Hi,

I replaced the turbo drain seals this past august. It still leaked some, so I had a professional MB only shop do it last November. It still leaks all the time, and so I brought it back today to have them re-do it.
They cleaned it all up really well, and replaced the gasket. again.

I drove it about 70 miles, and now Im giving it an oil change. I am seeing the same thing... seepage.

The mechanic who fixed it had a thurough look at it, and told me that it might possibly be coming from above the oil drain, and is dribbling along and dripping from that spot. Looking around now with the leak there again, I believe he is right. Looks to me like it isnt the gasket at all, but rather just above it.

What would cause this? I always idle the car so to prevent coking on the bearings, etc. If the PO shut it off too soon after a highway run, etc., could that wreak havoc on the bearing seals (I think the leaks started after using synth oil), so I think the leaks were clogged a bit previously.

So what does that mean, that the turbo bearing seals are shot? What is just above the oil return tube that could leak? Is thebest bet to just get another turbo and put it on? I plan to keep the car for 100k more miles at least, but at the same time, dont want to spend a lot of money on a new turbo.

The turbo will easily make 10.5 psi of boost, BTW, and if I set the boost controller too aggressively, itll make over 15psi, so it seems that internally it is healthy.

Thanks for reading my long post. Any information or advice would be most appreciated. Thanks,

JMH

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)