My ML reved like crazy blew smoke n died

[billeh66]

Hi Guys,

So i was driving home from work on xmas eve when suddenly my beloved triton started reving like crazy and i could hear a rattling noise. At first i thought the accelerator was jammed or something or maybe something got wrapped around the tailshaft which was making the rattle, so in a panic i tried to turn the ignition off. 1st time it had no effect, 2nd time it shut down & i coasted to the side of the road, got out to take a look but didnt see any noticable damage.
Then as i was in a bus lane and on a really busy main road i thought i would try to start up to get around the corner for a further inspection- bad idea. What happened next was crazy- the engine just reved full revs blowing out so much smoke all the traffic was stopped, i tried turning off the ignition but it just kept going. A cop pulled up and was ranting and raving 'stop the car!' I waved the keys in his face (LOL), he was in such a panic (i thought they were meant to be calm and collected). At that stage the engine shut down and the smoke cleared, there was oil all throughout the engine bay and a pile of black soot on the ground from the exhaust.

So i've read that the engine can self fuel itself if the turbo seal blows or if the engine oil is overfilled, i had my car serviced by mitsubishi just 2 weeks ago. Thankfully its still under 5yr warranty. I've had it towed to mitsubishi and waiting to hear back.

Has anyone else had this problem or heard of it happening ? Any thoughts on what else could cause this? maybe the injector jammed open ??

[furious]

sounds like an overrun to me.

Likely to engine was being fed oil some how.

[hvac guy]

New turbo and engine coming your way I think

[furious]

did it look like this?

[Froggy]

Did they adjust the tappets as part of the service by any chance?
Fuel rail may have sprung a leak as a result of being removed for this, filling the sump with diesel!
Sounds a lot like a runaway. First time I have heard of it on a triton!
Keep us informed on how your treated with repairs. You turning it back on May have been the best thing you could have done - guaranteed the motor can't be repaired and must be replaced under warranty!

[Tony]

Yep, I'm thinking sump full of diesel too. What you have described is definitely self fusion as a result of severe PCV blow by or a blown turbo seal.
The fact it ran around two weeks from last service almost rules out oil overfill in my opinion unless the first time you gave it a deasent run.

Just shows the throttle body wont always do a forced shut down in this situation when you turn it off.

Be a complete new engine with all ancillaries for you.

I've seen a few RA Rodeo's to this. (3ltr CRD) but never a Triton.

I hope it's warrantable since well serviced. Should be.

[TUFF TROOP]

Have seen a few tritons do this thru work, what service was it? I've also had a challenger do it where the customer filled their diesel full of unleaded and drove it 22ks till she locked solid haha.

It's definantly run on, if valve clearances were done its due to the pipes either over tight or not tight enough, the pressure in the fuel system will pump it up the thread into the sump. Allowing it to run off its own oil. Nothing will stop it. I hope it's covered under warranty for ya mate. They dont make complete engines for ml or pajero anymore. Have to get it all seperatly last I checked

[billeh66]

did it look like this?

Yes it was exactly like that. The service done was the 60K and yes the tappets were adjusted too. Before i took it to be serviced i had been noticing a lack of power and was concerned about carbon build up in the manifold could carbon build up contribute to what happened ?? I've heard of carbon coking up in petrol engines and acting as an ignition source so when it gets red hot the car keeps running after ignition turned off.

Interesting feedback didnt thinkabout tappet adjustment. im expecting to hear back from mitsubishi today. I'll keep you all posted.

[mattz]

I doubt carbon build up would contribute.
I guess an apprentice is going to get a size 10 boot up the backside from the boss.
It should be covered by warranty, but I doubt they will admit they stuffed up.
Hope they get it sorted quickly for you.

[Notso]

I just had my Valve Clearances checked and the manifold done. I've been checking my oil levels very carefully since. They had the cover off once before and the diesel leaked into the sump but they found it before giving it back to me.

[billeh66]

Ok .... so I have spoken to Mitsubishi and they have said that diesel has leaked through injector rail seal filled Sump with diesel & fed it back up the the breather pipe to the inlet. What I'm worried about is the guy said there just cleaning it all out replacing seal & changing oil. He reckons ill have it back today and there was no serious damage. After seeing what happened I can't beleive there is no major damage

[Sky Miner]

Holy crap are they serious after what your engine just went through.....a clean and new seal's... 'she'll
be rite mate good to go' F M

[furious]

Ok .... so I have spoken to Mitsubishi and they have said that diesel has leaked through injector rail seal filled Sump with diesel & fed it back up the the breather pipe to the inlet. What I'm worried about is the guy said there just cleaning it all out replacing seal & changing oil. He reckons ill have it back today and there was no serious damage. After seeing what happened I can't beleive there is no major damage

I would not pick it up. A run away engine is likely to cause major issues with the with bearings, rings and the block may even be damaged. They are just trying to get out of it cheaply.

[coxy47]

My advice is do a bit of research on what damage is caused by a run away engine and go speak to them and say your not picking it up with only seals replaced and are highly unimpressed with them going for the cheap rather then appropriate fix. If necessary contact MMAL.

[fridgie]

After doing a bit of research (didn't find much about the damage that could be caused, but bearings, rods, gaskets all come to mind) I think I will be investing in a second fire extinguisher for the car

Used my dry chem one on christmas day putting out the barbeque and needs to be replaced so I think I will get a dry chem and a co2 when I get the new one.

Using a co2 extinguisher into the air intake of a runaway diesel will starve it of oxygen and stop the engine

[sierra]

Ok .... so I have spoken to Mitsubishi and they have said that diesel has leaked through injector rail seal filled Sump with diesel & fed it back up the the breather pipe to the inlet. What I'm worried about is the guy said there just cleaning it all out replacing seal & changing oil. He reckons ill have it back today and there was no serious damage. After seeing what happened I can't beleive there is no major damage

They wont know if any damage was done until they start it up and run it again. Even then who knows what it did to the internals without a full strip down to check pistons, rings, bores, bearings etc.
They are hoping for the best but at least were honest about the cause and the implication they are responsible. If it sounds as sweet as it was, by some miracle, then you might insist on the incident being logged and the dealer giving you an extended engine warranty or refunding the cost of the 60,000km service? Mind you, it's got 10 years and 160,000km anyway.
If there is the slightest doubt in your mind after it's returned, sound, performance, oil consumption etc I would demand the engine is rebuilt with new components to as new as possible seeing as how they can't source a new engine anymore.

You must be spewing! To pay a lot of money for them to service it and to have them almost destroy the engine because some idiot stuffed up.

[hvac guy]

Your engine has been exceeded its design rpm with incorrect oil pressure and contaminated oil
without pulling off sump and checking each bearing for clearances and damage.
They are just guessing all is fine.

Ask them to provide a engineering report to say your motor is safe
For operation.

[Naff]

Your engine has been exceeded its design rpm with incorrect oil pressure and contaminated oil
without pulling off sump and checking each bearing for clearances and damage.
They are just guessing all is fine.

Ask them to provide a engineering report to say your motor is safe
For operation.

Sound advice. Do this as a minimum.

[billeh66]

Mitsubishi just got back to me and have found after further inspection the following

- Engine wont turn
- 3 glow plugs shattered
- A peice of metal in the 2nd cylinder

They are now going to strip down the engine further to check for additional damage, strangely i feel more at ease with this scenario as opposed to getting the car back with just a clean out and a new seal replaced not knowing when it may fail next. They are also going to contact MMAL to advise them on the situation, the service advisor seemed shocked at the extent of the damage & said he hasnt seen this occur before. Athough im majorly pissed that this has occured in the first place at least they seem to be taking responsibility for what has happened and will hopefully do the right thing.

The main reason i bought triton in the first place was so i could travel to remote areas camping 4wd ect, now all i can think about is being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a giant smoke machine

I'll keep you all posted with how this all pans out.

Thanks again for all the helpfull replies

[billeh66]

Your engine has been exceeded its design rpm with incorrect oil pressure and contaminated oil
without pulling off sump and checking each bearing for clearances and damage.
They are just guessing all is fine.

Ask them to provide a engineering report to say your motor is safe
For operation.

Sound advice. Do this as a minimum.

Yes indeed i will mention this when i next speak to them. Thanks great advise once again

[Cowboy Dave]

Might be cheaper to whack in a new motor by the sound of it. I don't think you can take this as evidence of the motor generally being unreliable. It's been badly serviced and I imagine many engines would have failed the same way in those circumstances. Many thousands of these vehicles are out there fault free every day. Still shitty luck and I'm sure we all feel for you and hope they look after you properly having basically stuffed your pride and joy.

[sierra]

I wonder what a Provent 200 would do in that situation?
They are assuming the fuel has poured into the sump and then been pumped into the intake through the breather pipe.
The Provent filter would probably stop the fuel getting through but quickly become chokka block and blow out through the safety valve with a big fire risk, especially if it's been mounted near the turbo?
Does that sound reasonable?
Destroy the engine or burn? At least it could be turned off.

Glad to hear it sounds totally rooted. Now you know where you stand.

[Longranger1]

Huh......?

[Longranger1]

Huh......?

[KRBMN]

make sure they give you a loan car as well there stuff up not yours and dont give the car back to them until your happy with it