crypticresponse

Hey, guys. I have a 2009 GL320 Bluetec. I purchased it in July and it's been pretty solid so far. About three days ago, I noticed several spots of oil on my driveway. I crawled underneath and saw that there was some wet film in the area behind the oil pan and in front of the transmission pan. The oil appeared to have dripped down and was coating the cross bar. My car, for whatever reason, does not have the plastic cover that covers the oil pan. So I cleaned it up thoroughly and drove it about 20 miles. After that hour or so of driving, there was again another nickel size drop on the cardboard and wet oil in the same place. I have taken a few, probably not very helpful pictures and uploaded them. Unfortunately, I don't have a lift. I really don't see anything interesting higher up.

I also looked for any sign of oil from the top of the engine, but I could not see anything obvious.

Recent service history with the vehicle is that Mercedes of Littleton, the local dealer, did the transmission service on August 30th. That was about a month and 3,000 miles ago. I also changed the oil at 138,000 with Pennzoil Euro L synthetic, a 229.51 rated oil, on August 15th. The leaking fluid is deep inky black and so I don't think it's transmission fluid. The only other thing is that I put some R134a refrigerant in the system the other day.

The vehicle has 141,000 miles on it. I have driven it about 4,500 miles since the end of July when I purchased it. It hasn't been leaking these past two months, as I am 100% sure I would have seen any spots on the driveway. It appears to be showing up favoring the passenger side.

I'm planning on getting the AEM installed when it becomes available for the vehicle, so I want to make sure that I can get there without any major issues. The car seems to be running normally as far as drivability.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Where should I be looking? I was thinking that I should put in some dye or something to try to see the oil leak source better.

Thanks!

DennisG01

A common leak point is the oil cooler seals, it's mounted in the V of the engine. Googling for that will return TONS of information on it. I have a local guy that does great work and modest pricing so I had him do this for me he used some better gasket adhesive to hopefully seal it up better for the long run. I really like the engine as it quite stout and dependable, but a few of the "extra things"... I have to wonder what MB was thinking. If I ever have to do this job again, I may do it myself and see if I can't block off the area and mount an oil cooler somewhere else.

crypticresponse

OK, I'll check on that when I do the fuel and air filters. My understanding is that the oil cooler will be under the new manufacturer's extended warranty when I get the new AEM installed, hopefully soon.

klxman95

Hey DennisG01 I live in NJ and have in-laws in Allentown. I have been looking for a local mechanic that is good with diesels and decent pricing. Can you share the name of the shop you used?

DennisG01

I probably should have said "had" a guy. He did work on the side, but had some medical issues and changed professions.