I just returned from a 1000 mile trip this weekend. The ML320 was great. No BAS/ESP lights, no CEL. About 40 miles from home, the oil light came on. I pulled over at the closest turnpike travel plaza to check the oil level. It was borderline but I thought I'd go into the gas station to see if they had Mobil One or ANY Synthetic. No luck, so I figured I'd just wait until I got home. When I pulled it into the garage and opened the oil fill cap, here is what I saw....
Had anyone ever experienced this before? What is this stuff???
Maybe a blown head gasket or cracked water jacket(you will need a new block).
I would R&Resurface the heads first, Do you have any white smoke coming from you exhaust, if so thats water.
Smoke indicator:
White = H2o
Blue = oil
black = fuel
blown head gasket. very big $$$$ repair. i would also bet that your coolant has oil in it and is very low or gone. dont drive it you will only damage the motor further as the oil does not have lubricating properties any more.. rite now best case is you change both hg and resurface both heads. pray that you did not crack the water jacket or you will need a new motor.
take it to a mechanic and have a leakdown test done. if it fails its the hg. if you see air bubbles comming up in the coolant during the test its the hg.
Last edited by 350chevrolet : 02-18-2008 at 09:57 PM.
Most of the times, this condition, known as "Oil Sludging", is caused by crankcase ventilation problems. The best way to see the severity is to remove the left side (driver's) valve cover and check for accumulation there. Make sure you have a new gasket on hand before you start #112 016 02 21. Read all the information supplied, and pay particular attention to clogged and or missing vent holes. Also check for soft or clogged breather hoses attached to the valve covers.
I would seriously flush that engine a couple of times to remove all that sludge/foam. You don't want it to clog your engine. My former 2001 ML 320 had a huge amount of sludge. Once I flushed a couple of times, it ran great and did not have sludge forming again.
Flush the engine and then check to see how it does with the new oil and cleaned engine.. If you get again sludge/foam in a significant way, then you may want to have it chcked.
I would always flush the engine after every oil service to finish cleaning the engine internal oil passages.
Good luck..
AC
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2005 ML 500
Black, 18" AMG Wheels, 285/60R18 Falken Ziex ST/Z + Bi-Xenons(+ Drew's e-code mod), Yakima roof bars. Former vehicle 2001 ML 320 with 108K miles, when traded, and a large repair/defect history.
It looks exactly like mine did. Take it for a couple hour trip, and if the stuff is on the ML after a couple hours of highway driving I would be concerned. Mine disappeared after driving a couple hours.
I HAD SOME ISSUES WITH MY ML... I SEAFOAMED THE CRAP OUT OF IT (LITERALLY). IT RUNS SMOOTHER AND CLEANER NOW THAN IT DID THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. GOOD LUCK
It looks exactly like mine did. Take it for a couple hour trip, and if the stuff is on the ML after a couple hours of highway driving I would be concerned. Mine disappeared after driving a couple hours.
Laxman, if the minor sludge is formed due to condensation (this is formed when you drive the car on relatively short trips; not letting the engine warm-up for the condensation to be evaporated), then, driving on a highway until all the condensation is evaporated would solve the issue.
But, I think, this is way more than 'minor sludge'. That's my 0.02 :-)
PEANUT BUTTER -LIKE OIL???
Linear Mode
