I have a problem. My turbo oil drain seals have given up the ghost and I have had a small oil leak for some time now.

Today after dropping off a patient as I was backing out of his driveway there was an 8' puddle of motor oil on the ground!!

I pulled off into the grass with the engine running and had a look underneath. The oil was dripping constantly from the rubber grommet where the "lower turbo oil drain tube" enters the top of the oil pan.

So, I grabbed a rag and wiped off that entire area and gave the "lower turbo oil drain tube" a little tug downwards. After doing this the leak has appeared to stop. After getting home I crawled up underneath again and the area was still clean from where I wiped it off earlier. Damn oil is everywhere though.... What a mess.

So, I already ordered the grommet, 2 o-rings for the lower drain tube and the top drain tube gasket. The parts should be here next Tue. or Wed. Do you guys think the car is safe to drive until then? We drive the thing a little over 1,000 miles per week.

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AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

I know you don't mean an 8 FOOT puddle of oil An 8" puddle would worry me a bunch but then I remember putting a quart a day in one of my cars because it was leaking that much. As long as you keep the level up you should be ok.

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Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

Oops!! Typing too fast. I meant 8"...

I went out and got a gallon to keep in the trunk just in case. I checked it a couple times since and I can see no significant drop in the level.

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AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

You would be the best person to judge how much oil your loosing and to know if it is safe in it's present condition since your there in person.

With that said, It seems like it is leaking a lot of oil. You don't want to get caught running it dry.

You can do what JimmyL did for a temporary fix..



Turbo drain leak repaired

Of course it would be a big mess to clean up when you fix it properly.


.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

I did that and 50,000 miles later and several trips across the country, that "temporary" fix is still holding. Orange as ever. And let me tell i tried the real fix replacing that grommet but without taking out turbo struggled for at least a couple hours per instructions on this forum. Dang grommet broke right as i got it in in so i just smeared it with RTV. This is my night for confirming cheap fixes i guess.

snookwhaler (what is that anyway), you have my old car. I love that color. I had exact one -- 85 and everything. I had the exact same problem at about exact same mileage too. Patch it with high temp RTV in 15 minutes and pat your self on the back for saving a lot of work. Next time you have the turbo off you could replace the grommet.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

You know what.......... I like that idea to "get me through". Thanks for the input guys!!

I cannot imagine going to all the trouble to replace that damn grommet only to have it break? How did that happen? Did you put the grommet in the oil pan first? Did you grease up the grommet ad the drain tube before inserting? Is the drain tube a lot bigger than that opening? It is hard to tell from all the pics on here. I read the DIY on this and I did not think it looked like that bad of a job (all things considered).

I was planning to pull the intake/exhaust manifold AGAIN to try and tackle this and clean everything up. Oil is literally everywhere on the passengers side of the engine, transmission and suspension. It was spotlessly clean.

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AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Keep several quarts of Oil in your Trunk. Check the Oil level before your Trip and when you get to where you are going.

The Silicone Sealant patch will work but you need to get all the Oil off of the area and degrease it with Brake Cleaner so it is completely free of Oil; that way it will adhere well to the metal and leave no channel for the Oil to Seep Out.

Some one had previously did the Silicone Selant patch on mine but did not do as goodof a job as the one pictured. However, it was OK for about 2 years and I finally had to change my drain Grommet about 2 Months ago.

Ounce you remove the Upper Drain Tube you may find it is easier to push the Lower Drain Tube up from the Bottom (I tried the method of putting a Hose Clamp around the Tube and prying on the Hose Clamp but that did not work for me). This means removing the Oil Pan and a new Oil Pan Gasket if you do not want to put Sealant on the old Gasket (as I did).

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

More problems....

I was under there cleaning things up and I saw that the "clamp cushioning" for the trans. cooler lines was completely gone and it was metal to metal! So, after I got it cleaned up I fixed that immediately. Thankfully the lines were not worn. I used some of that hard poly tubing to make new cushions for the clamps. Another disaster averted....

I also thought of something else.... What if the oil was backing up through a "stuck open" check valve in the cyclonic breather tube and then running up and out past the o-ring and then dripping out of that "bell" at the end of the upper tube? It is difficult to see back there and I really could not tell. After I got it all cleaned up, I went for a quick drive, came back and parked it. I got a 6" puddle rather quick. I noticed that the longer it sat there, the less it leaked? Also, it was still clean up until the point that I stopped.

I got that sealant trick done for now. I need to drive 300 miles tomorrow. I'll know if it worked in the morning.

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AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)