Yesterday I was inspecting the underside of my car and found that all the steering gear on the passenger side only (tie rods, draglinks, etc) is soaked in engine oil! I tried to look up and see if I could pinpoint the source, and so far the only possible cause I could find was the turbocharger oil supply and return lines. The oil also seems to pool on top of the right-side engine shock absorber and leak downwards, drenching that area too.

Other than the turbo oil supply and return lines, what else can cause this sort of a leak that's specific to the passenger side of the car only? Are there any other oil lines in the vicinity?

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

only thing I can see is the turbo return lines and maybe the oil seperator not mounted correctly

Oh, is that the drain at the bottom of the air filter housing?

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

This may be your problem...

http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/OM617OilSepCheckValve

The check valve might be stuck closed causing oil to leak out of the separator.

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Thanks, that's a real good link.

I'll see if the oil separator tube is still dry (when I replaced the air filter mounts and bracket a couple weeks ago, it was dry).

Is it valid to assume that if the outside of the separator tube is dry at the air filter assembly, then the turbo lines are to blame?

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

I just had several leaks fixed on that side of my 617 (again) including the return tubes and the manifold gasket.

Why the manifold gasket? What symptoms?

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

No symptoms except oil running down the side of the engine.

I guess I'm a bit unsure about what engine oil has to do with intake and exhaust manifolds, since they are simply the breathing tubes for the engine... Do enlighten me why a bad intake/exhaust manifold gasket would cause an oil leak.

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

come to think of it.. I might have that issue as well... what else is new with my car.. ha

That particular mess wasn't engine oil (maybe a little on the intake side), just a little wet and dirty oily mess below the manifold. The major mess was really from the return tubes. I just told my indy to make all the leaks disappear, so he did.

On the passengers side of the engine you have a couple engine oil leak areas.
The turbo is fed by a oil line that can get old a brittle. It sits right next to the very hot turbo so check this. If old then replace it anyways. From the turbo the oil drains down to the upper oil pan through a 2 piece metal tube. A gasket is installed between the upper tube and the turbo. An oring is installed between the upper and lower tube and the lower tube has a grommet where it goes into the upper oil pan. This setup is know to leak.
The oil separator line goes from the underside of the air filter to the upper oil pan, right next to the turbo drain line. An Oring is installed on the tube where it goes into the air filter housing. The tube is bolted to the engine and then enters the upper oil pan with a second Oring installed. In the upper oil pan is a check valve as show in the Wiki posted above.
When you removed the air filter did you make sure the air filter male part on the bottom of the air filter housing, inserted into the oil separator drain tube. If not then the oil is dripping down the side of the engine and all over the place. I would check that first. The turbo drain line second and then the turbo oil line needs to probably be replaced anyways.

Dave

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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

Yea, I definitely made sure I re-seated the oil separator nipple in its drain pipe when I re-installed the air filter housing. I inspected this drain pipe today, and it's dry.

Looks like there's oil seeping out of the supply and return lines. Amazing how much mess this little thing can make!!

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

That's a damn good wiki! I have suspected that check valve being bad on my car since I got it, but I could never find a part number, and gave up after about a week. I have a big mess on the passenger side of my engine too, but not for long!

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1985 MB 300D/T

Fell off the WVO bandwagon when people started trying to charge $2.50 a gallon for dirty vegetable oil.

I too believe that check valve may be the cause of my leaker. Ah, another project!

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Brad
1981 300TD - daily driver
1963 Chevy II
2001 F-250 7.3 Power Stroke