waylifeshouldbe

Hi All,

I'm having trouble finding through various searches what this hose is, what component it connects to, and certainly what may be the solution. A sizable amount of oil is seeping from the component this hose attaches to. The hose resides just below the air cleaner hose. The oil drips down and socks the belly pan and wets various other bits along the way. I'm fairly handy and therefore am quite confident I can likely fix this - benefitting from any one's previous expertise and guidance of course. Thought I'd post before I bring it to the mechanic. Thanks ahead of time for your opinions! I hope the pics are illustrative enough.

kajtek1

Bad picture, but since it drips oil - it is intercooler hose. Be ready for sticker shock.

ejenner

Never really that sure if the 'bluetec' is a diesel or not? Poor mercedes knowledge by me! Anyway, if it is a diesel then turbo diesels do generally tend to leak a lot of oil around the turbochargers and internally through the intake tubes and intercooler. If you're a super-critical owner who can't put up with the idea of an older engine having oil dripping from the intake tubing then you could have your turbocharger reconditioned so it does not leak as much. It's usually more trouble than it's worth though. I can't really see what the problem is from the picture though. Have you got a photo from some distance away so it is possible to see the offending pipe in context of the entire engine bay?

arto_wa

On these Diesel engines Turbo intake air oil leaks are often caused with partially clogged air filters and deteriorated orange colored "rubber" seals No. 10 & 23 in the enclosed drawing.

Partially clogged air filters may cause excess crankcase fumes being sucked to the turbo inlet and oil can easily leak out somewhere downstream.

Not sure if that's the case here but hopefully we will see little better photos of what is leaking and where?

Cheers,

waylifeshouldbe

Thanks all. I apologize for the bad pic. I'm not in a position to take another picture for another week. I will endeavor to do so certainly. The hose resides in front of the engine, passenger side, below the air intake hose. I've been diligent in changing the air filters but will check again of course. Isn't the turbo located in the rear of the engine bay? The illustration provided by arto wa doesn't easily match up in my mind. I am more than happy to be educated. I've worked on older MB before - gas. I love this 320 bluetec - (diesel - OM642) and would like to begin a more robust maintainence effort. I've been working away from home for a few years now but will soon be retiring. Again, sorry about the picture. Thanks so much for your advice.

arto_wa

No problem, we look forward to more info when you are ready.

Correction:
I had a slight "typo" in my previous post - I meant to say excess crankcase fumes may be sucked in1

kajtek1

The picture shows on top the 'fluctuation damper" what is neighbor to GP module.
Right below it you have intercooler hose and then intercooler manifold, where engine ventilation and EGR connect (I did not investigate that part too far).
That is why IC hose was my first suspect, as I had it failed and other members as well.
Still washing whole area and rechecking after some drive would confirm.