Unknown fluid/oil leak
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 698
Likes: 16
From: Germany
C215 CL55 AMG, W124 500E, W210 E430, W124 300E
Unknown fluid/oil leak
Hi people,
on my CL55AMG Kompressor it seems that i have a severe fluid/oil leak that i can't properly locate...
Large area of the floor below the car is covered in oil/or another veeeeery thin fluid. The rough location is below the engine and it drops down all the way, left-to-right from the middle engine-subframe. The fluid has a light yellowish tone.
I have compared it against all fluids of the car that i can check myself and its neither engine-oil, nor ABC-Oil, nor cooling fluid.
The power-steering fluid has a similar color (maybe a little bit darker - more orange), but the dipstick still reads at "max" mark.
Could it be ATF from the gearbox? I cant check it myself since there is no dipstick on my car and only a one-use cover on the dipstick tube...
Any ideas, advices?
Thanks alot
-Christian-
on my CL55AMG Kompressor it seems that i have a severe fluid/oil leak that i can't properly locate...
Large area of the floor below the car is covered in oil/or another veeeeery thin fluid. The rough location is below the engine and it drops down all the way, left-to-right from the middle engine-subframe. The fluid has a light yellowish tone.
I have compared it against all fluids of the car that i can check myself and its neither engine-oil, nor ABC-Oil, nor cooling fluid.
The power-steering fluid has a similar color (maybe a little bit darker - more orange), but the dipstick still reads at "max" mark.
Could it be ATF from the gearbox? I cant check it myself since there is no dipstick on my car and only a one-use cover on the dipstick tube...
Any ideas, advices?
Thanks alot
-Christian-
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 698
Likes: 16
From: Germany
C215 CL55 AMG, W124 500E, W210 E430, W124 300E
thanks for your reply.
I compared all fluids on a white paper next to each other and since my ABC Fluid is brand new, its very green and looks totally different to that leaking fluid.
Also regarding ATF, at least in germany for the 722.6xx gearboxes only oil after MB sheet 236.14 is allowed since a few years, and the few oils under that sheet that have named approval are color-less IIRC.
At least the most used "Fuchs Titan ATF 4134" under that norm is color-less or a bit light-yellowish when "used".
Read: http://www.fuchs-europe.de/uploads/m...blemloeser.pdf
(Please use a translator, its "the best" oil for the 722.6xx boxes)
As i first inspected the car from below, i remember seeing a oil-line (one of the thousands) covered in oil, but it was never leaking that much, like it does since the last few days.
Are there lines going below the engine, that are from the AC system?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,340
Likes: 22
From: Southern California, USA
2003 CL55 AMG
Put the car on a lift, drop all the plastic under body pans which can hold a ton of fluid if there are leaks. This fluid can move through the pans to other areas so the best method is to visually inspect.
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2015 Challenger Hellcat, 2023 Ram 3500, 2005 E55 Wagon, 2019 GLC63s
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Joined: May 2011
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CL55 AMG
I chased down the same problem. The fluid color baffled me, as did the lack of any measurable amount of abc/ps fluid, coolant, engine oil, or atf lost.
It ended up being the typical failure of the conductor plate's electrical interface connector, located passenger side front of transmission. If it's the culprit, replace it quick before the atf wicks all the way up the harness into the tcu. The plug is cheap, but be careful removing it. Its single center nut that secures it from behind isn't backed by anything but a very thin piece of plastic. My nut was spinning and I had to remove the valve body to get at it. Cost me a new conductor plate.
It ended up being the typical failure of the conductor plate's electrical interface connector, located passenger side front of transmission. If it's the culprit, replace it quick before the atf wicks all the way up the harness into the tcu. The plug is cheap, but be careful removing it. Its single center nut that secures it from behind isn't backed by anything but a very thin piece of plastic. My nut was spinning and I had to remove the valve body to get at it. Cost me a new conductor plate.
