excessive oil consumption

[ralbani]

My pagoda has only 37,000 Km. (22,000 miles). Has been left yto rot in a garage for 10 years. Now, after numerous repair jobs seems to run very well..... but, although its engine is practically new, suddenly, after I changed the fuel tank wich was rusty, it started  consuming a pint of oil in a run of 40-50 km. No leakage visible, non strange fumes in the exaust. Any idea? I would really appreciate a suggestion.
Bob

[ja17]

Hello Bob,
If your engine is consuming this much oil without oil fouling  spark plugs and has no major oil leaks, you most likely have an exhaust valve guide loose in the head.
The symptoms would be high oil consumption, smoke from the tail pipes after warm up but the engine continues to run fine.



Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[ralbani]

quote:Originally posted by ja17

Hello Bob,
If your engine is consuming this much oil without oil fouling  spark plugs and has no major oil leaks, you most likely have an exhaust valve guide loose in the head.
The symptoms would be high oil consumption, smoke from the tail pipes after warm up but the engine continues to run fine.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

Thanks a lot Joe,
I realized I had made a mistake in adding too little oil after a repair work. My car now (cross fingers!)is running beautifully and consuming very little oil. Thanks again for your suggestion,
Bob

[Edited for clairity by "Moderator"]

[ralbani]

quote:Originally posted by ja17

Hello Bob,
If your engine is consuming this much oil without oil fouling  spark plugs and has no major oil leaks, you most likely have an exhaust valve guide loose in the head.
The symptoms would be high oil consumption, smoke from the tail pipes after warm up but the engine continues to run fine.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

Joe, I see from suggestions you have made to other folks that you know quite a bit about our type of car. Do you have any idea on how to reduce a bit the noise level coming from the engine? Someone suggested to glue a foil of heat-resistent material under the hood. Any experience with that? Thanks,
Bob  

[Edited for clairity by "Moderator"]

[ja17]

Hello Bob,
Easy fix, thats good news! Yes, always check the oil after start up. The 280SL will hold around 7 qts.  When changing oil don't forget to drain the oil cooler attached next to the radiator. It has a 17mm drain plug of its own.

I can't offer too much advice in the way non original noise reduction. However on the later Mercedes cars a hood pad was used for this purpose. I hate to see the underside of that aluminum hood messed up with adhesives to hold that pad.

The stock firewall padding was for noise reduction. If yours is ok there is not much you can do there.

There is a very good black rubber soundproofing material. It is iron filled and has a very high rating (STC) for soundproofing. It is about 1/8" thick. You may be able to install it under the mats inside.

Sound is difficult to control. It must be blocked and isolated because it travels through air or resonates through many other materials. Any place you have an opening in your firewall sound will gush in. Make sure all your rubber grommets and pads are intact and seal any openings no matter how small.

If your engine valve adjustment is loose you will have additional noise  to control. Engine noises and vibration will also travel through the metal into the car if your motor mounts are bad or your exhaust system is touching any part of the chasis. Bad subframe mounts can also allow road noises to be transfered into the cabin.


Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by ja17

Any place you have an opening in your firewall sound will gush in. Make sure all your rubber grommets and pads are intact and seal any openings no matter how small.

Cees Klumper concentrated on this aspect of noise reduction and reported a noticable difference.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420