Fluid Leaks
 

I have been experienceing several fluid leaks on my '92 500 sl. 1st it was the power steering pump, then the valve covers and now it is the differential is starting to drip oil. I have discussed w/ several people ( non mechanic ) and they seem to think that it is because of lack of driving. the car has 39.5 K miles on it and i drive it about 1500 miles per YEAR. Can this be the cause of my problems?? Will starting the car every day help?? Any mechanic's out there? Thanks

yeah, lack of driving is a killer for anything rubber... Dont exactly know why though, but you're talking to a 16 year old who has 3 cars... 2 of them sat for significant periods of time (truck=3 years of "hauling stuff only", benz sat for a long time...)

both of them leak.

Best thing to do (other then drive more) would be to replace all of the fluids with premium ones (mobile one delvalc, royal purple... full synthetics all around)... Use the good filters too, and you can go with changing the oil once every year, and for the other fluids (brake, power steering, antifreeze, transmission) flush them (except the trans, just drain that one), and then flush them again in 4 years...

That would be one way of helping the seals in your car... dont know if anybody else has other reccemendations.

I used full synthetic engine oil in my 82 f150 (for 5000 miles)... NOTICABLY less leakage, and it ran a little better... Went for the cheap**** oil (1.29 a quart) and it's leaking pretty bad again:snore:

I'm a firm believer that using synthetics is ALLWAYS a good idea, and wont "clean out" the sludge sealing the engine... I dont think it's possible to seal an engine with sludge, and if so, you've got more problems then fluid leaks

Anyways, good luck with your car, and welcome to the forum
~Nate

Appreciate the response. I had the power steering pump resealed at the Local MBZ Dealer likewise with the valve cover gaskets. when i have the oil changed i will get a price on the differential seal. I may just let it drip the MBZ dealer is 100 billing me to death.

Not a diyer? I wouldnt think valve cover gaskets would be too hard to do, a diff seal I'd let them do...

If you'd let me borrow your car for prom, I could take care of the diff leak:)

Very nice car, I've allways loved the SL's, especially topless ones.

I'm jelious, if you cant tell.

More of the forum should chime in tomarrow, it's kinda late for the old fogies ;)

~Nate

I am a tax accountant, all i can handle is a screw driver. I wish i was diy'er i would save a lot of $. But the car is an older gal and as we all know ( except you, you have a lot more years yet ) parts wear out with age. However, what i am really interested in is to find out if starting the car is a some what half ass substitute for driving the car 2-3 times a week?

Anyone who can do taxes in the U.S. can work on a Mercedes.

All cars need some exercise to stay in shape. Movement keeps the seals wet and in good shape, and can wipe any small corrosion that develops on critical surfaces.

I'm curious how your 1500 miles are spaced out during the year. Ideally it would be a 30 mile trip once a week. I have a 71 Cutlass and I force myself to drive the car once a week to keep the car exercised.

How are the 1500 miles spaced out. I researched how many miles i have actually driven, i pull out my tax returns for the last couple of years. in Nov '04 the car had 37085 miles on it. today 12/06 it has 39550 for a total of 2465 miles in 24.5 months so that's about 100 per month, dam it's even less then i said, i try and drive 1x per week 25 miles - maybe.

Your right though, i need to exercise the ol girl more she is getting kinda dried out. But where i live there really is no place to drive to. I live in nevada in a little town called laughlin. there are only 2 mbz in the whole town. I dont dare drive to vegas with all the nut case drivers and not to mention all the big rig trucks that drive 70 mph in the the hammer lane.

So, after reading all the responses, i guess i just need to drive more. Thanks for all the input everyone.

Driving the car once a week for a 25 mile round trip is good exercise, just like the ideal I mentioned. I think you're just unlucky with the seals. Try to enjoy your car a little more.

All of the leaks that you mentioned are all very common on that vehicle.

The valve covers are about as easy as you can get to replacing yourself.
the P/S pump may not be something you want to reseal yourself.
You may get lucky and just the resevoir gasket is leaking which is not too bad to regasket.

The rear diff seals get some seepage from them, just keep an eye on the leaks to see if they worsen in time.
For the time being, you could change the diff lube and top it off with new lube, then clean the area real good and keep an eye on the leaks.