Hello All,

New to this forum. I run mainly MB E class diesels in my fleet, with one '95 Suburban 1500LS/6.5 L TD for the heavy lifting. This vehicle has about 190K miles, and is popular both w/drivers and customers.

Couple of weeks ago, it was towed back to base, running rough/engine died. Driver thought maybe a head gasket blew...Turns out that my "gilligan" drivers never checked the oil, and must have run it dry.

Upon inspection found no evidence of head gasket failure. Dipstick was dry, just some crud that can best be described as "black boogers". (sorry) We changed oil, checked all fluids and started it up. Although the engine runs, it had a very loud squeal upon startup, which was soon replaced by a very malevolent clanging internally.

I am going to do a compression test to see if all 8 are firing. Any other diagnostic suggestions?? I think it is coming from the passenger side firewall area, but not clear. The sound does not appear to get any better or any worse with higher rpms, although as the engine comes up to full operating temp, it runs rough and threatens to stall. I am obviously running it minimally for diagnostic purposes only.

I have scanned other threads and have seen reference to "rod noise." If I have a bent/broken rod, what's it like to repair? What kind of job is it on these engines? Approximate $$ if have a pro do it? What else could it be?

It might not sound like it, but we do change the oil every 4 - 6 weeks on all the cars.

I have a fair amout of experience on the MBs, none on these. Any suggestions to get me pointed in the right direction would be most appreciated.

you could pull the oil pan and take a look at the bottom end and if you know what your looking at you will be able to tell if a rod is broke, bearing spun, etc. how long was it ran w/o oil??

Check all the pulleys first - crank, harmonic balancer, tensioner, etc.

X 2 on that, probably a spun bearing with that squealing noise. Piston may be going too high due to bigger rod bearing clearance. Good luck---