Mate at work has just blown up his 325tds. It had just crossed the 200,000 mile mark, M-reg car - it was overdue an oil service by 12-15,000 miles (yes I know!) and the oil filter exploded! So no oil left and it grinds to a halt/seized on the motorway.
A new starter motor, some and a tow has got it going, but it's not happy, looks like 1 knackered cylinder.
Anyway, getting to the point, he's been quoted 4k for a new engine. £2800 for the engine, £500 recon deposit and £700 labour (a bit steep). So what are the options. I say sell it and buy another. But what is it worth with a blown engine? Other thought is put a 318 engine in it, must be a lot cheaper.
Any thoughts on the cheapest way out of this? It's a testament to the car that it survived to 200,000 with total neglect, but there you go.
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Your mate saved himself a packet deferring the oil change didn\'t he?
My advice is to let him spend as much money as possible in either repairing or buying a solution and charge him 10% for your time!
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Wow, if there was ever a case for not neglecting the servicing then this is it!
I would say write the car off, or at least just sell it for scrap and buy another new one, you're right, it sounds almost uneconomic to repair, and if he puts a 1.8 in it then whilst it'll be cheapest to do, I bet he gets hasslle off insurance companies and I bet he never manages to sell it.
Just purely out of sick curiosity, I have to ask, does he realise that if he'd spent less than £100 maintaining it, then he probably wouldn't be in this boat now? Or does he think he was just unlucky? I don't think I would be able to stop myself having a little laugh! :-)
Blue
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I know he's a muppet, I had a good go at him when he told me what happened. Apparently the oil filter on a diesel is under such pressure that it can fracture over time. You're probably right about the 318 engine, all the electrics would be different too.
So any ideas on the value of a 325tds SE 94-M 200,000k with a barely running engine! Cosmetically fine. Worth a grand?
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If the car is good condition other than the engine, I'd look at 2nd hand engines - 2.5tds lump is rare but not impossible.
More like to find a lump out of a 5 series - be a lot less than
what he's been quoted to recon the existing.
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If ever there was a example of preventative maintenance this is it.I thought this engine was also fitted in the omega 2.5TD so there probably are a few available.
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"Apparently the oil filter on a diesel is under such pressure that it can fracture over time..."
Yeah, rightho!
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£700 labour - to change an engine? Someone's having a laugh. He should get an exchange replacement engine for £2800 plus the other charges and get a less greedy garage to do the work. If I had the money, I'd be tempted to make an offer for it as a non-runner if he doesn't want to get it fixed.
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Think they have priced the job accordingly......In other words they don't want the job!
A commonly used antic in the building & construction industry, so I'm led to believe...
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"Apparently the oil filter on a diesel is under such pressure that it can fracture over time..."
I have never known an oil filter to fracture in my 40 years in the diesel engine design/test/build business. Maybe I have missed something?
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More thoughts ...
I can't recall what the 325tds has in the way of an oil filter, but BMWs have fitted aluminium oil filter housings (replaceable element) to engines introduced in the last 12 years or so.
I wonder if someone had severely overtightened the cap and stripped the threads so that, in time, the cap broke loose? This seems much more likely than the filter fracturing because it is "on a diesel".
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These engines are an absolute pain to work on, so many fastenings, and fiddly brackets anc clamps to cut down NVH.
The vehicle is a financial write off, changing to a different engine would be very difficult because of all the other items throughout the car which would need changing from the final drive, to ECUs, to instrument cluster etc,,,
I think he'd be best scrapping it, these engines need 5000-7000k oil changes to prevent top end damage.
The filter is an element type inside a cast metal housing (after 1997 this was changed to plastic housing).
5 series, 2 series, Omega and range Rover 2.5DSE (with different sump)
have this engine, beware of later ones with plastic inlet manifolds, as these are the same engine but with lots of differences and won't be a straight swap.
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The only time I've known of an oil filter bursting was when the oil pressure relief valve stuck. The seam on a cheap pattern part sometimes leaks though.
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The only time I've known of an oil filter bursting was when the oil pressure relief valve stuck. >>
Same here (almost). A friend bought a reconditioned engine for his Morris Minor and the first time he started it up the filter blew off its seat and sprayed everywhere (me too!) with oil.
This baffled us until we found the cause to be a sleeve that the reconditioner had fitted in the oil relief valve passage to bring it back to standard. The sleeve had slipped along the passage until it blocked the oil outlet hole. The oil pump was driven from the back of the camshaft and yet nothing broke despite the huge strain that there must have been on it.
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