C32 AMG, C55 AMG (W203) 2001 - 2007

C32 OIL LEAKING HELP PLEASE

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Old 01-22-2016, 06:35 PM
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03 E55
C32 OIL LEAKING HELP PLEASE

So this has been going on for about a month and has gotten worse. I have oil leaving from under the hood. I don't know where it's coming from. Just today I noticed my belts are starting to tear. Every mechanic is telling me something different. Most recent mechanic told me it might be supercharger oil but I doubt it cause it smells like engine oil (supercharger oil is supposed to smell really bad when it's old) I will post pictures and see if anyone has had this problem or can help me thanks. I can post more pics if I didn't get everything





















Old 01-22-2016, 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigpapistu
So this has been going on for about a month and has gotten worse. I have oil leaving from under the hood. I don't know where it's coming from. Just today I noticed my belts are starting to tear. Every mechanic is telling me something different. Most recent mechanic told me it might be supercharger oil but I doubt it cause it smells like engine oil (supercharger oil is supposed to smell really bad when it's old) I will post pictures and see if anyone has had this problem or can help me thanks. I can post more pics if I didn't get everything





















I know oil cooler gaskets go, it's a common problem. Then it could have gotten on ur belt then everywhere else, it's a simple to fix 2-4 gaskets.
Old 01-24-2016, 09:33 AM
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My C32 got 3 leaks in the past:

The 2 side gaskets on the oil cooler, the one bottom gasket on the oil cooler and the shaft seal of the steering pump. All of these leaks resulted in dripping oil to the belt and the whole engine become a mess like your
Old 01-24-2016, 09:48 AM
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First things first. Your belt is off a groove on the supercharger pulley. Most of what I see is from the belt shredding and minor leakage from the usual places. Get some degreaser and a brush and clean it up to make it easier to see where the leaks are coming from. I wouldn't assume it's all oil either. It could be coolant. Oh, when you put the new belt on double check to make sure it's not off a groove like the old one.

Les

Last edited by Velociabstract; 01-24-2016 at 09:49 AM. Reason: sp.
Old 01-24-2016, 10:54 AM
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I second the Oil Cooler leak. It's a simple job but be VERY careful when unbolting the oil cooler. The backside lower bolt is very difficult to get to and very easy to drop. Other than those bolts, just make sure you have the larger socket to remove the oil filter housing and replace the bottom seal for the oil filter housing as well.
Old 01-24-2016, 05:27 PM
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wow! this leak has been ignored for a long time. clean clean and clean so you can actually see where its leaking from. spray some leak trace powder if you want after its clean as well. or you can just start replacing parts...
Old 01-24-2016, 07:32 PM
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your mechanic is nuts saying its supercharger oil!

the first thing he should have called out is all the damage to your belt!!!! your pics have about 4-5 examples of the side of your belt totally chewed up!!!! thats a big part of your problem i would assume

i would think your car drives noisy as hell with that belt all torn up, no?
Old 01-25-2016, 06:12 AM
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like everyone mentioned, if I were your mechanic. I'd have cleaned that with a rag and some degreaser and a wash down where its possible. Then dry it and start her up after moving the belt on the pulleys properly. U cant see nothing from here. It could be anywhere to everywhere.
Old 01-25-2016, 09:59 PM
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Most likely oil cooler... mine is doing same right now.

Originally Posted by nicks158
I second the Oil Cooler leak. It's a simple job but be VERY careful when unbolting the oil cooler. The backside lower bolt is very difficult to get to and very easy to drop. Other than those bolts, just make sure you have the larger socket to remove the oil filter housing and replace the bottom seal for the oil filter housing as well.
Agreed, oil cooler. I spotted mine dripping directly on the belt... which is why it make such a mess. My bay looks similarly terrible. My belt is not chewed up but definitely I am going to replace all the gaskets in the oil cooler.

On a side note... I know the car is getting some miles on it 130K+ and I get after her pretty consistently... and I believe 'my' oil cooler leak developed as a direct cause of - new - cheap - motor mounts. I replace my motor mounts this summer - major pita - with cheapies from ebay - URO I believe. Wow have I learned a lesson... the car, now in Jan in KY, shakes terribly due to the weak and likely already toast 'new' (now six months old and in sub freezing temps) motor mounts. They do seem to damped the vibration after they warm up substantially - a little. I suspect my oil cooler leak is a direct result of the engine shaking due to the lame motor mounts. I am ordering lemforder OEMs now.

I have ordered the super fat socket (46MM - Draper Expert AdBlue Filter Socket) required to get the oil cooler off (you cant find it any where other than online...) and also the OEM gaskets. Waiting for a warm up to fix the c32jet and get her flying proper again soon.

Lots of luck - next time you shut off your engine..check the lower edge of your oil cooler and you'll likely see the source of your messy oil leak. Then check your motor mounts and replace them with lemforders.
Old 01-26-2016, 09:59 AM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by c32jet
Agreed, oil cooler. I spotted mine dripping directly on the belt... which is why it make such a mess. My bay looks similarly terrible. My belt is not chewed up but definitely I am going to replace all the gaskets in the oil cooler.

On a side note... I know the car is getting some miles on it 130K+ and I get after her pretty consistently... and I believe 'my' oil cooler leak developed as a direct cause of - new - cheap - motor mounts. I replace my motor mounts this summer - major pita - with cheapies from ebay - URO I believe. Wow have I learned a lesson... the car, now in Jan in KY, shakes terribly due to the weak and likely already toast 'new' (now six months old and in sub freezing temps) motor mounts. They do seem to damped the vibration after they warm up substantially - a little. I suspect my oil cooler leak is a direct result of the engine shaking due to the lame motor mounts. I am ordering lemforder OEMs now.

I have ordered the super fat socket (46MM - Draper Expert AdBlue Filter Socket) required to get the oil cooler off (you cant find it any where other than online...) and also the OEM gaskets. Waiting for a warm up to fix the c32jet and get her flying proper again soon.

Lots of luck - next time you shut off your engine..check the lower edge of your oil cooler and you'll likely see the source of your messy oil leak. Then check your motor mounts and replace them with lemforders.
Are the gaskets a 3 piece set?
Old 01-26-2016, 10:00 AM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by jvakos
your mechanic is nuts saying its supercharger oil!

the first thing he should have called out is all the damage to your belt!!!! your pics have about 4-5 examples of the side of your belt totally chewed up!!!! thats a big part of your problem i would assume

i would think your car drives noisy as hell with that belt all torn up, no?
Not really noisey just shaking a little
Old 01-26-2016, 10:07 AM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by Bigpapistu
So this has been going on for about a month and has gotten worse. I have oil leaving from under the hood. I don't know where it's coming from. Just today I noticed my belts are starting to tear. Every mechanic is telling me something different. Most recent mechanic told me it might be supercharger oil but I doubt it cause it smells like engine oil (supercharger oil is supposed to smell really bad when it's old) I will post pictures and see if anyone has had this problem or can help me thanks. I can post more pics if I didn't get everything





















UPDATE: Went to the stealership for a diagnostics and they told me it's the valve cover gasket and the oil filter is "loose". Also they said I can have more leakes coming from places other then the valve gasket, but they won't know about the other leaks unless they clean the engine which they charge $250 for the cleaning (what a joke). Then I'd have to do another diagnostics for $189. Total charges came out to about $1600 lmao. I walked out paying the diagnostics fee and a "free" car wash. Anyway I will be cleaning the engine my self for $10 lol and will try to find the leak and will post pics and keep you guys updates.
Old 01-26-2016, 10:08 AM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by c32jet
Agreed, oil cooler. I spotted mine dripping directly on the belt... which is why it make such a mess. My bay looks similarly terrible. My belt is not chewed up but definitely I am going to replace all the gaskets in the oil cooler.

On a side note... I know the car is getting some miles on it 130K+ and I get after her pretty consistently... and I believe 'my' oil cooler leak developed as a direct cause of - new - cheap - motor mounts. I replace my motor mounts this summer - major pita - with cheapies from ebay - URO I believe. Wow have I learned a lesson... the car, now in Jan in KY, shakes terribly due to the weak and likely already toast 'new' (now six months old and in sub freezing temps) motor mounts. They do seem to damped the vibration after they warm up substantially - a little. I suspect my oil cooler leak is a direct result of the engine shaking due to the lame motor mounts. I am ordering lemforder OEMs now.

I have ordered the super fat socket (46MM - Draper Expert AdBlue Filter Socket) required to get the oil cooler off (you cant find it any where other than online...) and also the OEM gaskets. Waiting for a warm up to fix the c32jet and get her flying proper again soon.

Lots of luck - next time you shut off your engine..check the lower edge of your oil cooler and you'll likely see the source of your messy oil leak. Then check your motor mounts and replace them with lemforders.
Links to all the parts?
Old 01-26-2016, 11:27 AM
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Links to all the parts?
www.google.com
Old 01-26-2016, 11:46 AM
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While I agree that it does seem most likely to be engine oil, I have seen a similar looking failure on an SLK32 where it was a failure of the Supercharger input shaft bearing mount (secured by 6 machine screws behind the SC pulley clutch-magnet). This particular failure allowed the SC pulley to be pulled off to the side slightly - which in turn allowed the belt to move forward on the pulley (as yours has). AND, there was a lot of SC oil that got all over.

Not suggesting this is likely as I've only seen it once, but it is easy to check (remove belt, see if you can pulley side to side) and should be ruled out before dumping a lot of money in your car at the dealer or wherever you are having it worked on. If this has occurred, the whole SuperCharger needs to be replaced.

Chris

Last edited by latemodel21; 01-26-2016 at 12:55 PM.
Old 01-26-2016, 01:22 PM
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Yeah that idler pulley has a very similar destroyed look to it also.
Old 01-26-2016, 06:10 PM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by latemodel21
While I agree that it does seem most likely to be engine oil, I have seen a similar looking failure on an SLK32 where it was a failure of the Supercharger input shaft bearing mount (secured by 6 machine screws behind the SC pulley clutch-magnet). This particular failure allowed the SC pulley to be pulled off to the side slightly - which in turn allowed the belt to move forward on the pulley (as yours has). AND, there was a lot of SC oil that got all over.

Not suggesting this is likely as I've only seen it once, but it is easy to check (remove belt, see if you can pulley side to side) and should be ruled out before dumping a lot of money in your car at the dealer or wherever you are having it worked on. If this has occurred, the whole SuperCharger needs to be replaced.

Chris
I'm cleaning the engine and I took a closer look and I see the that suoercharger bearing is shot
Old 01-26-2016, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigpapistu
I'm cleaning the engine and I took a closer look and I see the that suoercharger bearing is shot
are you talking about the bearing that is in the SC pulley (that is visible), or are you talking about a different bearing (like the input shaft bearing that I mentioned) that is not visible?



Chris
Old 01-26-2016, 08:24 PM
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03 E55

Originally Posted by latemodel21
are you talking about the bearing that is in the SC pulley (that is visible), or are you talking about a different bearing (like the input shaft bearing that I mentioned) that is not visible?



Chris

supercharger pulley bearing
Old 01-27-2016, 07:51 PM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by Bigpapistu
So this has been going on for about a month and has gotten worse. I have oil leaving from under the hood. I don't know where it's coming from. Just today I noticed my belts are starting to tear. Every mechanic is telling me something different. Most recent mechanic told me it might be supercharger oil but I doubt it cause it smells like engine oil (supercharger oil is supposed to smell really bad when it's old) I will post pictures and see if anyone has had this problem or can help me thanks. I can post more pics if I didn't get everything





















UPDATE: Went to a local bmw and Mercedes shop. The leak is coming from the oil cooler gaskets. They are charging me $450 with parts and labor (oil cooler gaskets and the drive belt) They also told me my engine and transmission mounts are "collapsed" which i don't k ow what they really mean by "collapsed" and also they told me a bad transmission connector is causing leak and they're wanting to charge me $140 with labor to change the connector which I think it can be a easy diy for way cheaper. If anyone has a link or know how to change the plug please pm me or post link. Thanks for all the help fellas!
Old 01-27-2016, 08:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigpapistu
UPDATE: Went to a local bmw and Mercedes shop. The leak is coming from the oil cooler gaskets. They are charging me $450 with parts and labor (oil cooler gaskets and the drive belt) They also told me my engine and transmission mounts are "collapsed" which i don't k ow what they really mean by "collapsed" and also they told me a bad transmission connector is causing leak and they're wanting to charge me $140 with labor to change the connector which I think it can be a easy diy for way cheaper. If anyone has a link or know how to change the plug please pm me or post link. Thanks for all the help fellas!
the transmission connector seal is a common failure. the part is $5 to $15 and the DIY is straightforward (search this sight for "pilot bushing" for DIY) one thing that you need to make sure is that you do this when the transmission is cold so you don't spin the captive nut in the "conductor plate" . The job is simple and needs to be repeated as often as every 60k miles or so.

The three motor mounts do tend to collapse. The 2 fronts are liquid filled and leak out (the driver side usually tears apart at this point). The transmission mount (rear of the 3) is an easy diy .... the part should be less than 50. The fronts are more challenging (and the parts are more expensive). Take your time and research this one, you are ok until the drives side tears apart (then you have to limp it home with light throttle).

Glad the SC's problems are just superficial (easy to replace pulley bearing).

Cheers,
Chris
Old 01-27-2016, 08:17 PM
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03 E55
Originally Posted by latemodel21
the transmission connector seal is a common failure. the part is $5 to $15 and the DIY is straightforward (search this sight for "pilot bushing" for DIY) one thing that you need to make sure is that you do this when the transmission is cold so you don't spin the captive nut in the "conductor plate" . The job is simple and needs to be repeated as often as every 60k miles or so.

The three motor mounts do tend to collapse. The 2 fronts are liquid filled and leak out (the driver side usually tears apart at this point). The transmission mount (rear of the 3) is an easy diy .... the part should be less than 50. The fronts are more challenging (and the parts are more expensive). Take your time and research this one, you are ok until the drives side tears apart (then you have to limp it home with light throttle).

Glad the SC's problems are just superficial (easy to replace pulley bearing).

Cheers,
Chris
Thanks for all the helpful information man I really appreciate it a lot. Really glad it wasn't my supercharger going bad (God forbid) that would've been terrible. Thanks again!
Old 01-27-2016, 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by latemodel21
the transmission connector seal is a common failure. the part is $5 to $15 and the DIY is straightforward (search this sight for "pilot bushing" for DIY) one thing that you need to make sure is that you do this when the transmission is cold so you don't spin the captive nut in the "conductor plate" . The job is simple and needs to be repeated as often as every 60k miles or so.

The three motor mounts do tend to collapse. The 2 fronts are liquid filled and leak out (the driver side usually tea

Glad the SC's problems are just superficial (easy to replace pulley bearing).

Cheers,
Chris
Cant seem to find that diy link. Do you have the link sir?

Can't
Old 01-27-2016, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigpapistu
Cant seem to find that diy link. Do you have the link sir?

Can't
there are many videos on youtube that cover this ... this was just the first one listed

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