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So I will start by saying I'm novice here and don't know a great deal about these things. On sunday I discovered an oil leak, it was leaving a pool the size of a golf ball. It seems to not always be leaking? the reason I say that is I have on a few occasions since then had to drive to a garage and so on and I saw no leak when getting out however, I took it to a garage and the first thing they said after having a "quick look" was has the vehicle had any engine work recently. I said no, the last time any engine work was carried out was almost a year ago (timing chain change) they advised I take the car back to that garage because they said it could be the tensioner that is not tight enough or the seal is not tight. It could be something else in or around that sorta area as the leak is coming from around there. So I've contacted that garage they were suprisingly (and seemingly...) helpful and got it booked in but I'm quite reluctant to use the garage as I simply don't trust them after hearing this. I don't really have much of a choice as I've been told to locate the leak it would require taking lots of parts of the car out to be able to see where it is and that alone would run me into the hundreds (hence them saying go back to the original garage)
The reason I'm posting here and is probably pointless as I don't have a clue about this stuff is, I'm just wondering if there's anyway I try and verify myself where the leak is coming from? I could be totally wrong here but is it possible that work carried out that long ago, could start leaking this far down the line? I guess it's possible I have just not noticed the leak... but yeah.
Also can anyone tell me what this outlined bit is?
What engine do you have, or better yet post your VIN# so I can look up the parts diagrams. I dont recognize what engine it is from the photo.
Can you post a better photo of what your pointing to, I cant tell what it is. .
You say you discovered an oil leak, can you see exactly where the oil is leaking? Or are you saying there is a puddle of oil on the ground?
Reading further i guess i answered my own question, you say you need help in trying to find where the oil is leaking.
To find an oil leak its just looking around with a flash light. There are undertrays under the car so oil can be dripping on them and running off somewhere else so its best to jack up the car and remove them, see if you can tell where its running down the engine. Front, rear, left or right sides?
If the timing cover was leaking oil you should be able to inspect all around it, see if there is any oil running down the engine.
2008 C200 is probably the M271 Kompressor. Those are seen in the U.S. in the W203. That’s what the picture looks like. I have the same request for a better photo. I’m also curious about the cut off hose. Is this a picture of a working engine, or just an example?
Sorry my engine is "Engine 271.950 " apparently and I should of explained that this picture I posted is a picture I found on google that was the clearest I could get that would show the little thing I was curious about. The reason being is that I see oil around that spot but not sure if its coming from somewhere above and going onto that.I will try to get some pictures of my actual engine and post here in the mean time.
Ohh I see, so the reason I was curious about that particular part is because everytime I've looked at the engine, I've seen little drop of oil in there. So I wondered if it is leaking from there. I have taken some pictures and a video of the engine and around where the oil appears from what I can see up top without jacking it up (I don't actually have a jack at the moment)
The pictures show the black hole thing that I was curious about which you have shown clearer but since I have taken them I may as well show them in case something else is noticed! The video shows the rest of the engine and where a lot of the oil appears.
0.5x Zoom 1.0x Zoom 2.0x Zoom
And the video is here. I noticed a lot of oil around the top end of the engine and around the filler cap specifically. This doesnt seem normal to me at all, please take a look and let me know what you guys think? Could it be the filler cap leaking and the oil down the front & side of the engine?
The video had me confused since I was seeing the oil filler cap on the right side of the engine.
I didnt see much oil when you were feeling around with the gloves. Use a clean paper towel and see if it gets oily.
I did notice something that looked like oil on the undertray in the first few seconds of the video. Its odd oil would collect that forward. Is that where you see oil pooling on the floor, in the front of the car?
The oil filler cap does look a little oily. I would clean it really good, same with the front of the engine and then monitor it for fresh signs of oil. When I replaced my oil filter housing gasket I got oil all down the front of the engine, I sprayed it down with engine degreaser then just washed it off pouring cups of water against the engine, wont hurt anything. Just be careful around the electrical connections. Can always get a new cap/gasket.
Have you checked the oil level lately, are you losing oil and if so how much?
Not sure what you have done to the engine but i do know the oil filter housing gaskets are known to leak with higher mileage. I had to replace mine. That would be leaking oil in the back corner of the engine on the drivers side. You would probably see oil showing up on the floor in the back of the wheel.
I dont use a jack when i work under the car for things like changing the oil. I made some ramps out of wood planks cut to different lengths stacked on top of eachother and screwed together.
Hi there.
I'm really sorry I have no clue why the video has decided to flip sides. Everything is on the left in the video but that's wrong, it's actually on the right.
The oil I see pooling that you showed a picture of is actually (seemingly) isolated. The oil that falls onto the floor is on the passenger side and about 5-10cms to the right of the front wheel. when I look down into the car in that area, I can see the under tray and it is covered in what I can only assume is oil. It is looks moist by sight and seems to cover the whole under tray. I wonder if it is somehow leaking at the spot you pictured and is falling down onto the under tray from the front which is why everywhere around it is dry, and then the under tray is allowing it to flow towards the engine from front and off to the passenger's side wheel then onto the ground?
What could be leaking at the front of the car that would cause oil to drip onto that bit you pictured do you reckon?
I will try that paper towel trick see what happens. The gloves seemed to just resist it and push it around.
At first when i saw that undertray I thought maybe the oil cooler was leaking, but looking at the parts diagrams I don't think you have one? I could be wrong but I cant find one. Something above the front undertray would have to be leaking, like the radiator or trans cooler im thinking.
I say this because looking at the undertrays and how they are installed the back lip of the front undertray sits on top of the middle undertray so i dont see how oil can fall on the middle undertray then travel over the lip of the front undertray and move forward. If that makes sense.
I found a photo of an M271 engine mounted to the subframe and to me it would appear any oil dripping down the engine would be falling on the middle undertray.
The silver part right above the red line is your subframe.
Without looking right at the engine its hard to give an opinion where the oil is coming from. Im not even sure that's actively leaking oil we are seeing on top of that undertray.
Using this photo below circle where you are seeing oil on the ground below it.
05-14-2024, 05:18 AM
