Seized Engine UOA - Proving shop damaged my engine

RStar40

RStar40

Joined
Jun 17, 2024
Messages
4
Hi Folks!

First time poster, long time fan...

I had a shop change an oil cooler on a Mercedes Sprinter 2500 (3.0L V6 Diesel). This is a very involved job - like 17 hours of tear down, and apparently requires neurosurgeon cleanliness, and meticulous attention to detail. One important bit is not only does the coolant need to be drained, but also then vacuumed to make sure no residual coolant remains in the system when the oil cooler is removed. This is a critical detail that is not common on any other automotive engine I'm aware of.

Also, the oil cooler sits in the valley of the engine, and the oil ports apparently drop straight onto the #4 and #5 main bearings. No filter in between.

I picked up the van a couple weeks later, and made it about 50 miles before the engine seized. I had it towed to the Mercedes dealer, and apparently this is a common problem if you're not familiar with the specifics of this job. One of two things happened -- either dirt fell into the oil ports and killed my main bearings (which should be obvious via teardown and inspection of bearings #4 and #5.... or... coolant got into the oil ports and did the same thing.

Interestingly, this engine requires a specific Mercedes oil grade - 229.52. Only a few manufacturers/products and oil weights are approved for use on this engine. In 2013, there were only 5 oils approved. Now the list is 30+. My point is, the shop put in 15w40 oil. Nowhere in the approved oils list is a 15w40 oil. (It is 0W-30, 0W-40, 5w30, 5W-40 ONLY)

My plan is to sample the oil and send it out to a few labs for analysis. I think the different/unapproved engine oil weight will be easy to prove at least negligence. How sensitive are UOA's to coolant? If they dropped a few mL's of coolant and it made it to the sump, would it be detectable? Any other suggestions on how to proceed?

Thanks all!
 
15w-40 isn't what caused that main bearing failure. I doubt they put metal shavings/filings in the engine as that is the only thing that can cause a bearing failure, actual dirt or any similar soft contamination won't do that. I also don't believe a small amount of coolant would cause that but check the oil color. I don't know how much drains out of the cooler if it isn't properly vacuumed as you say but i assume they wouldn't have bothered to change the oil first thing as that's almost always the after thought of a big job so if that coolant made it into the old oil then most of it would have drained out with the old oil. If a small amount of coolant got in then it shouldn't have made the oil milky to cause a failure. Do a uoa anyway to check. Unfortunately I think this may have been just bad luck and coincidental timing. The only way the shop can be at fault is if they improperly installed the gasket allowing for serious contamination which would make the oil very milky.
 
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demarpaint said:
What year is the vehicle and how many miles were on it when it failed?
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My thoughts too, from the profile image it looks like an older one and a well used one. I think it may have been just unfortunate timing unless they did the job wrong and the bad gasket allowed for serious coolant contamination.
 
Can you post the shop report from the Mercedes dealer that diagnosed the failure?

Also those oil grades you list aren't the important bit, even if it wasn't the cause of the failure. It's the approval that's important. Even so whatever oil was used wasn't the cause of failure in 50 miles. Your UOA won't show anything related to the oil as being a culprit. It's a 40-grade and approved oils can also be a 40-grade. Winter rating is irrelevant here.
 
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Yeah post the documents, blur out any private info. And what's the year and mileage of the van.
 
JavierH19 said:
My thoughts too, from the profile image it looks like an older one and a well used one. I think it may have been just unfortunate timing.
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Me too, and quite honestly their 3.0L diesel is not a great engine to begin with from what I've read and heard. If it is out of warranty I have a feeling the OP is going to be out of luck altogether.
 
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I would think its more likely the actual oil flow was stopped or severely restricted somehow to part or all of the engine. Oil type or slight coolant contamination shouldn't matter in 50 miles or 500 IMO. Or no coolant at all in the engine? I assume most of the fuel system was also out of floor as well to make this a 17 hr job? Maybe something got dropped into the crankcase?
 
Just looked up an image of an om642 crank and the oil holes are the standard large diameter size like in any other crank I've seen. A spec of dirt wouldn't clog them and the bearing would get slightly scored but would still get enough oil to keep it from getting spun easily.
 
I would just go back to the garage will all the threads that are around showing the same issue and advise they need to put it right.

Have you even spoken to them about it?
 
JavierH19 said:
15w-40 isn't what caused that main bearing failure. I doubt they put metal shavings/filings in the engine as that is the only thing that can cause a bearing failure, actual dirt or any similar soft contamination won't do that. I also don't believe a small amount of coolant would cause that but check the oil color. I don't know how much drains out of the cooler if it isn't properly vacuumed as you say but i assume they wouldn't have bothered to change the oil first thing as that's almost always the after thought of a big job so if that coolant made it into the old oil then most of it would have drained out with the old oil. If a small amount of coolant got in then it shouldn't have made the oil milky to cause a failure. Do a uoa anyway to check. Unfortunately I think this may have been just bad luck and coincidental timing. The only way the shop can be at fault is if they improperly installed the gasket allowing for serious contamination which would make the oil very milky.
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I agree the engine oil weight won't cause failure, but it's just another thing that points to negligence on their part. Based on the threads I've read, it seems to be a really common failure after changing the oil cooler (or seals), and the fact I made it 50 miles out of their shop seems like really, really coincidental timing.
 
Bailes1992 said:
I would just go back to the garage will all the threads that are around showing the same issue and advise they need to put it right.

Have you even spoken to them about it?
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I have. "We pride ourselves in our workmanship. These are just allegations without proof" ... paraphrasing but basically told me to take a hike. And they even have a (worthless) warranty on their work
 
RStar40 said:
I agree the engine oil weight won't cause failure, but it's just another thing that points to negligence on their part. Based on the threads I've read, it seems to be a really common failure after changing the oil cooler (or seals), and the fact I made it 50 miles out of their shop seems like really, really coincidental timing.
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That's not negligence of a degree that would cause a failure in 50 miles. You're still going on "oil weight' when in fact the oil viscosity is acceptable.

Can you post the write-up by the Mercedes dealership?
 
Did not read everything here, but how do you prime the system on this V6 after an OC R&R?, Reads like starvation and also maybe some junk in there too. The double whammy. If they won't make this right - lawsuit. Done one of these on an Audi. Day of court they settled for market value of vehicle and I kept vehicle also.

Q- was the oil/water heat exchanger leaking coolant in oil for a while before the repair? That in itself may kill the bearings over a couple months time
 
A mechanic explained it well on that Sprinter site. That engine oil cooler system on that engine is a terrible design but MB let it ride for over a decade. Doubt it has been remedied even today. Those oil cooler seals routinely go bad. It was a $8.00 part with 2500-3k labor with no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. I had an ML with that engine that I had good luck with and really liked but that oil cooler seal replacement hung over my head the whole time. After about 135k I didn't want to push my luck so went back to gas.
 
RStar40 said:
I have. "We pride ourselves in our workmanship. These are just allegations without proof" ... paraphrasing but basically told me to take a hike. And they even have a (worthless) warranty on their work
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There's karma. If I owned that shop I'd be concerned who worked on that vehicle, regardless of what I tell the customer. I would take the time to go BBB and Yelp, then whatever recourse through DMV. If not to get it resolved, at least to let them know I'd do the bare minimum to let others know. BBB has always worked for me, for some reason, businesses care about their A+ rating.
 
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