Hello!
I was driving into Kinnewick, WA last night in my 2003 sprinter 2500 158” (dodge) with ~230k miles and a full DIY rv conversion. In the span of 15 seconds there was a mild vibration through the gas pedal an immediate spurt of white smoke I slammed on the brakes and whipped into the shoulder in time for the info screen to flash a large oil light warning I immediately shut the vehicle off and opened the hood to find the oil had exploded out of the engine in the passenger side of the engine bay and oil was splatted all the way down the undercarriage of the vehicle.
I had it towed to a Mercedes’ dealer in town, and they got it in and diagnosed and the summary is essentially that a cylinder has “blown” and it needs a whole new motor? I’ve asked them to write me up a full diag of what is going on specifically so I’m waiting on that but labor alone for a new motor is $4,950 and they can’t source a motor locally through any medium or through Mercedes’ itself. At the moment I’m stranded here with my partner and 2 dogs, we’re from Salt Lake and will probably load all our stuff no a U-Haul and get home but we’re trying to figure out what to do with the van. It feels wrong to scrap it and walk away.
it Isn’t worth it to me to spend ~$10k for a new motor installed on this van that I’ve had for 7 years already. So what are my options here? Should I scrap the van and dust off my hands and walk away? I’ll probably get $600-$1000 for it that way. Do any of you want it? I lived out of this thing all over North America for many years full Time and this feels like a fitting way to go out, but I’m lost as to what actions to take next. I’d be willing to take offers from anyone interested in buying a converted sprinter cheap and out a new motor in it? Maybe that’s worth it to someone on here, please reach out and make me an offer.
I was driving into Kinnewick, WA last night in my 2003 sprinter 2500 158” (dodge) with ~230k miles and a full DIY rv conversion. In the span of 15 seconds there was a mild vibration through the gas pedal an immediate spurt of white smoke I slammed on the brakes and whipped into the shoulder in time for the info screen to flash a large oil light warning I immediately shut the vehicle off and opened the hood to find the oil had exploded out of the engine in the passenger side of the engine bay and oil was splatted all the way down the undercarriage of the vehicle.
I had it towed to a Mercedes’ dealer in town, and they got it in and diagnosed and the summary is essentially that a cylinder has “blown” and it needs a whole new motor? I’ve asked them to write me up a full diag of what is going on specifically so I’m waiting on that but labor alone for a new motor is $4,950 and they can’t source a motor locally through any medium or through Mercedes’ itself. At the moment I’m stranded here with my partner and 2 dogs, we’re from Salt Lake and will probably load all our stuff no a U-Haul and get home but we’re trying to figure out what to do with the van. It feels wrong to scrap it and walk away.
it Isn’t worth it to me to spend ~$10k for a new motor installed on this van that I’ve had for 7 years already. So what are my options here? Should I scrap the van and dust off my hands and walk away? I’ll probably get $600-$1000 for it that way. Do any of you want it? I lived out of this thing all over North America for many years full Time and this feels like a fitting way to go out, but I’m lost as to what actions to take next. I’d be willing to take offers from anyone interested in buying a converted sprinter cheap and out a new motor in it? Maybe that’s worth it to someone on here, please reach out and make me an offer.
