OIL Leak
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Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 71
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01 E320
OIL Leak
Fellas I hope that someone can help me.
I just came back yesterday from out of town. My friend (watching my dogs) called me and said that there was a problem with my E320. He thought that it was antifreeze but, we checked and it is motor oil.
I recently took the car to get it serviced, the leak seems to be coming from the transmission but when I checked the liquid levels all were fine. The weather had been very cold this past week. I don't know if the temperature would have anything to do with what happened. Any idea into what can be wrong with my car??????
I just came back yesterday from out of town. My friend (watching my dogs) called me and said that there was a problem with my E320. He thought that it was antifreeze but, we checked and it is motor oil.
I recently took the car to get it serviced, the leak seems to be coming from the transmission but when I checked the liquid levels all were fine. The weather had been very cold this past week. I don't know if the temperature would have anything to do with what happened. Any idea into what can be wrong with my car??????
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,564
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From: SoCal
98 Brilliant Silver E320 Wagon
Just a couple of thoughts. Transmission fluid which has been in the car a while looks very much like oil as the original red color fades. If you use Mobil 1 you can check by putting a drop on a white paper towel and spraying a little Fantastik cleaner on it. If it's oil it'll turn pink. Fluid levels aren't much help since at 8 qts plus it takes a pretty big leak to noticeably affect the fluid level.
Some known oil leak areas are the valve covers, the breather covers (top half of valve cover), the oil inspection port and the oil filter housing seal.
There is also a known problem with the electrical connector on the transmission. The connector has a couple of o-rings which can leak. It's a cheap and easy fix if that is the problem. It's also one to take care of promptly since the fluid can migrate and cause problems with the electronics. Which is not cheap and easy.
Leaks can be difficult to trace. Good luck.
Some known oil leak areas are the valve covers, the breather covers (top half of valve cover), the oil inspection port and the oil filter housing seal.
There is also a known problem with the electrical connector on the transmission. The connector has a couple of o-rings which can leak. It's a cheap and easy fix if that is the problem. It's also one to take care of promptly since the fluid can migrate and cause problems with the electronics. Which is not cheap and easy.
Leaks can be difficult to trace. Good luck.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,803
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From: Charleston, SC
GL450
How did you check your transmission oil level? Do you have the special dip stick for it?
The tranny can leak from either the TCU connector (front of the tranny) or the shift linkage connector (rear of the tranny).
The tranny can leak from either the TCU connector (front of the tranny) or the shift linkage connector (rear of the tranny).
