Kevin J. Slater wrote:
Marshall,
I defer to your wisdom on this matter. Do you have another potential cause
for the blue smoke after pulling away from a stop, engine warm and the
amount of smoke varies with the length of time idling? Dave M. had this
issue and replaced the valve stem seals and the problem was cured. I'd
love to hear other potential causes before I tear down the top of the
motor to replace the seals.
Kevin, I wasn't suggesting that you valve stem seals aren't bad. Only
that for them to be bad then engine has probably been abused (or a least
improperly serviced). Unlike gasoline engines where valve guides and
stem seals sometimes don't even last 100kmi (early 300Es suffered from
that and later model guides an seals are almost always required by
200-250kmi) most diesels do NOT require that either be replaced during
the life of the engine. There are things that CAN destroy the guides and
seals, but they can usually be counted on the fingers of one hand and
they occur RARELY! It is MUCH more LIKELY that something else is causing
the problem. I recall when I had the seals replaced on a 201 190D 2.2.
The mechanic (he apprenticed at Mercedes in the late '40s) cautioned
that replacing guides or seals seldom solved oil problems in diesels
like it did in gasoline engines! He was absolutely correct in MY case.
Dave's situation seems to have resulted from improper installation of an
incorrect part. Not likely to happen to an engine that hasn't had guides
or seals worked on - and few Mercedes diesels have had the guides or
seals touched! VERY rare for it to happen from wear or age.
Marshall
--
Marshall Booth (who doesn't respond to unsigned questions)
"der Dieseling Doktor" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
'87 300TD 181Kmi,'87 190D 2.5 199Kmi, '84 190D 2.2 227Kmi, '85 190D 2.0
159Kmi, '87 190D 2.5 turbo 234kmi
Diesel Technical Advisor MBCA, member GWSection
http://www.dhc.net/~pmhack/mercedes/mbooth1.htm
