Leaky alternator?
 

was poking around under the hood today and saw something troubling - looked like a leak under the alternator? The alternator looks all gunked up and the leak spot under it looks fresh.


anyone have any idea what could be causing this? No weird power issues and I still have the extended warranty...

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...dc1188dcf.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...146fe1ee4.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...ee3f3cfef.jpeg

Anything located above that? Power steering or coolant reservoir?

The alternator has no fluid, so what are you talking about?

And I bet you will also tell me there is no such thing as blinker fluid

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22

Alternator has a coil inside and brushes and other electronic parts. I have never seen one with fluid inside. The sludge has to be coming from above it.

Looks like a long term seepage getting blown onto the alternator, plus I think a fair amount of belt debris mixed in. It's not doing the internals any good.
Suggest you use a spray/carb cleaner to clean the front of the engine to find the source, and a belt change may be in order. My personal preference is Goodyear Gatorback belts, but that's just me.
How can you possibly post on this forum with a dirty engine?! :p:

dbldpr I see we have the same great taste in 57's :y

Great 57 2dr hardtop. All matador red and about 95% original. Best I could do at shows was about 975 Finally sold it for $35. The 69 had nothing original I replaced everything, but looked original. Best I got at show was 999 they took off for dust . I drove to the show. sold that for$65 I miss them. Looking for a new project. I have nothing to do all winter and the projects keep me busy.

I know we are off track on the post but what the heck lol. Mines a restomod, getting ready to go over it again. First time was 1990 and its held together well. Just got done with the bug, its a hoot to drive, just generally unsafe. Fuel and wiring in front, what could possibly go wrong...

Now back to the topic, hoping OP will discover leak source.

When was the last time you bought a Goodyear belt? They sold off their belt division back in 2014 to Continental. For some reason, the pulleys and tensioners aren't that great on the M272 so I changed them out with a Continental kit on the W211, but they didn't have it for the W212. I think the parts were the same, but the belt length was slightly different.

Interesting, didn't know that.
Bought about a year ago for this E350. Probably what was still in stock thru Rockauto. But a quick look shows only Continental belts available now for both our car and truck.

All that dirt is coming from somewhere else

there is definately NO any kinds of fluids inside the alternator lol

Check if there's leaking from Camshaft. I had similar problem with camshaft leaking oil drip on to alternator.

ok, stupid title for the post, i'm aware that the alternator doesn't have any fluids in it or going through it.

what i wanted to confirm that it's not normal to have this much gunk (and some of it looks like fresh drip) on it and whether it warranted to take it for a warranty inspection. i don't want to clean anything or do anything myself, i want the dealer to see it as is and figure out what's going on.

did the problem with the camfshaft manifest itself in any other way for you? or was it simply determined due to the similar gunk on the alternator?

No it is not normal to have that amount of greasy crud on anything under the hood. For those that don't ever clean under there you would find road dust and dirt.
Please post what the dealer finds for future reference.

minor update -- have a warranty appointment this friday, will update after that.

quick question -- would you guys insist on anything specific? such as replacement of the alternator due to all the gunk? or if they tell me that they just degreased it and cleaned it up would that be sufficient (outside of determining where the leak is coming from)?

Thanks

If your car is working properly and there is no electrical issues I'm sure your alternator is just fine. I guess it could be cleaned up, but once the source of the gunk manufacturer is found and the area cleaned up it can only get better for your alternator from there.

I would be more concerned about the source than the mess myself. As Key said, if the alternator is working, then it's fine.

Not a stupid title...there are plenty of alternators out there with oil-cooled or coolant/radiator-cooled systems. Range Rovers w/ the BMW engines, before they moved to Jaguar engines. And a bunch of BMW vehicles have them.

Well the leak is real and it’s apparently the cam shaft seals as someone already mentioned. They’re being replaced right now.

i couldn’t get the details of how many seals there are, how many are being replaced: all or just the bad ones?

either way, I guess I’m a lot disappointed, car is barely 4 yrs old and just at 56k and already the motor seals are going? Gives me no assurance of wanting to keep this thing past any warranty expiration.

Good thing you noticed and brought this up.