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Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak

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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 06:15 PM
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Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak

So when i was replacing my alternator i did notice that the front of the engine was a bit greasy( covered with something)....so i cleaned it off
When i opened it this morning the oversparay could be found anywhere from the plastic engine cover, front piece, to the hood heat shield across the car width in line with the belt. So obvious observation that something is leaking onto the belt ( or something that is ran by the belt) hence the overspray.
Now i didnt add any liquids. Last time i added oil was a month ago, and the oil check says the level is good. No visual depletion of the coolant ( and the residue is not coolant-ish)...
i think its either the tranny fluid or power steering - is there anything else that is ran by the belt?
Never added P/S fluid in 5 years of ownership...checked it today it was on the low level, but still some fluid registering...
Is any part of trany system ran in the front of the engine?

Is there anything else i am missing that might be ran by the belt?

Going to take some pics tomorrow and post them...
Oh eah took it to a friend mechanic...he recommended to take the belt off and check each rotating component attached to the belt for loosenes and wabling....
Anything anyone dealt with before?
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 06:35 PM
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It can only really be the front crank seal, the PS pump or a pipe, or the aircon compressor which will run out of oil very quickly.
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 07:09 PM
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i just read that thread about the P/S line...so i am going to clean it off and see if thats where its coming from...
The fact that its ladning on the belt and gets sprayed everywhere...
I'll check the AC commpressor too...thanks for the hint
Where do i check for the front crank seal? anyone has the schematic?
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 07:15 PM
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The front crank seal is directly behind the main bottom crankshaft pulley - dead centre of the engine. Yes - see Mu9enx's thread for PS pipe leak
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 08:06 PM
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Just went outside trying to see which component has the most and the fresher accumilation of the fluid...it deff looks more of the P/s area...
How much does the P/S system has of the fluid? is it 1L, 1 Gallon?
the reason for such question, is that the P/S reservoir still has some in it..its in the lowest mark but its not like its empty...and there is a small leak puddle coming from the center of the undercarriage cover...
Now both of the hoses that lead to and from the pump are just filthy in the residue...
Anyways, the plan is to put more P/S fluid in to make sure not to seize the pump in case its the lines...and check the fluid level when i get to work...
For those who had the leak in the line, how fast did the P/S reservoir ran out? and was idling and turning the wheels enough to spark a noticeable leak?
Thanks!
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 08:09 PM
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also if i go and spray that area, now, with the engine degreaser would it be ok for driving in thr morning? or do i need to wash it off with the water like it says?
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 08:18 PM
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Also check around the oil filter cap/seal. Most degreasers are apply then wash off with water. Brush area if thick with crud.
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 09:03 PM
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Found it...its the oil filter seal..the last seal on the shaft is letting the oil just seep in between the cap and the body...WTF! now how do i seal that one?
I shoudl probably order a new one online...or perhaps start with the new oil filter set..and see if that works...

Soo, after brainstorming and not finding any rubber sections to improvise with the gasket...i end up throwing some hi-temp silicone at the junction area( prbably not a great idea and it probably will freeze up, but at this point i have no other good ideas)...hoping that will hold up until i get my hands on new oil filter set

Last edited by eesjunin; Oct 25, 2010 at 09:26 PM.
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 10:03 PM
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Originally Posted by eesjunin
Found it...its the oil filter seal..the last seal on the shaft is letting the oil just seep in between the cap and the body...WTF! now how do i seal that one?
I shoudl probably order a new one online...or perhaps start with the new oil filter set..and see if that works...

Soo, after brainstorming and not finding any rubber sections to improvise with the gasket...i end up throwing some hi-temp silicone at the junction area( prbably not a great idea and it probably will freeze up, but at this point i have no other good ideas)...hoping that will hold up until i get my hands on new oil filter set
First remove the cap and check the condition of the o ring seal. It may be just installed wrong. If you push the o ring too far up into the cap it will not seal correctly.
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by mleskovar
First remove the cap and check the condition of the o ring seal. It may be just installed wrong. If you push the o ring too far up into the cap it will not seal correctly.
Noah, its on properly... going to get a new set tomorrow, my problem that i leave for work at 6 am and Autozone doesnt open till 8...so i would have to drive to work and pick the set up there...
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 10:22 PM
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Originally Posted by eesjunin
Noah, its on properly... going to get a new set tomorrow, my problem that i leave for work at 6 am and Autozone doesnt open till 8...so i would have to drive to work and pick the set up there...
I have never seen one of those o rings installed properly that leaked, unless the housing was cracked. You only need to put a towel around the outside of the filter housing, very little will escape, and you can check out the the o ring. If it is as high as it can be forced, it's too high. If it's not broken and it leaks it's probably on wrong.
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Old Oct 25, 2010 | 11:56 PM
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Can we get pics so we know what to look for on our own cars?
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 04:51 AM
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Pleased you found the leak. Top up that PS fluid. Does your steering make a noise at full lock? - air squeaking through the non return valves. These cars are picky on PS fluid level.
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 08:33 AM
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Some technicians don't replace the o-rings on the oil filter stem. They just pop-out the filter, put in new filter and screw the filter assemby. I guess that saves about 5 minutes of their time.

When I bought my C320 about a month ago, that large o-ring on the oil filter stem was literally flat and the oil was leaking from the oil filter cap. I replaced the all o-rings on the oil filter stem that came with the new filter kit. That solved the problem.

Very likely, eesjunin's car has the same problem.

eesjunin, where are you in the Boston area? If you are in the Tewksbury, MA or Nashua, NH area let me know.
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 08:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Glyn M Ruck
Pleased you found the leak. Top up that PS fluid. Does your steering make a noise at full lock? - air squeaking through the non return valves. These cars are picky on PS fluid level.
See that was one of the things that didnt add up, sicne the P/S fluid was the same and with this much fluid residue it shoudl have been gone. I did top it off, no it doesnt make any noise, runs very smooth...
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by pcy
Some technicians don't replace the o-rings on the oil filter stem. They just pop-out the filter, put in new filter and screw the filter assemby. I guess that saves about 5 minutes of their time.

When I bought my C320 about a month ago, that large o-ring on the oil filter stem was literally flat and the oil was leaking from the oil filter cap. I replaced the all o-rings on the oil filter stem that came with the new filter kit. That solved the problem.

Very likely, eesjunin's car has the same problem.

eesjunin, where are you in the Boston area? If you are in the Tewksbury, MA or Nashua, NH area let me know.
Ha, that technician is me and i have been doing oil changes since day one...never had problems and always replaced the rings... I am going to buy a new filter today and replace the rings to see if that fixes the problem...if not Next step is to replace the entire plastic casette...and if that doesnt work...ill just keep on creating silicone gaskets everytime i change the oil
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 09:24 AM
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Here are some pics...
Clearly it can be seen the residue of cooked on oil on the outer shell of the oil filter casette...you can see theHi-temp silicone barrier that i made for temp solution...also in my case it dripped on to the belt and the belt took it all over the front of the engine and residue can be seen on the lowerside of the plastic intake pipes...more engine cleaning to be done to get it back to "eat off the engine" condition
Attached Thumbnails Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak-hpim2394.jpg   Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak-hpim2395.jpg   Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak-hpim2396.jpg   Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak-hpim2397.jpg   Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak-hpim2398.jpg  

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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 09:57 AM
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if I were you, I would try the following (in that order) -
- new o-ring (the large o-ring that seats between the timing case and the oil filter cap),
- replace the oil filter cap with the stem; I think it's around $30 or $35.
- if that doesn't solve, then the timing case may have been slightly bent... I have not seen this happen before. I would guess the timing case is around $200, labor intensive to replace.
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 10:35 AM
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Yup, thats what i thought would be the logical order!
Thanks!
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Old Oct 26, 2010 | 09:25 PM
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Since the silicone is holding up oh so well...i decided not to do anything about it till my next oil change...the i can get both the filterr and the casette and go from there...just doenst make sense to do all of that right now
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 11:33 AM
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Problem solved, got the new Cassette from the dealership ( $54) it appears that there is an additional seal ring right at the top of the threads of the plastic casette. So that might have been the change int he design. Anyways, changed the oil, no leaks ...engine back to sparkling clean! YAY!
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 11:52 AM
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eesjunin, glad to hear that you resolved the oil leak at the oil filter.

Now, clean-up the entire area (around the belt tensioner and the timing case cover) with brake cleaner and see if there are any other leaks - I am guessing there is small leak (from the pictures you've posted earlier) from the timing case cover. There is a small gasket on the timing cover plate (NOT the entire timing case). On M112, that gasket tends to become brittle and leaks oil. See the attached picture with red circle...

If you're not busy today or tomorrow, let me know I can stop by on my way from work (Tewks to Nashua). I'll show you what work I 've done on my W203 M112.
Attached Thumbnails Here goes all that bragging...front engine leak-eesjunin_m112.jpg  

Last edited by pcy; Nov 22, 2010 at 12:02 PM.
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 12:31 PM
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i'll take a look at that to see if anything, but when i was oing my oil that area was pretty ry from last time cleaning.
WHat time you rive by Lowell Connector? I got to pick up the kidoes in Tyngs around 3-430 time frame. Tomorrow will not work but Wed most likely if you are working...
DO you have the black C280?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by eesjunin
i'll take a look at that to see if anything, but when i was oing my oil that area was pretty ry from last time cleaning.
WHat time you rive by Lowell Connector? I got to pick up the kidoes in Tyngs around 3-430 time frame. Tomorrow will not work but Wed most likely if you are working...
DO you have the black C280?
I am driving to Ann Arbor, MI tomorrow. So, we'll meet up after I come back next week.

Some days I drive silver C280 and other days metallic blue C320 (THE ONE with spoiler). I have not seen any other metallic blue C car with a spoiler

Last edited by pcy; Nov 22, 2010 at 01:45 PM.
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 02:14 PM
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i had mine stolen off my car...F***ers!...anyways eah lets do it next week then!
The reason i asked about a 280, is beacuse i saw a black 280 4matic Komressor, the other week with purple head lights and white fogs....
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