carlosrg

Hello All


I recently got a 2011 GL350 as-is and I am seeing a leak under the vehicle I was wondering if anyone have information on fixing this leak I believe it will be the oil cooler from my search on this issue. I am used to working on cars but not this vehicle, is there a service manual or etc to see the procedure to reach the oil cooler, Tech DOC, etc on repairing this leak? My understanding is that its a just a $10 item that is goes to the oil cooler between the heads and it may or may not require removal of the turbo.

If anyone has any history with the leaks on the GL350 I would be interested in hearing about it.

Thanks in advance.

clvincent

probably is the oil cooler but check the 2 orange seals on top of the motor, one big one seals the pipe to the turbo and to the left should be a smaller one

both of these tend to leak, fills up the valley on top of the motor and it runs down the back of the engine and looks like the oil cooler, on my truck it was this

there was oil everywhere and it was originally diagnosed as oil cooler

also check the pipe that holds the big orange seal that connects to the turbo, take that whole assembly out and check the bottom of the pipe, mine was cracked and leaking there also

hope you get lucky and it is not the cooler

revets

My 2011 GL350 had the oil cooler replaced after our dealer felt it was a valve. They were confident they had the issue under control knowing we were driving 700 miles. By the time we got to our destination, we had lost more than 50% of our oil and the cooler was finally replaced after being in the shop for two weeks in another city under our Extended Warranty. Boy, was that worth it. Hard to own this car without it and not sure what we'll do when warranty expires.

carlosrg

Well I made an appointment to have the dealership take a look but I also did order the Service Manuals for the truck.. I have worked on a lot of vehicles mostly Toyota/Nissan but not much on Mercedes I am hoping I won't need many speciality tools if I decide to fix it myself....

Anyone know of a good scan/diagnostic software for this truck I have a OBD2 Scan tool but I am looking for something specific for Mercedes like Techstream for Toyota. Something that can let me get into all CAN connected ECMS.

Fourdiesel

search for scan tool threads. There are several. All are fairly spendy.

carlosrg

As an FYI stealership quoted 23 hours of labor at $142/hr and 500 in parts to do this repair. According to the dealership they also disconnect the transmission so they can clear the webbing in the block.

I am looking at other options right now, as I am in bit of shock as I have had the truck for only 3 weeks and they sold to me with this issue pre-existing.

alx

It will take you a day or two to do it yourself. No special tools. Just a dirty soothy job.

Parts are about $150 if you buy all the seals/ gaskets/ etc online.

The Mercedes specific tool is called star/ das/ xentry - depending on the vintage. Do a search. They are not very trivial, but well worth if you will be maintaining your truck yourself. Even an air filter replacement on rhe diesel requires reset of engine adaptation data, so yes- you need one.

clvincent

Carlos if it was me i would pressure wash the motor top and bottom, check both orange seals that i talked about earlier and make sure it is the oil cooler myself

I dont trust the dealers, have had a good bit of experience with dealers and independent mercedes shops

I would use an indie mercedes shop

Although i am surprised if this dealer sold you the car that they would not be willing to step up and help with the cost

carlosrg

clvincent the dealership has been nothing but a disappointment this the worst car buying experience. But I believe the 2 connectors you are talking about are the turbo inlet and diverted valve. I seen a few pictures and it is pretty amazing how much oil is in the track, an Oil 2 air separator maybe needed if we really have to deal with so much oil..

I am used to Gasoline turbo applications but normally any amount of oil will affect combustion and raise octane requirements as it contaminates the combustion process.

I don't believe the seals are my problem as I am loosing to much oil for that to be the case.

clvincent

How much oil are you losing? Are you putting in a quart every 1000 miles or what?

clvincent

not trying to push the issue
and definitely the oil coolers leak
but i have owned 2 of these motors

the first one i bought the motor was COVERED in oil
top of the motor oil everywhere, the bottom had it dripping off and the plastic pans/insulation below were saturated in it and had to be thrown away

got the small used dealer to give me quite a bit off because the mercedes indie i used for the pre purchase said it was the oil cooler

so they took more than enough off to cover the repair

i was educated on the motor and knew all the issues and was prepared to do the oil cooler if needed
but i lucked out and it was just the seals and also the black "intake' that goes to the turbo was cracked on the bottom

was thinking you said this suv was purchased 3 weeks ago? is that right?
so in 3 weeks are you having to put a quart a week or something in it?

granted my motor probably had been leaking for a good while to make such a mess but if it just looks bad and looks like there is tons of oil it could still be the seals

right now my GL with this motor is leaking on both orange seals some, they get done monday

good luck, hope you can find a good indie shop and that even if it is the oil cooler the price is way lower

keep us up to date

carlosrg

So CLVincent the oil was changed Oct 2015 I purchased it in Nov 10 it had run around 800 miles on it so in 1500 or so miles it was over 1.5 Quarts low. I added 1 Quart and it looks like the dealer added a little bit more.

clvincent

ok, so the low oil light came on and this is what alerted you to the problem the first time?

then you added a quart?

my mechanic who worked for mercedes for 13 years pretty recently said they were instructed to fill the V6 diesels only to the halfway point on the dipstick because they tend to foam and set off the low oil sensor and i dont know what else, but he always fills mine to the halfway point

both of my V6 even at halfway tend to set off the sensor anytime i put them on the highway and go 70mph or above
my trucks are older and you would think mercedes would have resolved that problem by 2011....
but we would also think the stupid orange seals and the oil cooler issues would have been solved by then too and obviously they have not

i have not addressed the low oil sensor issue because it is a pretty big job , think the motor has to be jacked up pretty high and the oil pan removed
either way it is not a quick fix and i have lived with it

just wanted to point out that there is a good chance the dealer only filled the oil to halfway on the dipstick, so maybe you are not using as much as you think...


have you had any luck finding a good indie shop near you? hopefully the indie will give you a much better price on the oil cooler repair

the dealer sucks for not stepping up and fixing this, please let us know which one it was so everyone knows to avoid them

clvincent

there is a section of the forum that lists good indie shops by state

sak335

OP, sorry to hear about your issues. I've been discussing in a similar thread about how my 2012 GL (47,800 miles) went to the dealer today to have the oil cooler seals replaced for a similar sounding leak. Won't know the details until they finish the job, but I lucked out as my warranty expired a few days ago and they're honoring it.

Anyway, I'm like you and will be maintaining the vehicle myself from here out and I'm seeking out similar advice on STAR, but I'm intrigued by your mention of workshop manuals. Can you let me know where you procured the one you mention?

alx

foaming is non-existent on the om642- regardless of vintage. if you overfill (over the max mark on the dipstick) it will spray oil everywhere on the pass side under the hood, but that is about it.

if you are foaming at operating temps (some foam when cold is ok) you have another issue- like dirty oil pump pickup (restriction makes the pump cavitate and foam up the oil) or dirty oil filter, clogged oil galleys, etc...

clvincent

alx , that is interesting
maybe i misunderstood the mechanic, will clarify with him when i am there later this week

i do know he only fills my oil to halfway on the dipstick for some reason...

carlosrg

So Sak335 here is what I bought
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221925598869?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Its a virtual machine that runs all the software. Its pretty informative and has alot of great info.

carlosrg

CLVincent

I was going to do the job myself but I really didn't have all the tools (lame excuse, I could have ordered them), and time so I let my friend do it. His Name is Sam Mahdavi from Mahdavi Motorsports in Lilburn we known each other for over 15 years and when I don't want to do the work myself I let him or my other friend Chris Anderson at ARD do the work. Sam had done this job on other GL diesels a few times recently and so I let him do it. An FYI for all those doing this job its a very simple Alldata and MB STar software shows 13 hours for oil cooler job, and 10 hours if they want to screw you into doing a rear main seal (don't fall for this), add a few hundred bucks for parts depending on what you replace (I recommend replacing fuel filter since its part of the process, also watch out for dealers wanting to sell you a new intake manifold, though it seems the oil cooler may get warped at times and need replacement as well). Needless to say an indie does not have the $142/hr and hopefully will only do the work that is needed and not try to replace every part at full retail to bring up the price of the bill.

I am looking at going after the Atlanta dealership legally and also seeing if the class action lawsuit against MB USA has gotten any traction on this problem, so I keeping quite about the name of stealership but there is only not many options for true MB dealers in Atlanta, I will say that MB USA was completely useless and are fully aware of this dealerships poor business practices and don't seem to care at all, makes me regret my decision to buy an MB.

clvincent

alx spoke to the mechanic and he clarified it is not foaming but that the motor tends to think it is overfilled when running on the hwy if it is higher than halfway point on the dipstick

i have certainly had issues with both of mine, but keeping it halfway did not really solve them, there is an updated sensor that i guess should solve it but the job is pretty big, or big enough i decided to live with it until we are close to that area for some other reason


carlos so sorry about the experience you had with mercedes, i agree it is ridiculous that mercedes has not solved this oil cooler mess in the later models, crazy

hope your truck is great after they get it done and you dont have anymore issues

keep us up to date on how it is running etc

Hugues

I just finished replacing the oil cooler seals. The hard part is getting there and now I have to assemble everything back... Can't believe Mercedes Benz didn't fix this issue by installing the purple seals worth 10$. Disappointed and certainly don't understand their neglected way of thinking. Where has the German pride for great craftsmanship gone to? Anyways this issue could have been solved so easily and avoid headaches for owners. This was my first Benz and my last one ever.

clvincent

hughes what year is your truck? guess i thought the newer ones did come with the updated purple seals, is this not the case?

chsu74

My GL went in for annual oil change and got this call. I have CPO until April so this is covered.

Are there part numbers for the updated purple seals?

Hugues

Clvincent,
My truck is a 2011. I bought it new. I am also going to replace the expensive fuel filter since it is accessible since everything is apart.
I had alot of soot in the manifolds.cleaned it off with brake cleaner since it was off the engine. Is there a cleaner that can be put in the fuel to clean the rest of the engine?
Also does anyone know the required torque for the turbo bolts?
Another evening and truck should be ready. That will be 20 hours of work on the GL!
Then it will probably be the crank seal!

clvincent

impressive job

let us know how it is running after cleaning the manifolds etc

hope this is your last problem for quite a while!