athenshome

I'm having trouble locating a oil leak on my ML430. I thought it was coming from the expansion cover at the timing case and I replaced the gasket inside this cover (did not use gasket sealer), but it seems I still might have a leak somewhere.

The leak is hitting the fan and/or fan belt and going everywhere. It is leaking while running, not just when off. It's not leaking underneath the engine and seems to be only located around the front of the engine.

Can anyone point me in the right direction on where else to look for possible leaks? I figured I should remove/replace the valve cover gaskets, but it seems that the leak is coming from somewhere else. Thanks in advance!

Maj. Dundee

Th fan clutch is filled with oil and that could be the cause of the leak.

athenshome

Is there anyway to test the fan clutch for a oil leak without removing it? Also, would the oil leaking from a fan clutch be the same as engine oil (dark, thick)?

Maj. Dundee

Read this.

athenshome

I'm sorry for my delay in responding back. I have check the fan clutch function and it seems that the fan clutch is functioning properly. I also cleaned the leaked oil off the engine again to try and spot a leak, had my wife go out and drive it for a while, and again oil everywhere when she came back.

The oil seems to be leaking on the fan belt somewhere. I checked the power steering pump and it's not leaking, I checked my replacement of the expansion gasket cover and it's not leaking... I guess I'll have to remove the visious fan to check it for leaks, but any other ideas before I go into all that?

Maj. Dundee

Then there are two other possibilities.

1. The oil filter housing gaskets and/or the cooler are leaking.

2. Or the oil pressure test port right below the oil filter housing is leaking.

You will have to determine which one it is. The Oil filter housing gaskets are are about $50. The inspection port gasket is just a few dollars.

athenshome

Sorry for my delayed response on this thread. I have replaced both the oil expansion cover and now the oil coolers seals as well, but I think it is still leaking. I have not been able to drive it much since replacing the oil cooler seals last week, but will try to this week. A guy from Aamco said he thought it was the oil cooler seals too, but it still seems to be leaking some.

If anyone has any suggestions on this, I'd greatly appreciate it. This has been very hard to find and I need to get it plugged!!