mayukh_coolest

I have a Mercedes BEnz 1987 300E which ahs done 155,555 miles . Everytime I leave the car parked , there is a puddle of water and antifreeze which gathers underneath the car in front. I am using a 50-50 mixture of antifreeze and water and have to keep refilling it every two days or so to keep it above the sensor level . I wanted to know what the best course of action would be to resolve this problem .

I have replaced the gasket in front recently due to some oil leaks in the engine. The car is working normally and gives me a mileage of about 17 miles to the gallon. I wanted to know how I could clean the engine of the oil that has already leaked ?

What brand of motor oil ,transmission fluid and coolant would you recommend ?

I am sorry to be asking so many questions but I am a complete novice when it comes to cars , this is my first car and i would like to maintain to the best of my ability .

About the first problem , some people have told me it is the water pump but it does not leak as vociferously when i am on the highway it is only when it is parked and not in use !

there was a similar case stating it could be the O ring , are there some steps that i could carry out to determine what exactly it is ?

Kestas

With all the equipment hanging on an engine nowadays it's difficult to trace coolant leaks. One good method is to pressurize the system with shop air (~10-20 psi, no more) and look for leaks. You'll have to get creative on how to pressurize it. But you HAVE to trace the coolant and find the leak source before any kind of repair, otherwise you're just taking shots in the dark.

mayukh_coolest

Thanks for the reply kestas ! to give you some more information it is quite a rapid leak and i have to keep refilling the radiator everyday with the mixture of antifreeze and water to keep the level above the sensor level and the puddles are really becoming bigger by the day,

the leaks happen only when the car is parked or not in use while driving the reduction in the levels is not very significant !

does this help in any way ?

Kestas

I'm not intimately familiar with your engine, only my M104 engine, which I believe is similar. I find it suspicious that it happened after replacing the upper timing cover seal, which disturbs the coolant passages through the cover. You have a number of possible locations at the front for a leak, including the water pump. If you can't find the specific leak location, you'll just have to redo all the coolant passages at the front of the engine.

I once had a leak on another car that behaved the same way you described - no leaks while running, but forms a big puddle while standing. I was a simple (but difficult to replace) hose leak.

cap'n jasper

I had something similar recently (link) and it turned out to be the waterpump. My suggestion would be to find an independent Merc garage and get them to take a look. (sooner rather than later!)
What colour is/was your coolant?

mayukh_coolest

the color of the coolant is green and the puddles are all green too ...there is no hint of oil it is just dripping away now as i type ! and the radiator emties itself in 3-4 hours while standing !

Shane C

my best guess would be the water pump also. I had same problem with my tahoe and before i knew it , it ended up costing me a new factory motor in all over $5,000.00. mechanic told me that water pump will leak when vehicle off when faulty. i replaced two in the truck first one caught in time (same symptoms as you describe) .Please keep in mind that this was an american car so mercedes would cost several thousand more. keep a constant eye on your temp gauge and do not let car get to hot or you can kiss your motor goodbuy. If it were me i would have a mechanic check it out.

mayukh_coolest

Hi all , it was the water pump ,

thanks again so much !