2016 E350 oil in engine air filter
#1
2016 E350 oil in engine air filter
2016 E350 60,000 miles
I changed my air filter today.
Last air filter change about 1 year ago at 48,000 miles was completely normal.
This time I found a small amount (less than an ounce) of what looked like engine oil on the filtered air side of the housing.
With a rag I wiped the flexible connector to the throttle body and it had the remains of a very small amount of oil on the bottom.
Car idles and runs smoothly.
Any ideas about the cause?
I changed my air filter today.
Last air filter change about 1 year ago at 48,000 miles was completely normal.
This time I found a small amount (less than an ounce) of what looked like engine oil on the filtered air side of the housing.
With a rag I wiped the flexible connector to the throttle body and it had the remains of a very small amount of oil on the bottom.
Car idles and runs smoothly.
Any ideas about the cause?
#2
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MY'14 W212 M276 3.5NA @60kMi
intake swamped with oil
2016 E350 60,000 miles
This time I found a small amount (less than an ounce) of what looked like engine oil on the filtered air side of the housing.
With a rag I wiped the flexible connector to the throttle body and it had the remains of a very small amount of oil on the bottom.
Any ideas about the cause?
This time I found a small amount (less than an ounce) of what looked like engine oil on the filtered air side of the housing.
With a rag I wiped the flexible connector to the throttle body and it had the remains of a very small amount of oil on the bottom.
Any ideas about the cause?
![](https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbworld.org-vbulletin/1080x1141/screenshot_20210409_223841_gallery_f241ceb92ba977b1686c004359578a36aec3bf0d.jpg)
oil stash drains intake contamination
PIC: the plastic container below the intake rubber boot is loaded with condensed oil that dripped back out from throttle body.
Here the only connection I know between oil and intake is the crankcase PCV track.
Normally the crankase breather circuit has a centrifugal separator mounted on the camshaft tip to separate the oil out of the crankcase air. The classic failure was a tiny rubber seal on the plastic crankcase cover. After a while the composite seal would fall apart and carve a groove in the soft centrifugator. Result being unmetered air and oil injestion for lack of separation.
A failed PCV breather is an excellent way to blow oil out of every engine gaskets one after the other. Also by allowing unmetered air in the intake, it confuses the ECU mixture that produces random lean misfires (regardless of good plug/coils)
This funky oil contamination coats the intake valves that never get washed due to direct injection... amazing "best or nothing" design.
🐇
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; 04-10-2021 at 02:31 AM.
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pierrejoliat (04-10-2021)
#3
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The M276 - particularly in the later cars like this 2016 - is one of Benz's most reliable modern engines. I don't know the cause of what is going on with the OP's car, but we do not see many serious issues with these engines on here.
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pierrejoliat (04-10-2021)
#4
#5
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MY'14 W212 M276 3.5NA @60kMi
dry stick at 6KMi 🤣
The oil dipstick does show oil consumption. I was surprised to find my dipstick dry at 6,000Mi after dealer oil service... over 1 Qt gone !
Of course some oil consumption is normal even on a low mileage 30kMi engine... M276 even features a special drip can to keep the belt dry and the driveway clean longer...
Of course some oil consumption is normal even on a low mileage 30kMi engine... M276 even features a special drip can to keep the belt dry and the driveway clean longer...