Insane failure on another Low Mileage Sprinter 3.0L engine

[MordusdepleinairQuebec]

there is a service bulletin for these engines. condensation in the intercooler causes hydro lock and rod faillure

[columbusracer]

Former Mercedes tech here. I’ve changed like 20-30 OM642 engines in the 907 platform and it has always been the number 6 cylinder that been compromised due to bent rods as a result of water collecting as ice in the intercooler when it’s cold whether, and when the ice melts in warmer whether or if the vehicle is stored inside hydro lock occurs and bending rods. Because of the nature that the intercooler is so low and the intake is high up, the water only manages to make it way up to the intake with help from boost pressure. So it doesn’t necessarily ever happen at startup, but when the boost comes in, then we are bending. And if you are reading this and thinking “ohh, good, my 907’s is a OM651 so i’m safe” Nope. The OM651 fails at the same way (only in cylinder no2 instead of cylinder no6) by bent rods caused by hydro locking. changed a fifty something of those too💁🏻‍♂️

[keeshoogtevrees-jvps]

Mercedes and quality, this was in the last century.

[the_first_resort]

Hydrolock from engine ingesting moisture in the intercooler. Changed plenty of sprinter engines for the same reason

[robertharker]

I truly enjoy this. So honest, real, open, no smoke and mirrors, just awesome. You guys do not pretend you have all the answers, and you ask us pertinent questions. Love every video, thanks.

[shannonharris]

I once had a rod cap come off an old gm 3.8L late 80s and the best part was it split in (at least) 2 pieces...while trying to transport a knocking engine home for the rebuild, going down the interstate at 55, knocking so loud it keep u awake at night, being cheap trying to save on the tow 😂....It finally gave out and blew off, locked up the engine... Half of it struck the block and cracked it (so much for the rebuild plan)... Found half of the rod cap in the oil pan during disassembly... And found the other half of the rod cap on TOP OF THE PISTON! 😮... It shot straight up thru it cracked the piston in half and came to rest on top of the piston. Couldn't believe something like that could happen.

I still got most of the piston.

Kept that one as a toolbox trophy 🏆!

[oilman]

My co worker had his engine explode like this. Put a hole on the side of the block. We are forced to maintain our vans and it still happened. I'm convinced companies are making crap. I watch this TY channel every day and I'm so surprised how a diesel engines blow up. Those rebuilds are 40k and up. I know people do oil changes when companies say every 10k miles. It should be done at 5k no matter what. Oil change is so much cheaper than a rebuild. Companies should rethink their maintenance sched but why should they. They hope your engine blows after warranty and you buy another one.
Dave's thinking is like mine do your maintenance and keep a tight schedule. I've owned many cars over my 40years of driving but never blew an engine. TY Dave for this great channel and educating the folks out there.

[pauldiesel]

“The first indication we got was” the MB Sprinter name on the side.
MB Sprinter vans, putting mechanics kids through medical school since 1995.

[welshwizard]

Before I retired I worked for a leasing company(my trade is a mechanic, fed up of garages) We had a fleet of Sprinter ambulances maybe 200, Only had 2 engine failures, at approx. 300, 000 miles. Brilliant vehicles, not that I'm biased because I used to work at a Mercedes garage.👍😊🤣

[ecot]

After years of research I went with the 2023 Ford Transit and it's twin turbo V6 for my camper van build. I read of to many Sprinter engine issues while all the kinks had been worked out of the Ford 3.5 by 20/21. Ford recommends 10k oil changes unless you drive it hard, such as towing over passes then 5k changes. I change the oil every 3.5k as I am planning on decades of road trips with no towing but lots of deep sand and rocks. Clean oil is numero uno!

[jamesbull]

My brother in law ran VW Transporters for his light freight company the first one did 350.000 miles in under three years and the only parts replaced other than service items were drive shafts and water pumps.
The second did 400.000 in three and a half years they were both serviced privately with better than specified oils and serviced regularly by mileage with hire vehicles used to cover rather than skip services. Both were still in good condition when sold.

[fosterkennel]

I remember when the sprinters first came out with the 5 cylinder inline Mercedes diesel and I believe and I may be wrong that was one hell of a good engine blessings

[sharonharris]

I enjoy your show, the problem is that car companies are using cheaper parts and don't care about the customers.

[BlackFamify]

I have a sprinter, i replaced the engine with a lexus engine as soon as manufacturers warranty ended. We use them a lot here in South Africa, unfortunately engines aren't that reliable at all, that with extremely expensive parts....it makes sense to opt for a different engine.

[Bburger]

Rebuilt my 4.2 v6 from a 97 f150. Had to cut those bolts that hold down the shaft during dissasembly. Couldn't find a replacement bolt. After 6 months of looking, a guy from church who owned a mechine shop made one for me, but said it wasn't as strong as it needed to be. When torquing the crankshaft down, that bolt just kept on spinning... took me took long to figure what was happening.... deciding to just stop and ignore the problem and pray for the best! That dang truck still runs! (That was 50, 000 miles ago) I was just WAITING for something like that to happen for like a year after the rebuild 😂😂😂

[disgruntledcanuck]

For everyone saying lack of maintenance. Usually if its extended oil changes, the turbocharger is the first to poop the bed. I didn't notice any varnish in there. This is most likely caused by something else. No blueing on the free rod cap or crank. This was a sudden thing, I'm leaning towards the hydrolock theory. The balancer spun on the crank due to the sudden stop.

[MMarciniak]

Company buys or leases a fleet. Then, they hire a maintenance supervisor. Then….he fails to ensure that preventative maintenance occurs because he’s lazy. The fleet makes deliveries at breakneck speeds to compete, and is never available because “it’s a newer van, it’ll be fine.” The oil never gets changed.

[paulhighbarger]

I had a brand new Craftsman snow blower with a Briggs and Stratton engine that did the same thing 15 minutes after I started cap screws blew through the case...not as expensive though as this and mine was under warranty. Of course they asked why it didn't have any oil...it came out of the big hole...

[johnniethepom]

This is why I keep my 2000 MY Sprinter with the OM 602. Runs like a Swiss watch.

[chrish]

In my 70 years I’ve never seen an engine fail from too frequent of an oil change schedule. As others have said here oil and filters are ridiculously cheap when compared with catastrophic engine failures. Use quality oil and quality filters.