Woke up & E320 Wagon lost a load ??? Pics

[Gooch]

I walked out to the car this morning and noticed the puddles shown in the pictures of oil. Very clean oil dripping from the back of the car in the middle.

Oil is pictured at passenger rear tire....

Any ideas what to look for, do, price to fix, DIY.....Thanks much

[Bruno_300TE]

That may be hydraulic oil from the self-leveling system. Does the back of the car sag? Is the oil level in the reservoir low (front left under hood)? Will more oil spill when you start the engine (check quickly, there may be a lot of oil coming with a running engine)? If so, I would not drive the car any longer but locate and correct the leak. It is hard to predict the cost: Could be a loose fitting, a corroded line, a broken valve etc.
(It does not look like coming from the rear differential, the only other possibility, unless it is gas or brake fluid.)
Good luck , Bruno

[Southern]

I would suspect a leak at the rear differential. Is the center picture a rear view shot of the differential?

Like Bruno suggested check your fluid levels: Brake, oil, & rear differential.

Since your gas filter is on the drivers side I wouldn't suspect that.

[Ferdman]

Check the brake line to the right rear wheel.

Rear diff oil is heavy viscosity and has a distinctive heave crude smell to it. I would also suspect brake fluid too, as well as the suspension. Smell it, you should be able to tell!

[Gooch]

OK..will go and check all the levels....
It threw me off because I had just performed an oil change and I saw NEW oil all over the drive at the rear.

I did smell and even tasted just to make sure and it is def. oil...no gas.

In regards to the brake line...The oil actually drops from the REAR picture of the Differential...then drains towards the passenger side tire.

going to check levels now ....

[Southern]

Take a close look to see if you can determine where the source of the oil leak is coming from. You mention that it drips from the rear differential towards the passanger side rear tire. Does it appear to drip from somewhere else towards the rear differential?

As BusyBenz suggested rear diff oil has a distinctive heave crude smell to it.

Since you recently changed your oil, check for leaks around the oil filter and drain plug.

[Gooch]

Here are the latest pics. It seems to be a gasket, BUT I cannot tell if the oild is dripping from abouve the boot and leaking down on it OR if the gasket seal next to the boot is leaking....

Gonna try and get the car to my buddies in the morning as he has a service station....anyone see any danger in driving 7 miles at low speed?

[haasman]

Follow the advice from the above postings.

Safety first: Are your brakes working properly and/or has the brake fluid level dropped in the master cylinder reservoir?

Does the fluid smell like fuel?

Wipe the fluid on a white piece of paper. What color is it?

Check all the fluid levels.

If in doubt, tow it.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

[krautman]

looks like brake fluid to me

[Kestas]

Brake fluid will dissolve in water... diff oil and hydraulic fluid won't. This should help bracket the problem.

Somebody once mentioned leaky diffs are a somewhat common problem for these cars.

[Gooch]

OK....here is where we are today.

Brake Fluid = OK, level is maintained
Power Steering = OK,
Engine Oil = OK, new filter, no leaks

It has to be the rear stabalizer ... tell me what this pic is of as it seems to be getting low on Hyd oilo. Does this feed the rear stabs?

[Bruno_300TE]

This is the reservoir. The level is lower than it should be but it could have been so for a long time. There is high pressure in the hydraulic system (up to 150 bar). If there is a leak you will loose a lot of oil in a short amount of time when the system is under pressure, ie with a running tandem pump (=running engine).
If I were you I'd start the engine and check under the car about leaks/spills. Only run the engine for about 30 sec. Then recheck the level in the reservoir to see if it dropped in the meantime.
Bruno

What exactly do you mean by stabilizer?

[Gooch]

The car has a rear stabilizer unit.....which is hydraulic. It keeps the back end from bouncing all over the place and stabilizes when weight is added to the back end so the car is not bottoming out under loads.

I will go and check the leaks with the car running.

Thanks

[Gooch]

[QUOTE=Bruno_300TE]This is the reservoir. The level is lower than it should be but it could have been so for a long time. There is high pressure in the hydraulic system (up to 150 bar). If there is a leak you will loose a lot of oil in a short amount of time when the system is under pressure, ie with a running tandem pump (=running engine).

Well we lost a lot of oil over two nights.....two nice sized puddles as posted in the first of the thread.

The car was not running though.....just sitting over night with a consten drip about every 3 seconds.

Life....gotta love it