Another Provent to Install

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:40 pm

Well, as you can tell from my signature now, a little over a week ago I picked up an '87 MB diesel. I'm quite pleased with it so far, except for one small item.

It's cursed with the same basic CCV setup as the CRD.

Just a plastic fitting in the valve cover, and a hard plastic tube that ties straight into the air intake boot just ahead of the turbo.

From what oldnavy tells me, after about '83 MB stopped putting oil separators in the CCV line.

Wish i could take pictures under the vehicle, it would be an object lesson as to what the intake system of the CRD would look like after 100K miles without any type of CCV filter.

After 20 years and 135K miles, enough oil vapor has been sucked thru the CCV hose that it's been leaking out of the air intake boot for quite some time. The entire underside of the boot is coated with oil and grunge. It's been blown back and completely coated the underside of the turbo. Enough has leaked out over time that it has been running down the side of the engine and accumulating in the plastic body pan under the engine.

There was enough accumulated in the body pan that I thought there was a oil leak on the engine, and pulled it off to check. However, the engine itself was nice and tight, no oil leaks anywhere, even the turbo drain was dry as a bone. The only place oil was coming from was the air intake boot.

Well, I know what the solution to this is. I ordered another Provent for the '87 MB a couple days ago. At least this time, there'll be plenty of room to install it without having to resort to creative plumbing. And the air intake and manifold appear to be quite easy to remove and clean out, just three gaskets and bolted together.

If I didn't already believe in the need for some type of CCV filter/mod before, this would have been enough to clinch the case for anyone.

RFCRD · **Posted:** Sun Jul 16, 2006 5:48 pm

Does that old Benz have an intercooler? Hopefully it's an easier clean-up. Just today, I had my turbo to intercooler CAC hoses off for a clean-out. Found an even better solvent than ether, try B100. It cut straight through the the dried up oil that truned into tar.

Ranger1 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:40 pm **Posts:** 1137

If your Benz doesn't have an intercooler, then it sounds like this could run forever, except for putting engine oil additives not good for pistons and rings into the top side of the cylinder. No egr valve I'm guessing, so at least it isn't peeing all over its egr grave like our CRD does. Still, what does a new Benz cost? Hard to belive MB would pull such a stunt. It's a plauge, this cost cutting. It's like dealing with crack cocaine for engineering managers - one hit and they're addicts for life, prostituting the integrity of the project for cost cutting bonuses.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Sun Jul 16, 2006 7:24 pm

Ranger1 wrote:

If your Benz doesn't have an intercooler, then it sounds like this could run forever, except for putting engine oil additives not good for pistons and rings into the top side of the cylinder. No egr valve I'm guessing, so at least it isn't peeing all over its egr grave like our CRD does. Still, what does a new Benz cost? Hard to belive MB would pull such a stunt. It's a plauge, this cost cutting. It's like dealing with crack cocaine for engineering managers - one hit and they're addicts for life, prostituting the integrity of the project for cost cutting bonuses.

MB diesels have had EGR's forever almost, even my '83 had one. As for as intercooler goes I not sure about the '87 W124, but I don't think it had one. Of course someone will tell us I'm sure when he gets a chance.

Ranger1 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:40 pm **Posts:** 1137

So the Benz's had oil blowby, egr valves and the egrs didn't fail? Never heard much about failing egrs on a Benz diesel. But a typical new Benz owner wouldn't be doing their own maintenance I would guess.

Ranger1 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:40 pm **Posts:** 1137

Quote:

After 20 years and 135K miles, enough oil vapor has been sucked thru the CCV hose that it's been leaking out of the air intake boot for quite some time.

What does the turbo output hose look like on the inside ?

oldnavy · **Posted:** Sun Jul 16, 2006 7:52 pm

Ranger1 wrote:

So the Benz's had oil blowby, egr valves and the egrs didn't fail? Never heard much about failing egrs on a Benz diesel. But a typical new Benz owner wouldn't be doing their own maintenance I would guess.

Never said the EGR's didn't fail, they just didn't set codes. No computers. :wink:

If it failed in wrong position would be only time a owner would notice a problem and that was a 50/50 chance. The one on my '83 hadn't worked in years, and was not a problem for the engine, guess it was in the closed position and not dumping soot because it smoked less then the CRD does.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 16, 2006 10:20 pm

No intercooler to deal with at least.

Turbo inlet wiped clean with a dry rag, didn't look that bad. But that stuff had blown back into the outlet tube from the air cleaner. Took some cleaning with ether soaked rags to get that out.

As far as the air intake boot, took nearly an entire spray can of ether to clean all the crap off the inside and outside. There was liquid oil puddled inside all the grooves when I pulled it off.

On the front of the turbo casing, crud was built up over 1/2" thick in the indentations on the casing.

Don't know about the piping to the engine yet, it's all hard pipe and bolted together. On the turbo outlet, there's a piece about 6 to 8 inches long, called the mixer section, that seals to the turbo outlet with an o-ring, and to which the EGR valve is bolted to with a gasket.

Connected to this is a section about 12 to 18 inches long, basically the air inlet pipe, that seals to the mixer section with another o-ring connection and to the intake manifold (called the divider section) with a 2 bolt gasketed flange.

The divider section splits up into individual runners to each cylinder, a 2 bolt flange at each cylinder with a continuous gasket between them.

Once I get some sort of repair manual (in the mail as we speak), and can get ahold of all the proper gaskets (some of those already in the mail as well), shouldn't be too tough of a job pulling off the EGR and inlet piping to check everything out. Hey, that's part of the reason I bought the beast - I can actually fix it!

Checked out the turbo impeller. Spun free and easy. Grabbed ahold of the impeller, no side to side or end to end play that I could feel. Just a quick and dirty to see if I needed to worry about the turbo seals as well.

Another Provent to Install

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