E55: Oil Starvation From Bad Oil Pump O-Ring?
#26
Member
Thread Starter
Not sure if you're allowed to link content from other MB sites so I won't even try, but if anyone googles "Adding oil pressure gauge CLK500", they'll find someone who tapped this very port for an oil pressure gauge. It's a W209, but the part number and function of the port are the same as our cars. Hardest part of the install seems to be figuring out where to mount the gauge, assuming you want more info than just an idiot light that gets triggered at some catastrophically low pressure.
#27
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I think it is because the chunk came out of the one on his original engine. I agree that even with a hardened o-ring as long as it is still in one piece and under undisturbed sealing pressure it is probably working 98% as well as it was when new. It is a bit hard to speculate on the condition of the replacement engine's bearings. Maybe the engine was well taken care of, maybe not. Maybe it was a coincidence the second engine also had some minor damage. Maybe all of our engines look like the second one but never get significantly any worse in their life to actually cause failure. Lots of questions, N=2 doesn't quite do it for me yet.
#28
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Thread Starter
I had the subframe out and the oil pan off once for maintenance a couple years ago. It wasn't that bad of a job except for resealing the oil pan. Oil drips out endlessly and gets on the sealing surface, even after a week. If it wasn't for that, I'd pull it out again for my next round of suspension maintenance and have a look.
#29
Member
Thread Starter
I think it is because the chunk came out of the one on his original engine. I agree that even with a hardened o-ring as long as it is still in one piece and under undisturbed sealing pressure it is probably working 98% as well as it was when new. It is a bit hard to speculate on the condition of the replacement engine's bearings. Maybe the engine was well taken care of, maybe not. Maybe it was a coincidence the second engine also had some minor damage. Maybe all of our engines look like the second one but never get significantly any worse in their life to actually cause failure. Lots of questions, N=2 doesn't quite do it for me yet.
#31
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#32
Junior Member
Sadly, I had to take the engine of my E55 apart. I was installing a water injection nozzle pre intercooler and after assembling everything back together I started the engine again. Three seconds later all hell broke loose. Clearly, something was in the engine. At this point I still don't know what happened. I disassembled the engine and found a ball of a bearing witch got smashed between the piston and the head. None of my tools got damaged nor were there any bearing parts on my work bench so I have no idea where the ball came from.
I took the engine apart and found a lot of evidence of this not being the first disassembly, so clearly there was an incident before. At this point I still don't know where the ball came from and I hope to find out when I disassemble the supercharger witch won't happen before September. I took a look at the o-ring of the oil pump and it was in reasonable condition. However the rod bearings were a disaster. I found 6 spun bearings on 3 journals. This engine was about to grenade. The crank is reusable, but will need some work.
The car is from 11/2003 and has 130000 miles. It has been stock for 128000 miles and is running a 76mm pulley with a heat exchanger. When looking at the interieur and the state of the bores there is nothing that indicates it has more miles.
I included some pictures of the damage, spun bearings, engine storage and the car in it's previous condition.
You can clearly see the spun bearing.
E55 storage
More storage
Broken piston
I took the engine apart and found a lot of evidence of this not being the first disassembly, so clearly there was an incident before. At this point I still don't know where the ball came from and I hope to find out when I disassemble the supercharger witch won't happen before September. I took a look at the o-ring of the oil pump and it was in reasonable condition. However the rod bearings were a disaster. I found 6 spun bearings on 3 journals. This engine was about to grenade. The crank is reusable, but will need some work.
The car is from 11/2003 and has 130000 miles. It has been stock for 128000 miles and is running a 76mm pulley with a heat exchanger. When looking at the interieur and the state of the bores there is nothing that indicates it has more miles.
I included some pictures of the damage, spun bearings, engine storage and the car in it's previous condition.
You can clearly see the spun bearing.
E55 storage
More storage
Broken piston
#33
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2002 CLK 55 AMG cabriolet Eurocharged
pickup pipe
Thanks for sharing the grief. A highly educational and enlightening video.
This can happen to any engine. As the M113 ages gracefully. It is still most reliable and healthy engine I have worked on as a daily driver. Racing engines are in a class of their own..
Most US engines from pre EPA restrictions used a press fit sump tube into the pump with a vibra-tite sealant. the pipe also bolted to the crank main cap. Ford notably used a bolt on sump to the pump and micro thin gasket.
I will remember this post for the next M113 opened for mods.
Cheers, Gator
This can happen to any engine. As the M113 ages gracefully. It is still most reliable and healthy engine I have worked on as a daily driver. Racing engines are in a class of their own..
Most US engines from pre EPA restrictions used a press fit sump tube into the pump with a vibra-tite sealant. the pipe also bolted to the crank main cap. Ford notably used a bolt on sump to the pump and micro thin gasket.
I will remember this post for the next M113 opened for mods.
Cheers, Gator
Last edited by GatorMB; 07-09-2018 at 12:08 PM. Reason: added content
#34
Member
Do you think the spun bearings can be attributed to the failure, or are a separate issue altogether?
#35
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#36
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2002 CLK 55 AMG cabriolet Eurocharged
I have a different sump on CLK 55 M113, after reading this thread I may drop the pump for inspection before W211 blower mounting.
Wow what a run on. haha.
Gulp cheers
Wow what a run on. haha.
Gulp cheers
#37
MBWorld Fanatic!
Why would you take advice from a guy who modded his car and tracked it and pulled the engine out on his driveway with a floorjack.
On top o f that seems desperate to make it on youtube.
A stock e55 will not blow an engine due to this unless the owner completely dismissed maintenance for a long time.
On top o f that seems desperate to make it on youtube.
A stock e55 will not blow an engine due to this unless the owner completely dismissed maintenance for a long time.
#38
MBWorld Fanatic!
Newsflash boys and girls! Our as old as 15 year old engines have rubber parts sealing things up. Heat cycles over years. This stuff fails. If you guys have not already done it.... Reseal the oil filter housing to the block. Potential pressure fed leak. Front and rear crankshaft seals. Cam cover gaskets. Crankcase ventilation hoses... Regular maintenance. Want a Camry that doesn't need this stuff? Buy one of those and lose a bit of your soul every time you drive it. Otherwise.... We are driving the naughty force-fed German toys! They require some babysitting.
#39
Junior Member
Newsflash boys and girls! Our as old as 15 year old engines have rubber parts sealing things up. Heat cycles over years. This stuff fails. If you guys have not already done it.... Reseal the oil filter housing to the block. Potential pressure fed leak. Front and rear crankshaft seals. Cam cover gaskets. Crankcase ventilation hoses... Regular maintenance. Want a Camry that doesn't need this stuff? Buy one of those and lose a bit of your soul every time you drive it. Otherwise.... We are driving the naughty force-fed German toys! They require some babysitting.
#41
MBWorld Fanatic!
Despite the evidence there are nowhere near high enough numbers to support this being a real problem. Even M156 headbolts being a well recognised issue are still pretty rare. It might be that all of our cars have slightly spun bearings and it just isn't causing a problem during the life of the engine unless you have a twin charged, pushed to the limits, track destroyer. As mentioned, anyone who is worried should install a pressure gauge. I will probably do it in the next couple of years. In the mean time I will pretend that very low mileage and not using the car much will save me.
#43
Member
These cars are pushed pretty hard all around the world. I think the only real failures have been due to fuel pressure dropping, which seems to be a symptom of the recall pumps and incorrect wiring (correct wiring solved my problem).
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GatorMB (08-27-2018)
#44
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2002 CLK 55 AMG cabriolet Eurocharged
Neoprene failure is evident
Just for a heads up folks. The gaskets used in manufacture of lubrication system are prone to fail no matter.
I recently resealed a newly acquired CLK55 NA M113. These seals are from the oil cooler housing which is shared with M112, M113, M113K. They loose elasticity like valve cover gaskets, A heat n cool process that never ends
The oil pickup tube might have been crystallized with heat but should not have broken in its orifice.
I like the video for presence of common failures among these engines in general.(well Narrated)
Best, Gator
#45
Newbie
I am coming into this late, but perhaps I can dispel the fears of those coming to it later. This "Not!" a design flaw and it is "Not" a fault of the O-ring.
This an over heat problem.I have seen a lot of O-ring failures like this in engines and hydraulic systems. This hardened O-ring was definitely cause by massively over heated oil condition, and it happened over time. He has been racing it, but that in itself should not have cause the problem.My educated guess from 50 years of building high performance engines and repairing everything from lawn mowers to battle tanksis that this is a problem with his oil cooling system.Your engine oil temperature should remain at approximately the same temperature as your coolant temperature (the water in you radiator).The more horsepower you force an engine to produce, the more critical oil temp control becomes. Horsepower is created by heat, the more heat the more power, the more power the more heat. That is why Mercedes and other performance car makers add an auxiliary oil cooling system to their performance cars..Most heavy diesel engines have a water cooled system as do some cars. Most hydraulic systems operate at higher temps and are almost invariably air cooled, they also use a different oil to handle the higher temps. Mercedes has an external oil cooling system like the one pictured, not all models may be exactly like this one, but this is an example from an '05 E55.Notice the small square radiator? This is usually located on one side of the car just behind one of the screened air scoops in the bumper.Most but maybe not all, (I haven't seen them all) also has an electric fan behind that little radiator.In some I have worked on, the motor is stuck and will not turn. They are in a major hostile environment, down at the bottom of the car just in front of the tire, sucking in water and dirt and every nasty thing you drive the car through. Nobody pays attention to them and 99% of people don't even know they are there because you don't see them.. If you have one of these cars check them once in a while to see if they still spin free and the fan motor is working. If you are using the car as a driver and only street race it occasionally, the fan not working won't be much of a problem. If you are racing it, especially for long periods where the oil does not have a chance to cool down by itself, that cooling system not working will destroy your engine. This engine failed from overheating the oil which caused the o-ring to harden and crack, but I doubt that caused the problem it is just s symptom of the oil heat. Most likely cause was a combination of the deterioration of the oil from over heat (it had the lubricating properties of heated water) causing the metal to swell, the rod bearing with the least clearance contacted the crank first and is the one that seized first bringing the whole engine to screeching halt.
This an over heat problem.I have seen a lot of O-ring failures like this in engines and hydraulic systems. This hardened O-ring was definitely cause by massively over heated oil condition, and it happened over time. He has been racing it, but that in itself should not have cause the problem.My educated guess from 50 years of building high performance engines and repairing everything from lawn mowers to battle tanksis that this is a problem with his oil cooling system.Your engine oil temperature should remain at approximately the same temperature as your coolant temperature (the water in you radiator).The more horsepower you force an engine to produce, the more critical oil temp control becomes. Horsepower is created by heat, the more heat the more power, the more power the more heat. That is why Mercedes and other performance car makers add an auxiliary oil cooling system to their performance cars..Most heavy diesel engines have a water cooled system as do some cars. Most hydraulic systems operate at higher temps and are almost invariably air cooled, they also use a different oil to handle the higher temps. Mercedes has an external oil cooling system like the one pictured, not all models may be exactly like this one, but this is an example from an '05 E55.Notice the small square radiator? This is usually located on one side of the car just behind one of the screened air scoops in the bumper.Most but maybe not all, (I haven't seen them all) also has an electric fan behind that little radiator.In some I have worked on, the motor is stuck and will not turn. They are in a major hostile environment, down at the bottom of the car just in front of the tire, sucking in water and dirt and every nasty thing you drive the car through. Nobody pays attention to them and 99% of people don't even know they are there because you don't see them.. If you have one of these cars check them once in a while to see if they still spin free and the fan motor is working. If you are using the car as a driver and only street race it occasionally, the fan not working won't be much of a problem. If you are racing it, especially for long periods where the oil does not have a chance to cool down by itself, that cooling system not working will destroy your engine. This engine failed from overheating the oil which caused the o-ring to harden and crack, but I doubt that caused the problem it is just s symptom of the oil heat. Most likely cause was a combination of the deterioration of the oil from over heat (it had the lubricating properties of heated water) causing the metal to swell, the rod bearing with the least clearance contacted the crank first and is the one that seized first bringing the whole engine to screeching halt.
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#47
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FWIW I was never able to get my E-55 to tell the engine oil temp in the cluster.
My 221 S-65 has this option. First thing I reach for starting it is three clicks to the right to get it to display oil temp and voltage.
I don't hammer on it until oil temp is above 80C.
Now if only I could get it to show boost and oil temp. Hmmmm
My 221 S-65 has this option. First thing I reach for starting it is three clicks to the right to get it to display oil temp and voltage.
I don't hammer on it until oil temp is above 80C.
Now if only I could get it to show boost and oil temp. Hmmmm
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racinwarrior (06-06-2019)