Oil leak

[MecrazyBenz]

Few days ago, I discovered some black oil spots on my driveway and also in my garage where I usually park my car (w202 98).

Iv had a quick look around in the engine bay (not that i know anything about engines) and think the leak is coming from somewhere under the big belt thing at the front ???? as i can feel a patch of oil there.

When i looked under the car, all i could see was a big plastic cover with a small hole or something and an oily patch from where it is leaking.

Iv done a search on the forum and found these threads:

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=18798&highlight=leak

Oil cap on rocker cover. - could this apply to the w202?

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=15245&highlight=leak

What / where is the rocker cover? Anywhere near the place that i have described?

 

[MecrazyBenz]

Sorted !

Sorted !

For future reference for anybody who might also develop an oil leak, bearing in mind there are quite a few places an oil leak can develop.

Cause: sump ring
Cost: 0.30p + vat from stealership.
Labour: £25 (friendly mechanic) inc oil filter change and supplied oil.

 

[C240Sport97]

Always worth changing these things. When my gearbox ATF was done, we did not change the sump plug washer, and sure enough it damn well leaked.

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9099

Cause: sump ring

 

[grober]

Sorry wouldnt speak too soon. I find the sump ring explanation possible but unlikely. More likely source of leak is the crankshaft front oil seal. Its behind the lowest large ribbed pulley at the front of the engine. Many MB engines with a bit of mileage on them leak here especially with the new thin synthetic oils. The oil is blown back from there over the sump by the cars underbody slipstream. If it was the sump plug ring washer then no problem. If its the crankshaft seal then it wont go away. If you dont lose too much oil then you can live with it and maybe use a slightly thicker oil say 10-40. Just keep an eye on it the next weeks.

 

[C240Sport97]

This exact same seal went on my C240 ..

fortunately it was under MB Used Car warranty. But the cause was something a whole lot more serious (no idea what it was).

The second time (after the warranty expired) the car went in (took a few phone calls, but MB Brentford eventually accepted liability for not fixing it properly while it was under warranty), it was 55 hours labour plus parts.

It took them 3 weeks to fix the car -- luckily it was FOC, but no courtesy car.

Sorry wouldnt speak too soon. I find the sump ring explanation possible but unlikely. More likely source of leak is the crankshaft front oil seal. Its behind the lowest large ribbed pulley at the front of the engine. Many MB engines with a bit of mileage on them leak here especially with the new thin synthetic oils. The oil is blown back from there over the sump by the cars underbody slipstream. If it was the sump plug ring washer then no problem. If its the crankshaft seal then it wont go away. If you dont lose too much oil then you can live with it and maybe use a slightly thicker oil say 10-40. Just keep an eye on it the next weeks.

 

[MecrazyBenz]

Sorry wouldnt speak too soon. I find the sump ring explanation possible but unlikely. More likely source of leak is the crankshaft front oil seal. Its behind the lowest large ribbed pulley at the front of the engine. Many MB engines with a bit of mileage on them leak here especially with the new thin synthetic oils. The oil is blown back from there over the sump by the cars underbody slipstream. If it was the sump plug ring washer then no problem. If its the crankshaft seal then it wont go away. If you dont lose too much oil then you can live with it and maybe use a slightly thicker oil say 10-40. Just keep an eye on it the next weeks.

Il keep that in mind - Thanks

Fingers crossed that wont be the case.

 

[KLee]

crazybenz, hows the leak. my mech just confirmed my crankshaft front seal is leaking and needs replacing now, mine is 1996 so seems some are right .. in fact I'm doing a search now and came across this thread - trying to gauge if this is something happening to cars at this age. also rear differentials are leaking and i'm getting that done too all in one go.

grober, can you confirm these are things and prices usual for a 1996 ... 100K+ miles, my mech quoting GBP271 all in for parts and labour for both jobs.

 

[grober]

Offset oil seal.

Sounds reasonable enough to me at that mileage. Bear in mind what I said about the grade of engine oil for the front crank seal. I also have vague memories about using an 2mm offset front seal to make sure the seal plays on a new shaft surface rather than exactly the same previous area which can get slightly grooved. There may be a mercedes part for this. Dont have an EPC but your local Mb dealer could look it up . Rear diff, I assume you mean the pinion seal. They all leak after a while. Again if the leak is not too great=major oil loss you can live with it but a high loss could soften the diff mounting bushes. Price seems reasonable to me but others may disagree.

 

[big x]

A common oil weep on MB IL4's is the front offside head gasket where the timing chain runs.Normally it be ignored or indeed stop if you change from synthetic to a 15-40 mineral oil.
I wouldn't worry about a weeping diff either they go on for years as is.
With respect once a car enters bangerdom (+ 6 years) the art is to run it with minimum cash outlay. W202's apart from the AMG and V6's don't seem to have much retained value these days.

adam

 

[KLee]

Big X you are right about the location. The mech supplied and fitted front engine timing base seal. I know what you mean re bangerdom tho I trust the mech, he said the leak was pretty bad rate quite high and was concerned. Both leaks been there for about 2 yrs.

 

[MecrazyBenz]

crazybenz, hows the leak. my mech just confirmed my crankshaft front seal is leaking and needs replacing now, mine is 1996 so seems some are right .. in fact I'm doing a search now and came across this thread - trying to gauge if this is something happening to cars at this age. also rear differentials are leaking and i'm getting that done too all in one go.

grober, can you confirm these are things and prices usual for a 1996 ... 100K+ miles, my mech quoting GBP271 all in for parts and labour for both jobs.

Sorry for the delay in responding, been away.

The leak was cured by the sump ring. Since it was done, iv been keeping an eye for any oil and so far, touch wood, it is clean.