I need help. I cannot pin point where's the oil leak coming from. The leak on my car is coming under the alternator mounting bracket: from the brackets mounting bolts to the engine wall. I already replaced the gasket to the oil fan and the front seal. Somehow the oil leak is still there. I don't see any leaks from the upper cylinder head and the exhaust pipe. Is the mounting bolts for the alternater holder bracket drilled all the way inside the engine? I can see oil coming from the alternators mounting bolts. Only the side of the alternator is leaking. The front side of the engine is dry so I presumed that there is no leakage on the front seal. The other side of the engine is dry also. Any idea?

clean the area where u think i see a leak....then drive around and see where the oil is coming from....if its from where u cleaned...then boom ur correct

i think it might be from the head gasket.....our cars are known for it...do a search

the leak will be towards the rear...away from the front of the car....right above the exhaust pipes from the engine...on the right side only

if its not leaking too much...don't worry about it...but its alot...then think about getting it fixed

I'll try to clean the engine and drive the car.
Thanks for the advice.

There is a lot of useful info here about oil leaks out of the M104 engine which is what you have. Try some searches such as "M104 and oil and leak" or "E320 and oil and leak"

If the leak is up front, it is probably from the timing chain cover. If its from rear, its probably the head gasket.

Remember that the fan can blow oil around so cleaning everything good then driving a day or two and then looking things over may lead you to the problem.

I'm very symphathetic as I just put my '97 E320 in the dealer shop for the fourth time regarding these leaks.

I have had oil leaks from my 1995 E320 since I bought it 3 years ago. I bought it used with 35K miles (just under warrenty) and immediately took it in for service.

Hohen Benz of Carlsbad did a fine job of replacing the front oil cover, but unfortunately that wasn't the only problem. The main culprit was (and continues to be) the head gasket. And they also re-sealed the rear-end.

Since that time, every Feburary I visit my dealer to have them replace the head gasket. This year maked the third time in 3 years they have had to replace the head gasket for leaking oil. They also replaced the oil level sensor which was also contributing to the oil leak, they said.

This year I pressed the sevice guy about why it leaked so much, and he said "no-one knows why". He involved the shop foreman, who said the head checked out OK.

I have ready several messages on this (excellent) form, from E320 owners who have leak problems with the head gasket, as well as the rear-end. These problem appear to be typical for this model.

I would suggest you visit you local deal, and if you raise enough hell, you might get them to replace your head gasket, as they surely know this is a common problem with all E320 straigt-6 engines.

-sd_lurker