My Van gets the rear spotted like that but it is from a ATF Leak that I need to fix. It is pretty clear that that is the cause because the ATF is on other parts under the Van back from the leak.

Also if they want to look inside of the Cylinders they could pull the Prechambers and look into the Cylinders with a Bore Scope.

Sticking Rings are not going to show up anyway if you remove the Cylinder head.

I used Marvel Mystery Oil through the Glow Plug Holes and a week and 3 days of soaking in to cure My gray smoke I had all of the time On My Volvo Diesel. (I actually did not think it was going to work but it was cheap to dump in 1/4 cup per cylinder so I figured it was worth a shot.)

After Soaking and changing the Oil I took it for a fast drive on the Freeway and most of thw smoke had cleared. Another 3 Days and the smoke was gone.

I later did the same to My Mercedes (no smoking issues to begin with) to see if it would decrease the Blow-by. But, it did nothing. I presume indicating there was no stuck Piston Rings to begin with.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Also check rear main seal.
Not easy to see when looking at the engine, and it'd make sense to only blow oil when under high pressure.

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That is a misnomer.

Not only could it could from the tailpipe, you should pull the exhaust off the turbo and look for oil (after the leak hunting of course). I popped the drain pipe on my turbo this week and in a matter of a few miles lost 3 quarts (light came on) and back of car is well oiled now.....

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I checked the SLS, and the fluid is perfectly topped up, but a bit dark, I'll be changing that sooner rather than later. The oil on the back of my car was diesel oil black, not dirty ATF dark.

I pulled the air filter housing real quick in the work parking lot, just to see what was underneath, and there is definitely quite a bit of oil under the turbo on the passenger side. I'm going to take a jack stand with me to the car wash and jack up the side of the car for the cleaning, then take it to the a local public lift to see where oil comes from. I'm going to see if they'll let me run the engine while it's in the air.

There is also quite a bit of oil spotting on the passenger side of the car.

I also noticed while inspecting the engine bay a little more carefully today that most of the rear of the engine has oil on it, top and bottom. The oil cooler lines look good, a little oil underneath on their underside, but nothing that seems to originate from the lines. Same goes for the oil filter canister, but I won't know for sure until I get it in the air.

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1982 300TD 300,??? miles, daily driver turned donor
1982 300TD, 184,000 miles, daily driver

Is the oil on the pass side? If so I would look for leaks around the turbo. Also the exhaust dumps on the pass side on the TD right? The reason why it can certainly be exhaust is that in the back of the TD there is a low pressure area that rotates upwards against the back of the car.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

The wagon exhausts to the side to minimize this effect.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The oil is dripping from the passenger side underbody, pretty far back. I'm hoping to have it in a lift ASAP, perhaps as early as tomorrow. Publicly availible lifts usually have a bit of a wait with them.

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1982 300TD 300,??? miles, daily driver turned donor
1982 300TD, 184,000 miles, daily driver

Woah. You have publicly available lifts? Pretty much the only thing on pass side with oil is the turbo. Or perhaps a leaking head gasket. I will be nice and vote for turbo drain gasket.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

We have The Geek Group which has a big rotary lift, air tools, the works for members, and it's $40 a month membership, worth it in my opinion. I should be up in the air this weekend.

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1982 300TD 300,??? miles, daily driver turned donor
1982 300TD, 184,000 miles, daily driver

the air filter oil separator oil return is KNOWN to dump oil all over things... check to see if the down pipe is connected, and if the o-rings are intact.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I think the turbo drain and exhaust are the best place to look immediately after the public car wash cleaning. The IP to block gasket was replaced and never leaked afterward and neither did the oil cooler lines or oil filter when I owned the car. Post some pics!

x2

The engine is so clean now.

There is a nice little hose that comes off the turbo, and runs to a thingie that looks like a valve that sits below the turb, and the hose was cracking on the lower (thingie) end. When I took it off, I noticed that there was a small 2mm sized hole near the clamp. I replaced the line, and am now going to drive as much as possible on the freeway to see if that fixes it. I also saw where the oil drain goes into the block, the rubber gasket there is not cracked, but I'm going to keep on eye on that as well.

I'll report back in a few hundred miles to let you guys know what I find.

Now it's on to fix the AC!

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1982 300TD 300,??? miles, daily driver turned donor
1982 300TD, 184,000 miles, daily driver

I'm still losing oil, but at a much smaller fraction than what it was before I replaced that oil hose. It looks like I still have a leak from either the lower oil pan gasket or the turbo drain pipe gasket, or both. But at least I'm not hemorrhaging oil. I did discover an ATF leak that I need to track down, it was hidden in all of the black oil under the car. Fingers crossed its a transmission gasket.

Now to search for a good DIY for the replacement of that turbo drain seal. Is there anything else that I should be replacing as preventative maintenance while I'm in there? Especially since I'll have it in a lift, that should make the oil pan and turbo drain much easier to work on.

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1982 300TD 300,??? miles, daily driver turned donor
1982 300TD, 184,000 miles, daily driver

Mine developed a fuel leak where the fuel tank line came out of the bottom of the tank.

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85 Merc 300D - Unwinding 31 years of wear
86 VW TD
Mahindra Diesel
Iseki Diesel

In 2007 I didn't own a diesel.