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Help! Mechanic says engine needs a valve job
- Thread starter Modpryor
- Start date
I'm not Gerry however He and others will likely ask how many miles are on your motor. It's very unusual to have valve problems on an M119.
It is a big job to remove heads and there are many "while your in there" tasks that would be foolish not to address while doing so which makes for a very expensive invoice.
drew
It is a big job to remove heads and there are many "while your in there" tasks that would be foolish not to address while doing so which makes for a very expensive invoice.
drew
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It has 145 thousand miles
I just had a MAF system installed the engine now runs good as I drive the car for a short while white smoke comes out of the exhaust and it looses power.
Thanks
White smoke MAY indicate a head gasket failing, allowing coolant into the combustion chamber. However, this can usually be diagnosed more accurately before pulling a cylinder head. Is there another reputable mechanic in the area you could visit for a second opinion?
Head gasket failures are also pretty rare. Cost to pull one or both heads would be $$$$... ton of labor, and a lot of "while you're in there" work to be done, causing the price to increase further.
@gerryvz - anything obvious I'm forgetting here?
Come to think of it It started smoking when the mechanic put Mobile one synthetic oil in it. I had him drain it out it stop for awhile and now every now and then it smokes again. Yes there is another reputable mechanic. I'll have him check it for a second opinion.
I recommend you have a reputable mechanic give the car a leakdown test, and a compression test. That will determine the health of the engine, and the ability of the valves to hold pressure. You will know if you need a "valve job" after these tests, as well as if you'd need a head gasket.
Well I got my car back I replaced the MAF sensor for the second time hoping everything would be back to normal unfortunately that's not the case it's
running more like a 4 cylinder no more white smoke after the mechanic change the oil to 20w 50 instead of 10w 40 non synthetic. The biggest problem is when I stop and accelerate I have to put the gas pedal almost to the floor to get acceleration. I do work at a Mercedes dealership but they seem not to know how to fix my car.
Please Help
Thanks
These are the following repairs that were done on my 1993 500E Mercedes between July -August
2 Fuel Pump
All 8 Fuel Injectors
Vacuum hose's
2 Ignition coils
2 Cap & rotors also 2 cap insulators
8 spark plugs plus Compression Check 140 avg.
Mass Air Flow Sensor
Throttle Body with ASR
running more like a 4 cylinder no more white smoke after the mechanic change the oil to 20w 50 instead of 10w 40 non synthetic. The biggest problem is when I stop and accelerate I have to put the gas pedal almost to the floor to get acceleration. I do work at a Mercedes dealership but they seem not to know how to fix my car.
Please Help
Thanks
These are the following repairs that were done on my 1993 500E Mercedes between July -August
2 Fuel Pump
All 8 Fuel Injectors
Vacuum hose's
2 Ignition coils
2 Cap & rotors also 2 cap insulators
8 spark plugs plus Compression Check 140 avg.
Mass Air Flow Sensor
Throttle Body with ASR
Rather than fire up the parts cannon again, please do read / record / clear all fault codes in the car.
Then drive it for a bit and re-check the codes and report those back so members can offer assistance.
I'll do that.
Thanks
Wild guessing... it almost sounds like the ignition misfire often related to liquid behind the distributor cap insulators. ?? That makes the engine run terrible, you push on the accelerator pedal, and go nowhere. If the caps/rotors are not recent, you should remove them for inspection, and also remove the rotor bracket so you can remove the insulator & inspect the back side. Note that with ignition system faults, there are typically no codes. But if you connect SDS and view live data from the EZL on HHT-Win when the problem occurs, you can see the fault in the ignition voltages displayed.
If the car sometimes runs OK, it's unlikely to be plugged exhaust catalysts, but you can temporarily remove the front crossover pipe for a quick test. I doubt this is your problem though.
Can you provide any more details about the problem? Is it all the time? Only with cold engine? Only with hot engine? Only after driving at least 10-15 minutes? Etc.
If the car sometimes runs OK, it's unlikely to be plugged exhaust catalysts, but you can temporarily remove the front crossover pipe for a quick test. I doubt this is your problem though.
Can you provide any more details about the problem? Is it all the time? Only with cold engine? Only with hot engine? Only after driving at least 10-15 minutes? Etc.
Imo looks like they changed the throttle body , could mean also that the throttle linkage is not correct . Too tighten or loose , this causing to floor pedal before the car accelerates ... but most of the time this should flash the asr on .
Could be ezl plugs not plugged in properly.
P.s : I don't understand why " mechanics" put thicker oil just to camouflage or "solve" some problems. As this will be a good start to make the engine worse .
Also check your spark plug wire boots. They Often are loosen and thus having bad connection.
U can easily plug them out and retighten by hand to see if u have good contact .
Etanox
Could be ezl plugs not plugged in properly.
P.s : I don't understand why " mechanics" put thicker oil just to camouflage or "solve" some problems. As this will be a good start to make the engine worse .
Also check your spark plug wire boots. They Often are loosen and thus having bad connection.
U can easily plug them out and retighten by hand to see if u have good contact .
Etanox
Mod,
One question no one has asked in regards to the smoking. Are you aware of any overheating to the point (really hot) that it could blow a head gasket or fry the valve seals or possibly a backfire which could blow a head gasket also.
Note that bad valve seals would show up upon start up.
BTW, I run Royal Purple 20-50 synthetic oil in my car with 142K miles on it. A lot of our guys use Red Line synthetic which I am considering for my next oil change. Before the synthetic it was always 20-50 Dino oil before I even purchased the car at 87K miles. To me living in SoCal the 20-50 is perfect. In Florida it should be also. So don’t let anybody tell you it’s to cover up a problem.
Take Care
One question no one has asked in regards to the smoking. Are you aware of any overheating to the point (really hot) that it could blow a head gasket or fry the valve seals or possibly a backfire which could blow a head gasket also.
Note that bad valve seals would show up upon start up.
BTW, I run Royal Purple 20-50 synthetic oil in my car with 142K miles on it. A lot of our guys use Red Line synthetic which I am considering for my next oil change. Before the synthetic it was always 20-50 Dino oil before I even purchased the car at 87K miles. To me living in SoCal the 20-50 is perfect. In Florida it should be also. So don’t let anybody tell you it’s to cover up a problem.
Take Care
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You are right about that TerryA ,
But the difference is this :
Assuming the problem started before oil change,
Makes me Wonder why thicker oil just trying to hide the smoke problem ?
it could be possible that the thicker oil made a film around the valve seals and stopping the smoke. But this would be more of a blue smoke i think.
Etanox
But the difference is this :
Assuming the problem started before oil change,
Makes me Wonder why thicker oil just trying to hide the smoke problem ?
it could be possible that the thicker oil made a film around the valve seals and stopping the smoke. But this would be more of a blue smoke i think.
Etanox
Different oils affect different motors. My first attempt to use synthetic was with Mobile 1 15-50. It went thru my engine like shit thru a tin horn. I literally used a quart in 1,000 miles. This from an engine that used no Dino oil in 3,000 mile changes.
I got the Mobile 1 15-50 out of my engine and switched to Royal Purple 20-50. I have had no problems running 6,000 miles between changes and NOT USING a DROP of oil.
I’m aware that the new technology for today’s new cars call for thinner oils to increase mileage BUT these modern engines with the aid of computers are built to closer/tighter specs which can tolerate these thin oils.
Our cars are 25 to 30 years old. The engine tolerances although precise were not that close back then. Mercedes allowed for 20-50 oil in warm climates.
IMOP, to me using a thin oil in Florida is just asking for problems. Using a spec 20-50 oil is not covering up a problem.
lol
I agree on that one terry no offense here xD
We are forgetting the fact that problem of mod stopped after putting 20-50 on it. Before that the car had probably already 10-40 in it and went to mechanic to tell the problem. So the point is he rather was trying to do a valve job on the car for more work as for more $$$ .
Your car runs fine with 20-50 no complaining here about that lol . But the fact remains that it COULD be covering the major problem by putting thicker oil to COVER mods problem . Not yours rofl XD
The point is it could be a possibility that the valve seals are shot , but it is unlikely that it will be as it would get blue smoke and oil consumption...
AFAIK mercedes allowed so much and yet still here we are changing parts that are so dangerous for us .
Harness , fuel lines for example ..
But you got it right as you are in a hot climate it would be your best option for your car .never denied that xD
As of now it is still a mystery , lets hope it will get solved ...
Gasket failing may also because of driving crazy at cold engine several times , altough never saw a good engine like m119 blow gaskets like this. Could be my luck ofcourse lol .
Also one thing in mind i have , could be mixture too lean or rich what can cause this smoke .. should ask mod for fuel smells or bad smell from exhaust ..
We are forgetting the fact that problem of mod stopped after putting 20-50 on it. Before that the car had probably already 10-40 in it and went to mechanic to tell the problem. So the point is he rather was trying to do a valve job on the car for more work as for more $$$ .
Your car runs fine with 20-50 no complaining here about that lol . But the fact remains that it COULD be covering the major problem by putting thicker oil to COVER mods problem . Not yours rofl XD
The point is it could be a possibility that the valve seals are shot , but it is unlikely that it will be as it would get blue smoke and oil consumption...
AFAIK mercedes allowed so much and yet still here we are changing parts that are so dangerous for us .
Harness , fuel lines for example ..
But you got it right as you are in a hot climate it would be your best option for your car .never denied that xD
As of now it is still a mystery , lets hope it will get solved ...
Gasket failing may also because of driving crazy at cold engine several times , altough never saw a good engine like m119 blow gaskets like this. Could be my luck ofcourse lol .
Also one thing in mind i have , could be mixture too lean or rich what can cause this smoke .. should ask mod for fuel smells or bad smell from exhaust ..
