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2017 GLE 350 - smoke & oil from rear driver side of engine
My wife's GLE started smoking today. I just got back from investigating and observed oil residue on the rear driver side of the engine compartment. There was also a fine mist of oil residue observed on the driver side top of the engine cover. It appears to be originating from high up on the engine. When the engine is running, there is visible smoke coming from that area as well. It appears that the source of the oil is not simply from a drip, but like it is being expelled under pressure. I did also witness this morning (after she had left) a new oil drip spot on the floor under where she parks (drip spots appeared pretty much center of the vehicle (left to right) approximately below the windshield area (front to back). I am attaching a short video showing the smoke when running, as well as a photo showing the areas I am seeing oil residue. It does not appear to be coming from the heads, fuel injectors, or engine block area. It seems to be more something attached to the intake manifold. There are no codes or MILs present, and gauges are operating in the normal range.
I am hoping someone here can suggest possible sources of the leak to help my troubleshooting and assess the urgency of the repair.
Smoke seems to be originating from behind and to the left of the dipstick The areas in the red circles are where the oily deposits are visible. Does not appear oil is dripping on these areas, more like it is accumulating mist being blown over those areas.
A good way to find an oil leak is to clean everything up very thoroughly, then spray athlete's foot powder in the areas where you think the leak is originating. When you run the engine, the oil will leave a very visible track.
Just mentioning - unless you've removed the panel under the engine, it will cause the oil drips on the floor to be wherever there are holes in the pan. So the drip locations on the floor probably aren't a good indicator of the leak location.
A good way to find an oil leak is to clean everything up very thoroughly, then spray athlete's foot powder in the areas where you think the leak is originating. When you run the engine, the oil will leave a very visible track.
Just mentioning - unless you've removed the panel under the engine, it will cause the oil drips on the floor to be wherever there are holes in the pan. So the drip locations on the floor probably aren't a good indicator of the leak location.
I like the foot powder trick! Thanks. I’ve not had a chance yet to look into it further, but I will report back what I find.
So, I brought it in to my Indy to get repaired. They indicated it was leaking from the brake vacuum booster as well as the valve cover (the major leak coming from the valve cover).
They called during the repair and indicated they saw some scoring on the inside of the valve cover and wanted to know if I wanted to replace it. They said the valve covers though are not available seperatly and that it would require replacing the entire head assembly (parts alone being $2900 in addition to the $2500 they were charging for repairing the valve cover gasket and replacing the brake vacuum booster (which I supplied). I was not about to make a $6K repair and asked them to just install the existing valve cover. Just picked it up and it seems to be running fine, but when I pulled into the garage I got out and saw a trail of oil following me right into the garage. UGH! I am so disgusted.
Anyone run into an issue like this before and have any thoughts? At 70K miles I can't believe I would be required to replace a head on an otherwise perfect running vehicle. I'm really hoping to avoid dropping another $4K into this damn thing. With the repair I just paid for I've dropped $10K into this vehicle so far this year (the above mentioned repair plus 2 different instances of a fuel injector replacement). If I need to replace the heads it will be $14K in repairs in less than a year. The vehicle is barely worth that much. Any input is appreciated.
So, I brought it in to my Indy to get repaired. They indicated it was leaking from the brake vacuum booster as well as the valve cover (the major leak coming from the valve cover).
They called during the repair and indicated they saw some scoring on the inside of the valve cover and wanted to know if I wanted to replace it. They said the valve covers though are not available seperatly and that it would require replacing the entire head assembly (parts alone being $2900 in addition to the $2500 they were charging for repairing the valve cover gasket and replacing the brake vacuum booster (which I supplied). I was not about to make a $6K repair and asked them to just install the existing valve cover. Just picked it up and it seems to be running fine, but when I pulled into the garage I got out and saw a trail of oil following me right into the garage. UGH! I am so disgusted.
Anyone run into an issue like this before and have any thoughts? At 70K miles I can't believe I would be required to replace a head on an otherwise perfect running vehicle. I'm really hoping to avoid dropping another $4K into this damn thing. With the repair I just paid for I've dropped $10K into this vehicle so far this year (the above mentioned repair plus 2 different instances of a fuel injector replacement). If I need to replace the heads it will be $14K in repairs in less than a year. The vehicle is barely worth that much. Any input is appreciated.
It doesn't make sense. Scoring? What does that mean. Find another mechanic.
All the symptoms you have provided suggest the vacuum pump has worn out. Not the end of the world, it can happen. Tell another shop to diagnose the vacuum pump and replace it if faulty.
It doesn't make sense. Scoring? What does that mean. Find another mechanic.
All the symptoms you have provided suggest the vacuum pump has worn out. Not the end of the world, it can happen. Tell another shop to diagnose the vacuum pump and replace it if faulty.
vacuum pump was replaced. I saw photos of the scoring on the inside of the cover. Where the cam rotates it appears. I did verify Mercedes does not sell just the valve cover - only the full set.
Hmm. Sounds like the scoring was from the failed vacuum pump? If the engine is running fine, the scoring isn't from improper camshaft rotation. Without seeing the parts, or photos of them, its hard to offer suggestions.
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