Yup, my girlfriend filled up our r320 (that was pretty low on diesel with gas because she was too busy talking to her mother on the phone to pay attention... She drove off. She made it about 300 yards before stalling at a stop light. She said she then realized what she'd done and then called me... I told her to wait and do NOT try to start it again. I called a truck and had it towed to the shop... I'm really hoping there's not any REAL damage... My question to you guys is this.. (And I'm freaking out and trying not to be angry with her - I've made stupid mistakes too) how likely is it that the car will be ok after draining the tank and rinsing the injectors and such?
Got bad news today- the shop says $6400 to fix it. They say the fuel lines have metal in them as well as the filter from the pump bearings breaking down from the gasoline.
We had one in that was that bad and the owner was able to get their insurance to cover it.
Before you make a claim or pay that much to fix it go to the dealer/shop and have them show you the damage.
I would like to think they are being straight about it, but they could using it as excuse to sale a whole lot of parts
and labor.
Depending on how long the engine ran, the damage could range from minimal to astronomical. I am a bit suspect about the diagnosis you have received relative to the cost estimate for repair. As is most major matters of this type, a second opinion is encouraged.
I ran this by a mechanic friend of mine this morning. He seems to think you're fixing to be took for a ride unless Mercedes diesel injector pumps are just weak. He says drain the fuel, flush the lines, replace the filter, refill with diesel and run a small bottle of 2 cycle oil through the new fuel filter and whats left dump in the tank. If you do indeed have this much damage, the car was run a lot more than 300 yards. Maybe she sat idling at the gas station before taking off down the road? Who knows. But he says $6400 is way too much of a repair cost even if the pump is toast.
Interesting... I would have trusted this shop with anything a couple of years ago- the owner who'd been a friend for 30 years had a heart attack and passed. I don't know the new owners, but this does not give me a good feeling. I know it was only driven about 300 or so yards because that's where I came to meet her stalled... She's not the type to sit idling.... They were telling me before they even looked at it to turn it in to insurance... What should this repair cost?
Having bearing failing on 300 yard drive becouse of lower lubrication of gasoline?
Gasoline is not such bad lubricant to start with and I am with those who are skeptics about the estimate.
Can you copy the estimate here with names removed?
"filter from pump bearing" that sure makes me scratching my head.
I can when I get it- at this point, the insurance company is sending someone to the shop to look at the damage... I'm thinking these repairs should be done at the dealership... There are only 2 places around that work on MB diesels. That place and the dealer.
To anyone searching, the entire fuel system had to be replaced before it would run correctly. Low pressure pump, high pressure pump, injectors, it was about $12,000 in damage. Insurance company would have totaled it out if they had not tried to replace it a piece at a time then got in too for to turn back.
I think the dealer was hosing you, and the insurance company, someone else on this forum had this happen and it caused no damage and they drove even further. Engine would shut down due to preignition on gasoline.
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