joelanderson81
New member
Hello All,
Thanks in advance for your advice. New Sprinter owner here. I've been searching the forum endlessly for days, learning alot but still need a little help.
Here is the scenario:
Purchased a 2004 2500 Super High Top Freightliner Sprinter. The van was purchased via eBay for cheap so I wasn't expecting a diamond. Van has 180K, one previous owner with a clean carfax that outlines regular maintenance intervals...i.e. oil changes. The vehicle was sitting for over a year and the party selling knew nothing about the van. Van fires right up & drives with no warning lights. There is significant body rust throughout.
Before I put the van on a truck to ship back west I made an appointment with a well known Sprinter shop in the Chicago area. The shop agreed to give the van a run through, diagnostic test and give me the report. An hour after I dropped the van off the owner called me to say the motor was shot. When I inquired about specifics all he said was "didn't even need to open the hood to see the engine was burning oil and needed a rebuild". Owner kindly recommended not spending any money on the van.
I appreciate his professionals opinion however I am far from writing the van off. A little body rust and an engine that burns oil doesn't seem reason enough to give up. I figured at 180K I'd have quite a bit of life left. However now my confidence in the van is shot. I have changed the oil, brakes and tires. What else should I look for to confirm that the van is solid?
No warning lights
No signs of "black death"
Turbo appears to be working appropriately
No unusual knocking or smell of diesel
Light blue smoke from tailpipe
Again, any advice is much appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your advice. New Sprinter owner here. I've been searching the forum endlessly for days, learning alot but still need a little help.
Here is the scenario:
Purchased a 2004 2500 Super High Top Freightliner Sprinter. The van was purchased via eBay for cheap so I wasn't expecting a diamond. Van has 180K, one previous owner with a clean carfax that outlines regular maintenance intervals...i.e. oil changes. The vehicle was sitting for over a year and the party selling knew nothing about the van. Van fires right up & drives with no warning lights. There is significant body rust throughout.
Before I put the van on a truck to ship back west I made an appointment with a well known Sprinter shop in the Chicago area. The shop agreed to give the van a run through, diagnostic test and give me the report. An hour after I dropped the van off the owner called me to say the motor was shot. When I inquired about specifics all he said was "didn't even need to open the hood to see the engine was burning oil and needed a rebuild". Owner kindly recommended not spending any money on the van.
I appreciate his professionals opinion however I am far from writing the van off. A little body rust and an engine that burns oil doesn't seem reason enough to give up. I figured at 180K I'd have quite a bit of life left. However now my confidence in the van is shot. I have changed the oil, brakes and tires. What else should I look for to confirm that the van is solid?
No warning lights
No signs of "black death"
Turbo appears to be working appropriately
No unusual knocking or smell of diesel
Light blue smoke from tailpipe
Again, any advice is much appreciated!
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