Oil Leak.....GL350
12-06-2015, 03:11 PM
#26
Senior Member
I removed the torque converter drain plug as well and it was nice and dry in there too.
The last time I had an oil leak this significant was when I buggered the O-ring on the oil pan of the race car doing a quickie engine change (those were the days; doing an engine change in the paddock overnight) after missing a shift in practice. It's amazing how much oil will come out of a cut o-ring when it's on the top back of the pan and all the oil is shifting backwards during acceleration...
I suspect this will be the oil cooler seals and my question to them once the job is done will be: what are you going to do for me when they fail again at 100K?
I don't mind doing my own work but I've heard some parts prices tossed around on this forum that are fairly eye-watering for a mass produced vehicle.
The last time I had an oil leak this significant was when I buggered the O-ring on the oil pan of the race car doing a quickie engine change (those were the days; doing an engine change in the paddock overnight) after missing a shift in practice. It's amazing how much oil will come out of a cut o-ring when it's on the top back of the pan and all the oil is shifting backwards during acceleration...
I suspect this will be the oil cooler seals and my question to them once the job is done will be: what are you going to do for me when they fail again at 100K?
I don't mind doing my own work but I've heard some parts prices tossed around on this forum that are fairly eye-watering for a mass produced vehicle.
Sak, mine was not quite that oily, but it was definitely coming down the side of the bell housing. At first I thought it was the rear main but I popped out the drain plug rubber plug on the trans and it was bone dry on the bell housing interior.
Sure enough it was my oil cooler. They will replace the plastic noise suppressing belly pan if it is oil soaked. Dude, I never bought a extended warranty either but I wish I had. I truly love the truck and MB construction but mine seems to be "tender".....
When I bought it I had the intention to go to 300k, we will see!!
Sure enough it was my oil cooler. They will replace the plastic noise suppressing belly pan if it is oil soaked. Dude, I never bought a extended warranty either but I wish I had. I truly love the truck and MB construction but mine seems to be "tender".....
When I bought it I had the intention to go to 300k, we will see!!
12-06-2015, 06:08 PM
#27
MBWorld Fanatic!
I just got rid of my 2008 gl320cdi at 71000 miles after 4 oil leaks. 3 of them from the oil cooler/seals. Fortunately all except one leak was covered by warranty or mercedes. I hope my new GLC is better. I also had to replace the power steering rack as well as multiple parts of the air suspension.. Thank you extended warranty��
12-08-2015, 07:28 AM
#29
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
2012 GL350, 2010 A4, 2007 911TT
Seals were confirmed. Here are some pictures of the work. Last one is my old A6 Avant, miss that car.
Last edited by Bigben97; 12-08-2015 at 07:30 AM.
The following users liked this post:
WvBlackbear (10-06-2016)
12-08-2015, 11:05 AM
#31
Senior Member
Just heard from the service manager. My warranty expired on time (4 years) 8 days ago. He got the go-ahead from Mercedes to perform the job under the original warranty, and confirmed the leak is the oil cooler seals. Saved me from having to go ballistic, which I guess is something. They won't have the job done until Friday.
When I was shopping for a new vehicle a few years ago, I read about all the issues on the early GL's and was spooked enough that I wasn't sure it was going to be the vehicle for me. I have a racing buddy that is a service writer at a dealership in NC and spoke with him down at a race at VIR and he said that at that point, the new seals that had been installed in the 2010 and later vehicles weren't showing any problems. I guess that there wasn't enough elapsed time at that point for the new leaks to start showing up. My strategy on buying cars has always been to buy a model late in it's life span so that running changes would take care of the teething issues, but I'm not too confident that Mercedes did much on this one. Given that this engine is installed in so many vehicles, you'd think that they'd put a priority on lowering their warranty costs...
When I was shopping for a new vehicle a few years ago, I read about all the issues on the early GL's and was spooked enough that I wasn't sure it was going to be the vehicle for me. I have a racing buddy that is a service writer at a dealership in NC and spoke with him down at a race at VIR and he said that at that point, the new seals that had been installed in the 2010 and later vehicles weren't showing any problems. I guess that there wasn't enough elapsed time at that point for the new leaks to start showing up. My strategy on buying cars has always been to buy a model late in it's life span so that running changes would take care of the teething issues, but I'm not too confident that Mercedes did much on this one. Given that this engine is installed in so many vehicles, you'd think that they'd put a priority on lowering their warranty costs...
12-08-2015, 11:52 AM
#32
Junior Member
Just heard from the service manager. My warranty expired on time (4 years) 8 days ago. He got the go-ahead from Mercedes to perform the job under the original warranty, and confirmed the leak is the oil cooler seals. Saved me from having to go ballistic, which I guess is something. They won't have the job done until Friday.
When I was shopping for a new vehicle a few years ago, I read about all the issues on the early GL's and was spooked enough that I wasn't sure it was going to be the vehicle for me. I have a racing buddy that is a service writer at a dealership in NC and spoke with him down at a race at VIR and he said that at that point, the new seals that had been installed in the 2010 and later vehicles weren't showing any problems. I guess that there wasn't enough elapsed time at that point for the new leaks to start showing up. My strategy on buying cars has always been to buy a model late in it's life span so that running changes would take care of the teething issues, but I'm not too confident that Mercedes did much on this one. Given that this engine is installed in so many vehicles, you'd think that they'd put a priority on lowering their warranty costs...
When I was shopping for a new vehicle a few years ago, I read about all the issues on the early GL's and was spooked enough that I wasn't sure it was going to be the vehicle for me. I have a racing buddy that is a service writer at a dealership in NC and spoke with him down at a race at VIR and he said that at that point, the new seals that had been installed in the 2010 and later vehicles weren't showing any problems. I guess that there wasn't enough elapsed time at that point for the new leaks to start showing up. My strategy on buying cars has always been to buy a model late in it's life span so that running changes would take care of the teething issues, but I'm not too confident that Mercedes did much on this one. Given that this engine is installed in so many vehicles, you'd think that they'd put a priority on lowering their warranty costs...
Last edited by froggy47; 12-08-2015 at 12:00 PM.
12-08-2015, 02:06 PM
#33
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
2012 GL350, 2010 A4, 2007 911TT
So my Indy mechanic has a friend who is a Mercedes service tech and the word he's passing along is that these deals getting fixed should really be the only major repair.
We'll see.
We'll see.
