the car so am hoping cylinders are fine but they’ll definitely need to remove the lower oil pan to confirm the coolant system leak from the o-rings which all indicators are pointing to.
will share an update as I learn more. Thank you again.
And yiu wont need to remove the pan, just take the water pump off, there’s a goo chance that the passenger side one has relocated to the head coolant passage.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
