Update on 315 exploding engines.

Eric Experience

Well-known member
Vic.
I have not had one apart yet but I believe the bearings are wider. It is a complete redesign with the timing chain at the back. It is the same unit you get in USA as far as I can tell. Eric.
 

Slithytove

Bastet
Eric, we have been following this thread as we have the 2006 315cdi Sprinter for Australian market. I have this - 646986-OM-646-DE-LA, as the motor build and wondering if issue this affects ALL or certain build motors. Ours is around 250,000k.

Thanking you for any advice you may offer.
 

Slithytove

Bastet
Eric, we have been following this thread as we have the 2006 315cdi Sprinter for Australian market. I have this - 646986-OM-646-DE-LA, as the motor build and wondering if issue this affects ALL or certain build motors. Ours is around 250,000k.

Thanking you for any advice you may offer.
Thank you. I am now nervous about our Sprinter as I travel a lot by myself, being female I am not much of a mechanic. Older mercedes YES, but not this ****.
 

Slithytove

Bastet
sorry did not know sh..............t was banned here. Won't do it again. It is my favorite term of endearment for our Sprinter.
 

Sockeye770

Active member
Eric, we have been following this thread as we have the 2006 315cdi Sprinter for Australian market. I have this - 646986-OM-646-DE-LA, as the motor build and wondering if issue this affects ALL or certain build motors. Ours is around 250,000k.

Thanking you for any advice you may offer.
To the best of my knowledge, you have the exploding 315 engine. My company 315 blew at 405000 km's, but have read of others going as low as 150000 Km's.

I took out RACV top cover which gave me 100 Km free towing. Basic cover doesn't cover free towing due to the size of the 315, and basically a waste of money.
 

Eric Experience

Well-known member
Slithytove.
Yes you have the problem model. The ambulances were driven overloaded and as hard as they would go. If you vehicle was not an ambulance and has been driven modestly it may last a lot longer. When the problem first appeared I devised an oil pressure monitoring system, the advantage of measuring oil pressure is that if you have good pressure you can drive with confidence. If you fit one of these kits you can determine your engines health. Eric.
 

Slithytove

Bastet
Eric, just to be clear, keeping oil pressure correct eliminates this 'threat' or only delays it ?? Can you give me details on your kit also.

Thank you.
 

Sockeye770

Active member
Hi Slithytove

When I learn't about the 315 engine issue on this forum, I still drove my company 315 ex ambo hard, as that is my preferred way of driving.
What I did do, was buy a replacement 318 (V6 diesel engine) ex ambo from the auctions for $15000 & had it sitting around waiting for my 315 to blow. I also decided not to spend any major costly repairs to the companies two 315's.
Our other 315 was suffering the black death (leaking fuel injector) & vibration from the auto. When the vibration became severe at idle, I stripped all useful spare parts and left it with Eric to play with a still running 315.
Fortunately for my company we could write them off as economic "write off's", ie cost of repairs were more expensive than the book value and/or replacement value. Instead of selling the 315's while they were still running OK, I kept them on as spare part vehicles.

If I was a private owner of an 315, I would most likely find/organise a replacement vehicle and sell/trade in the 315 while it is still running OK.
 

Eric Experience

Well-known member
Slithyove.
Measuring the oil pressure gives an indication of health, it does not control it, if you pressure is good you are OK, as sockeye said one of his did 410k today I communicated with the owner of a 315 that had done 650k and is still good, it must be lot to do with driving style. You can order the oil monitor kit from the manufacturer, find him on the exploding motor thread. Eric.
 

Slithytove

Bastet
Thank you all for your responses, unfortunately selling is not an option in this case so will cross my fingers & hope for the best.
 

Sockeye770

Active member
Hi Slithytone

If you install Eric's designed oil monitor kit, like I did, but never got around to fitting an oil pressure gauge, I was intending to fit a mechanical oil pressure gauge externally mounted on the trailing edge of the bonnet.
The mechanical oil pressure gauge does not need a 12V power supply to connect up, but uses a hard plastic tube from the oil pressure source, direct to the gauge.
Hence mounting the gauge externally to the bonnet doesn't require a hole through the firewall to wherever you fit the gauge inside the cabin.
Externally mounted gauges is often used by revheads & hoons to replicate race/drag cars because you don't have to lower your eye sight that much from the road in front of you to monitor whats happening to your engine.
Personally, I hate the look of externally mounted gauges, but in the case of driving an 315, the practical over rides the cosmetics.
 

owner

Oz '03 316CDI LWB ex-Ambo Patient Transport
The oil pressure monitoring kit Eric deigned is only $20 or something. It is several orders of magnitude less than the cost of a MB supplied $20,000 315 replacement engine. This "hope for the best" mentality is the exact reason why serviceable crankshafts for the 315 engine are like rocking horse poo.
 

Drayton

Member
Hi Owner
You don't really mean that . The crankshafts shorfall would not exist if benz had done their homework and not foisted a **** box on the motoring public . Surely the fault is in the design or whatever not in the poor buggers trying to get the things going again . However Eric's set up is a good thing .
Cheers Chris .
 

blfmtriv

living in the Top End NT
hi all, i, ve picked up my 315 and started driving it around, just some interesting stats what i,ve found as i also have a 2006 316
its done 360,000k runs like a dream

does not rev past 3200 rpm, like a restriction in place, (dpf maybe)
just sits there, until i take my foot off the pedal
always been serviced by st johns ambulance up here,
always been on FUCHS fully synthetic oil
the owner ridded himself of it due to requiring some things, but all only maintenance replacement stuff
its pretty slow off the mark, I, ve looked at the turbo to see if the actuator arm has been readjusted, but can't tell yet
i want to measure the turbo boost
ran the engine with the engine cap off to see if back pressure was evident but wasn't
cruises nicely at 110kph,
up here is all straight long runs
could this be a big issue?
also is the 2nd turbo a booster for the first turbo, the plumbing looks like a booster
cant fault the engine as yet runs super quiet,
suppose time will tell, i knock up big k,s fast travelling around the top end and its always 34 deg all day every day


has anyone dealt with a product called ECUSAFE 2.0.0,

andrew
 

DavidOZ

New member
I am the proud owner of a 2009 Sprinter 315 CDI motorhome (built by Paradise Motorhomes in Queensland).
On a recent trip from Tamworth to Armidale the engine (OM646 2.1 litre 4 cyl.) suddenly blew up as we climbed up the Moonbi Range. The NRMA towed the vehicle to the Mercedes Benz dealership in Tamworth (Peel Valley Motors) who diagnosed “failure of rear engine connecting rod big end bearing”. My Sprinter has travelled slightly less than 110,000km since new. The dealership proposed to install a “genuine remanufactured long motor” for a little over $21,000.
Disheartened that the engine had failed at such low kilometres, I searched the net and discovered this forum, and this thread in particular. I have since arranged for the Sprinter to be carried to the Gold Coast, where it will sit idle until I can decide what to do.
My immediate questions are:
1. Has anyone found a lasting solution to the problem?
2. Can I install a 3 litre V6 engine (OM642 or similar) to replace the OM646?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 

Eric Experience

Well-known member
David.
Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately there is no solution, fitting a V6 will end up costing more because you have to change the wiring loom and the ECU. How heavy is your unit? If it is under 3.5 ton you should get at least 200K out of a re-manufactured engine. It is painful but averaged over the 200 k it is not that bad. If you shop around you may find someone can install the engine for a bit less. Eric.
 

owner

Oz '03 316CDI LWB ex-Ambo Patient Transport
It is kind of expensive even if you were lucky enough to get 200k from it. It would be like paying $100 every 1000km.

If it was me, I would buy a wrecked 308/310/311/313 van and swap the engine and ecu etc over (its the same OM646 but it is derated) Should be significantly less than 20 grand even if you have to pay someone to do it. And then you will have a vehicle that wont blow up every 100k.
 
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Sockeye770

Active member
It is kind of expensive even if you were lucky enough to get 200k from it. It would be like paying $100 every 1000km.

If it was me, I would buy a wrecked 308/310/311/313 van and swap the engine and ecu etc over (its the same OM646 but it is derated) Should be significantly less than 20 grand even if you have to pay someone to do it. And then you will have a vehicle that wont blow up every 100k.
I agree with Owner. A wrecked/damaged 308/310/311/313 will give all the parts needed for the conversion, plus a heap of other spare parts.
 

DavidOZ

New member
Eric,
owner,
Sockeye770,
Thank you very much for your advice.
From my rego certificate my Sprinter has a Tare Weight of 3180kg and a GVM of 3880kg. I estimate that fully packed up for a long road trip and with water tanks full we would be running near to GVM.
I am a constant user of cruise control, and rely on the vehicle to automatically adjust to optimum engine and road speeds regardless of terrain or ambient temperature. I sometimes tow a small car trailer with clubman car onboard (combined weight = 970kg), again using cruise control. I suspect that these factors have contributed to my blown-up engine.
My wife and I plan to use our motorhome extensively in coming years, including long-distance trips to remote places - we need vehicle reliability.
Having experienced the impressive power and torque of the OM646, I would favour a 3-litre V6 over a derated 4-cylinder. I am mindful of the potential cost; however I have found no evidence of any such conversions. I read about a couple of Commodore engines being fitted, but have ruled that option out completely.
There is a 2015 313CDI MWB Auto with very low kms currently on Gumtree - would this motor or motor and transmission go straight into my 315?
I will take my time to make my final decision, and post the final outcome in due course.
David
 

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