2008 ML320 CDI - Oil Cooler Seals Replacement
 

Hey all,

Decided to replace my oil cooler seals on the OM642. I had a 'mystery leak' that was appearing on the driveway from the drivers side rear of the engine block. Eventually traced to the center of the valley of the V6 and the obvious culprit (after much probing with the boroscope) was that the oil cooler seals were failing.

Car has about 175K on the clock.

I also cleaned the intake manifolds, EGR plumbing, swirl motor flaps, and intake ports of the heads of the EGR+oil goo that was coating everything.

I took some photos and even have a time lapse video that I'm working on. The photos are already up so here's a link:

https://plus.google.com/photos/11000...23881113808401

If linking to third-party photo sites are not allowed, I can put a few up here if needed.

Hope these help someone and I'm happy to answer any questions if anyone is thinking of doing this job themselves. It took me about 9-10hrs with some help with the cleaning process. I also tore down the turbine housing to inspect the VNT/turbine (which took extra time) because I suspected some damage (which there was).

The swirl motor linkage was by far the most fragile part of the experience. I heard the horror stories so I was ultra careful disconnecting things. Spent about $50 in parts from Mercedes (gaskets) to the job.

Take care,

Your a brave man. Good job on tackling the repairs and thanks a million for taking the time to post pics.:y
I figure I have another year or two till I have to do the same. Not looking forward to it. Not out of fear, just getting lazier every day.:D

A good set of the proper bits/sockets and the job was pretty easy. A long ratchet with a tilt head made disconnecting the turbo exhaust bolts a lot easier.

The cleaning was the worst part. Clearly vacuumed up the most time. Very rewarding driving the car to the shop, doing the job, then driving it home at night.

I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for a turbine wheel. That one has passed some material (guessing either chunks of carbonized goo from the EGR+oil or something from the drivers exhaust manifold...which had the inner pipe weld crack). I re-welded it before re-installation :-)

Great post Brandon! This is very encouraging! I'm going to follow you and do the same in next a few weeks. Did you have to purchase any special tools for the job? (other than the hose collar plier..) Any tips would be appreciated!

hi everybody.I have a big broblem and im glad i find u guys.my story strats 2 days ago when i purchase my 09 320 bluetech.im from europe (please excuse my writing im still learning) and i always whant to buy one i love it,but i got f...t by the dealer and im kind of disapointed.i went i testdrive the car,everything good.the dealer asure me that its a clean carfax,a werry clean good car whit no issues,mint.after not even 24 hours i have leeaks on my driveway.of corse i purchased the car AS IS no warranty and dealer wont refund me.so i was kind of scared about the costs for fixing.i took the car to the dealer mercedes and they check the car for me and seams to be a frequent issue whit this engine around 100k (thats what they told me) so i have to replace a oil coolent or something like this that cost me $4200 (mercedes dealer estimate) .i atach a pix whit the leeak.any ideas,any sugestions,any help?thank u!

I have the same leak. It's a $2k fix at mb specialist shop. The leak won't do any damage if you keep eyes on oil level stick. It's sth you can just live with if you don't mind the oil stain on garage floor

How did the turbine bearings look @ 175k? You change the oil per schedule or more often?

I just got hit with this too!! Dealer wants 2200. I want tackle this but I'm afraid of the surprises and I don't have a service manual.

Brandon, can you chime on that time lapsed video.

Thank you,

Doug

Brandon, what a great write up, thanks, probably be looking this up in 7 years! A question I have is have these seals been updated from original design? I see the difference before and after but are the new thicker from new design or just crushed from use? If redesigned what was date?

Thanks for great write up!

have same problem>>>
 

same thing hit me, pay 260$ to diller just to do inspection and find problem. then MB ask for 2800-3000$ to fix it.
will be great if you can upload video, or some details, do u have any tricky moments with some parts?

Any attorney on this board? We really need put some pressure on MB for a recall

Mine also has mysterious leak on driver side, I usually see drop or two around cross member.
Does anybody know if '08 ML350 have oil cooler?

Only lasted a year
 

We had this problem on our 2009 ML 320 last year. It was covered under warranty at about 35,000 miles. Now it is a year later at 50,000 miles and the seal is leaking again. It is still under warranty, but is this going to be a once a year ordeal?

I have an '09 320 with 100k on it. After 2 attempts the dealer fixed the leak by replacing the cooler and the seals. No problem since. Done under the M-B extended waranty.

I just took in my 2008 320CDI for an oil change and asked them to look at the wheel bearings as there seemed to be a louder noise than usual while driving. They left me a message stating all of my bearings need replacing. Also, my engine oil cooler is leaking and my transmission cooler line is leaking. Sounds like I have a crappy vehicle. The quote is 1900$ for the engine oil cooler, 2000$ for 4 wheel bearings, 550$ for the transmission line leak and 200$ for a cracked drive belt. Gotta love german cars.

Has anyone had Mercedes help with the cost of this oil cooler leak out of warranty? Also very dissappointed all 4 of my bearings fail at the same time.

hello, has anyone done what Brandon did? and parts used/purchased and mercedes part numbers? thanks

2009 ML320 CDI - Oil Cooler Seals Replacement
 

Good day. I did half way, i take all needed parts, turbo, intake,,,,,, etc..... clean all and now looking to put it back together. I say Brendan pictures help me allot. I did it first time on this car. I did have previous experience with Diesel engines back in Russia. we have 4 q vans and 2 straight trucks. but in Canada it was first time. I say to take of turbo was the hardest thing ,,, rest of it went like butter. i hope it will be better on the way back... also have code# p203e intake manifold tuning valve stuck open bank 2, MB ask me for 320$ to do diagnostic and find a problem. i talk to guys in the parts department and they say most of the time they changing that electric motor-300$ located under the turbo. Also u need Torch sockets for star shaped, all bolts on MB. There is some pics: https://plus.google.com/photos/11420...86581912325089
https://plus.google.com/photos/11420...86581912325089


Will update when i am done.

there is 2 pg with almost all gaskets and air filters, it was extra 20$ for 2pc oil cooler gaskets, and 2pc for manifolds.
plus recommended fuel filter 68$. so in total 200-300$ on parts depend if u decide to change air and fuel filters.

there is 2pg with all parts#, but u can bring all gaskets to MB parts and they will find all of them. for you.

These leaks are a chronic, costly, and in many cases an ongoing problem on the 320 CDI'S. Up to 2012, consumer still rates the diesel engine ML's far below the gas ones in reliability. Poorly engineered to start with by M-B (the whole turbo seal design) I would stay away from the diesel engine from 06-2011 in the ML series unless you don't mind the bother and expense-or are a DIY. Of course the leaks may not show for 100000 plus miles then it is a more palatable problem.

Brandon thx allot for ur pics. all job done. Hope all good. so far running ok. thx again.

Wifes 2008 ML320 has been leaking since february. Yesterday went into limp mode with 7 codes pulled; 5 common and 2 mb specific.
Really hoping that some sensor connector got saturated with oil and just got some high resistance short.

At any rate, I have my seals and plan to attack this on saturday am.

Any final words of wisdom would be appreciated. Hearing the turbo can be a pain in the arse...not sure why just yet...

Wish me luck.
Mike

I started the oil cooler this weekend. Thanks Brandon for the Pics. I did not get any additional pics as everything I touched turned jet black in short order. I'll try to give a rundown of the weekend events.
1. Mercedes changed the seal material to viton; I ordered these about 3 months ago and they were orange. Friday, I stopped at the dealer and they are now under a new part number and are purple viton material.
2. Get a subscription to Alldata diy. Kinda difficult to get all the pieces to the big picture as you have to kinda jump around. Print the procedures and pictures along with the torque specs. Might even be good to pencil the torque values on your printed page that shows the bolt locations.
3. Get some swivel head ratchets. Brandon suggested these. These are virtually mandatory. I got a 3 piece set from H-freight along with a torx set. Will need the sockets and the bit type. These swivel ratchets will be my new goto ratchets unless I need a bunch of torque.
In a nutshell. here are the steps.
1. Remove the shroud and turbo shroud.
2. Remove both Air Filter enclosures.
3. Remove the left aft and center heat shield and insulation.
4. Remove the turbo and oil supply standoff
5. Remove the left fuel rail and the crossover fuel line that goes from right to left. Also had to undo the lines on 2 injectors to get the rail off.
6. Remove the EGR; Valve on the back left top of the manifold with a couple of coolant lines attache to it. Cheap set of hose clamp pliers worked well for theses as they are in a tight spot.
7. Remove the front side air box. Plastic housing at front of motor. First pull the air baffle box. Then pull the glow plug relay and bracket. disconnect the 2 screws that secure the assembly to the right forward engine bracket. You will also remove the dipstick bracket here as well.
8. Remove the turbo. These bolts (The ones that attach to exhaust manifolds) are tight as hell with not much room to work. Used the swilvel ratchets where I could, used 3/8 straight ratchet with a 3/4 deep well to give a better grip and a little added extension. Critical to make sure your torx is seated to the shoulder and keep the ratchet square when turning and you should be able to get them off without breaking.
9.Remove the turbo oil supply block.
10. Remove the charge air manifold. Undo 20 or so bolts (Look for the 2 left aft that are recessed; you'll see them. I just left the swirl motor attached and slid the assembly aft and then lifted the whole thing out. Then remove the swirl motor and unbut the 2 halves of the manifold.

Now the fun part. Parts Cleaner; tooth brush; baby bottle brushes; paper towels etc. soak the manifold down then power wash the hell out of it. remove the egr cooler assembly. It will be loaded with crud as well. Soak, Brush, power wash and flush.
Plastic front air assembly also will be loaded with crud as well; you know what to do. Soak scrub and powerwash.
When you see the intake holes on the cylinder head, you will wonder why you drive a mercedes diesel. Clean it anyway you can. I scraped what I could with a small jewelrs screwdriver and shop vac'd the crud out as I went.

I have the oil cooler resealed; the charge air manifold and front side back together but will need to get a new swirl motor this week as mine was blowing F104 and left a puddle of oil ont the table where it overnighted.

I plan to get it back together later this week after I get the rest of the parts.

masc243 - this is great! I'll tackle mine after I'm back from vacation! I'll definitely post detail photos on the turbo removal

- Ray

hello all, and thanks all for helpful info here. I will be Replacing oil cooler seals soon also. question is: should I subscribe to alldatadiy or startekinfo or neither one is really necessary?