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Hi, I'm the new owner of a 2013 550SL and of course I immediately noticed an oil leak. The local shop says both turbos are leaking oil.
Car has 55k miles, and will be a weekend driver only. Keep an eye on the oil and hope for the best? Or ? You win some, you lose some.
Thanks for the reply. The car has an impeccable maintenance history. Oil changes every 3500 miles, all documented by the dealer on CarFax. No leak ever noted and the previous owner was shocked when I told her. Or at least seemed to be.
They put dye in to track down the leak, and had me drive the car for a week. They pretty quickly pinpointed the leak to both turbos,
two leaks. They said that in order to really fix it I would have to replace both turbo units, likely in excess of $10k complete. Their
suggestion is to just drive it and watch the oil level. Might fail tomorrow, might fail in five years. The burning oil smells like disappointment.
This is a real bummer, OP. I hope you can find an affordable solution to solve this problem. Very strange that both would fail at the same time. Did the car sit for a long period of time? I wonder if the seals "dried out" or is that a possibility? I am not familiar with the components.
External would be rare as turbos tend to fail by leaking internally but I guess the seal between intake and exhaust size could leak.
But even then due to air flow and under pressure the oil tends to get blown into the intake and burned - giving crappy performance as plugs foul and junky fuel mix.
eventually the cats will clog and well that is an expensive one.
also turbo BEarings could fail..
I would want pictures or SHOW me where it is leaking....
Go get second opinion and just tell them it seems like she is losing oil.
Hi, I'm the new owner of a 2013 550SL and of course I immediately noticed an oil leak. The local shop says both turbos are leaking oil.
Car has 55k miles, and will be a weekend driver only. Keep an eye on the oil and hope for the best? Or ? You win some, you lose some.
thanks,
Randy
An external leak seems unusual for turbos. They're more likely to leak internally into the intake or the exhaust. Could it be as simple as just the oil line connections to the turbos are leaking? Or perhaps the oil is actually coming from higher up, like a valve cover. Definitely get another opinion. You might want to consider going to an MB dealer for that second opinion.
Update. Took it to a dealer. It wasn't the turbos, good. It was several other things, bad. Still $6k worth of repairs, but better than the turbos.
It seems tight as a drum now, not a drop on the garage floor since the repairs. Thanks for the help!
Update. Took it to a dealer. It wasn't the turbos, good. It was several other things, bad. Still $6k worth of repairs, but better than the turbos.
It seems tight as a drum now, not a drop on the garage floor since the repairs. Thanks for the help!
So what was leaking? Inquiring minds want to know. Looks just like my SL except I have red interior.
The oil feed line and oil return lines at the one turbo. Both front cylinder head covers, both had to be resealed. While they were doing all that they found another leak at the oil cooler.
That's a fine-looking car, you have great taste. :-)
The oil feed line and oil return lines at the one turbo. Both front cylinder head covers, both had to be resealed. While they were doing all that they found another leak at the oil cooler.
That's a fine-looking car, you have great taste. :-)
The dealer told me I need new motor and transmission mounts, but the local private Benz shop says they have lots of life left in them.
The dealer claims you can feel the motor shifting, but I've never noticed and neither did the shop. I took it to the private shop specifically
to have them install new mounts for about half the cost, and they told me it wasn't necessary, so I believe them. They could have
very easily just changed them. Figured I'd wait to spend another $2k until I'm sure the leaks are all fixed, lol.
Hi, I'm the new owner of a 2013 550SL and of course I immediately noticed an oil leak. The local shop says both turbos are leaking oil.
Car has 55k miles, and will be a weekend driver only. Keep an eye on the oil and hope for the best? Or ? You win some, you lose some.
thanks,
Randy
Common.
There are two little O-rings that cause this leak…typically.
You do not need to replace your turbos. Wow, wouldn’t trust that group again. Unfortunately, it is a time consuming job for the experts. Maybe a couple of grand plus parts in the $20 range, I believe.
Here is suggestion: have them clean the area throughly. Check to be sure it’s spotless before they button things up. Then drive it 5k miles to next oil change and have them show you the area to see how bad it leaked. Or check it yourself…but use jack stands or ramps. Safety. Then you can determine the urgency.
These are incredible cars unless you buy used with multiple owners. For some reason people think cheap chinese crap, chips, junk wheels, improves these cars—ignorant. Take proper care, leave stock and enjoy. But this O ring issue with the turbos is a common problem. Mine went to 100k before this became concerning. BTW, that’s about the mileage they become “broken in”. Truthfully! If the leak is really bad it can cause damage to the turbos you do not want. My experience with German engineered turbos MBZ goes back to early ‘80s and I can honestly say their know-how is eons beyond everyone else’s i.e. not fragile.
Thanks, I will keep those O rings in mind if I get another leak later. This leak, or leaks as it turned out, needed to be addressed, it was leaving a half-dollar sized spot on the garage floor every time I drove it and I had to add oil.
I wish it had only been a couple grand, but at least it seems leak-free, at least for now.
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