Turbo drain mess
 

Hi,

Back in August, I attempted to replace the turbo drain seals on my 83 300D. I left the turbo on the car, as I read that it was possible, and I really didnt want to start pulling stuff way apart, as I use the car everyday.
I dropped the oil pan, went at it... Definitely the most frustrating, difficult repair Ive ever done. I think it turned me off to doing any difficult engine repairs (and this wone wasnt supposed to be that hard).

Anyway, now Im loking at it, and the gasket at the turbo drain tube is looking worse and worse. The whole underside of my car is stained with oil because this thing drips. Its not that bog of a drip, but it lands on the wastegate, then spreads everywhere.

I know in the instructions, it says to remove the bolts on the turbo drain, then turn the tube 90 degrees or something like that. Well, I cant get it to turn,and Im just plain scared of taking those bolts out and trying to turn stuff and replace that gasket again.

I have retightened eveything once or twice since doing the job, but the leak only gets worse. I am pretty darn sure I got the flange on the turbo side perfectly clean.

Any ideas what to do from here? Im almost tempted to smear the whole thing with liquid gasket. But thats a lousy repair.

Any ideas how much it would cost me to have the dealer do the turbo drain gasket?

Thanks,

JMH

I guess what I really wanted to say is, I DO NOT wish to drop the oil pan and go through all that in this 30 degree weather. I would liek to get this fixed, but can find next to no way to get in at the bolts holding the turbo drain gasket in place. Even if I got the bolts out, which is nearly impossible, I can't turn the tube in any direction because everything is so tight. Then, even if I got the tube turned or off, cleaning the turbo flange is nearly impossible.

So I need help to figure out how to best get this job done, in my parking lot, in 30 degree weather, so my car doesnt leak sooooo much oil all the time out that turbo seal, and make a huge mess of the ground and the underside of my car.

Thanks for any help,

JMH

The best way to do this is get your wrench and loosen but don't remove the turbo mounting bolts. This will get enough movement to get the tube out of the pan without harming anything. Trust me, taking off the turbo bolts is MUCH less hassle than the oilpan.