chibial

2001 s500, 42k miles on it.

airmatic ok so far (knock on wood). noticed some weird clicking noise one day but it went away.


in anycase...i noticed some brown watery fluid coming out right below of the center of the vehicle.. is that motor oil or brake fluid?? or maybe just the ac water coming out touching dirt under the car making it look like motor oil or brake fluid?? it doesn't look like motor oil to me because usually motor oil is a dark brown or black color... this stuff is coming out watery thin brown almost like water...any ideas?

could it be oil leaking for the airmatic suspension?? what color is that supposed to be if it is leaking?

also.. after reading the forums and all the airmatic problems people are having. there is a repair kit out for some air crack/leak problem at the top of the strut.. am i better off doing preventive maintenance and getting the dealer to install the repair kit or leave it alone til it breaks? will the repair kit indefinably cause no more airmatic problems or am i still prone to having it fail on me? any suggestions would be helpful!

my06clk

1. AC condensation... anything watery is not oil or brake fluid,, and certainly not down the center of your car.

2. If it ain;t broke don;t fix it. trust me.. you will get your turn in due time there is no sense rushing the inevitable just relax and wat.. Who knows you may escape the great airmatic WOE....

chibial

so i went to the dealership today.

i know i got the 13 pin connector replaced 6 months ago so i figured it might me the same plug leaking. called the dealership and they said they would cover it under 1 year/parts/labor warranty since i got it fixed through them (Fletcher Jones Mercedes, Newport Beach FYI)

so i get a call from the SA today and it turns out its NOT the 13-pin plug.. but its my rear main seal leaking.
i guess this is a labor intensive job where they have to remove the transmission in order to gain access to the seal and replace.. $1078 was the price tag for parts/labor on this..

ouch..

anyone else ever have thier rear main seal leaking? we hardly drive the s500.. we've owned the car since 2001 (new) and it only has 42k miles on it. we only drive this car on the weekends to the market, errands, etc. i've heard that keeping the car housed w/o activity can cause the seal to begin cracking and coming loose since no oil is lubricating it or going through it.. dont know if thats true or not.. the car is also about 7.5 years old since we got it...


oy vey...

mercedes are cars you can love and hate at the same time with the maintenence!

whoover

Yes, low usage encourages seal leaks. It's more that the seal can develop a flat spot when it's not rotated than "coming loose," but the bottom line is that low mileage cars tend to develop leaky seals.

chibial

heh, thats funny.

its kinda a catch-22 for me.

i try not to drive the car too much just because im afraid the airmatic will blow on me (knock on wood).. yet if i dont drive much, then i get leaky seals.

bugger..

Quadcammer

p.s., airmatic doesn't leak fluid since it uses compressed air not fluid, hence the name.

chibial

thanks.

are there any other seals that i need to lookout for?

whoover

Engine has a main seal too. That would probably be a candidate.

chibial

if the engine's main seal is leaking. where would it leak. im assuming right where the radiator fan is right?

whoover

No. Engine main seal leak would be in same area as transmission main seal, only it would be engine oil.