As previously mentioned on my earlier posts regarding the oil burning/smelling/smoking and leaking under the rear bottom of the motor, here is the follow-up/update:

I put the Mercedes wagon on top the front two ramp giving me about 2 or so feet clearance while I was on the ground under the Mercedes. Got under the wagon and saw very clearly and not muddy or dirty transmission and the motor. No need to put in Gunk foam engine cleaner.

I then proceeded to put in the 1 oz oil dye in the oil crankcase. Start the motor and got off the ramps. I ran the motor for a few minutes then drove about 10 miles. Smoke was visible at the back of the Mercedes while driving as I saw the smoke coming out by looking through the rear view mirror. After driving and heading back home to put the Mercedes on the ramp, smoke was also visible under the passenger side door. Lift the hood, smoke (burning oil) was also visible underneath the rear motor near the EGR valve area.

Got the Mercedes back on the ramps again. Turned off the motor. Smelled burning oil and saw smoke near the EGR valve area. Smoke also visible under the passenger door side. I waited for about an hour to cool off the motor. I then go under the motor to see if any leaks showing through the dye using the yellow glasses and the LED flashlight. Here are the pictures of the results below:

Here are the first group of 21 pictures (1-5) below (finally got a camera) showing before and after cleaning up using a rag. (Hope the pictures are not that bad since I am new in this situation). The next 5 pictures are in order on the next thread and thereafter until all the remaining pictures are included in this post. I just wish there is an easier way to post all pictures in the same thread.

Because all of the pictures were line up in the attachments and I could not figure out how to separate the pictures group in between with additional information/comments. I came up with the following:

First 21 pictures refers to before and after cleaning up the motor/transmission area.

The last pictures group of 11 were after putting the oil dye and running/driving the Mercedes and using the LED flashlight (purple spots areas) showing afterwards the oil leakage area. Notice the smoke coming out from the inside the hood area near the egr valve location near the rear motor as well as smoke coming out under the passenger side door.

Oil puddle on the cardboard just underneath straight down from the outer edge of transmission bell on the left/passenger side facing me. Oil leak could be from the above the transmission bell area and dripped down under, causing the oil puddle? I really cannot pinpoint where exactly the oil leak is coming from. I am guessing the rear seal (broken,torn, cracked?) is the culpit that goes in between the transmission gear to the rear motor.in addition, the oil pan gasket seems to be ok and I don't think that is the issue. I am tempted to drive the Mercedes to a mechanic who can actually (hopefully) spot the exact location where the oil leaking is coming from and give me the correct/right diagnosis. Anybody out there have any clues? Comments/feedback is greatly appreciated.

Attached Thumbnails

         

Here are the next five pictures of the first group (6-10)

Attached Thumbnails

         

gaskets,and seals don't last for ever.I had my trans seal replaced,did my own rocker arm cover.If you have trans out do rear seal in engine too.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

The next 5 pictures of the first group (11-16)

Attached Thumbnails

         

sorry about the last pictures. It should have been read as (11-15, not 11-16). Here are the next five pictures of the first group (16-20)

Attached Thumbnails

         

Finally, here is the last picture of the first group of 21.

Attached Thumbnails

 

The last pictures group of 11 were after putting the oil dye and running/driving the Mercedes and using the LED flashlight (purple spots areas) showing afterwards the oil leakage area.

Attached Thumbnails

         

Here are the last 5 pictures of the second group of 11 pictures. Must have miss one somewhere. Anyway, here is the recap of the first post for those who missed it.

As previously mentioned on my earlier posts regarding the oil burning/smelling/smoking and leaking under the rear bottom of the motor, here is the follow-up/update:

I put the Mercedes wagon on top the front two ramp giving me about 2 or so feet clearance while I was on the ground under the Mercedes. Got under the wagon and saw very clearly and not muddy or dirty transmission and the motor. No need to put in Gunk foam engine cleaner.


I then proceeded to put in the 1 oz oil dye in the oil crankcase. Start the motor and got off the ramps. I ran the motor for a few minutes then drove about 10 miles. Smoke was visible at the back of the Mercedes while driving as I saw the smoke coming out by looking through the rear view mirror. After driving and heading back home to put the Mercedes on the ramp, smoke was also visible under the passenger side door. Lift the hood, smoke (burning oil) was also visible underneath the rear motor near the EGR valve area.

Got the Mercedes back on the ramps again. Turned off the motor. Smelled burning oil and saw smoke near the EGR valve area. Smoke also visible under the passenger door side. I waited for about an hour to cool off the motor. I then go under the motor to see if any leaks showing through the dye using the yellow glasses and the LED flashlight. Here are the pictures of the results below:

Here are the first group of 21 pictures (1-5) below (finally got a camera) showing before and after cleaning up using a rag. (Hope the pictures are not that bad since I am new in this situation). The next 5 pictures are in order on the next thread and thereafter until all the remaining pictures are included in this post. I just wish there is an easier way to post all pictures in the same thread.

Because all of the pictures were line up in the attachments and I could not figure out how to separate the pictures group in between with additional information/comments. I came up with the following:

First 21 pictures refers to before and after cleaning up the motor/transmission area.

The last pictures group of 10 were after putting the oil dye and running/driving the Mercedes and using the LED flashlight (purple spots areas) showing afterwards the oil leakage area. Notice the smoke coming out from the inside the hood area near the egr valve location near the rear motor as well as smoke coming out under the passenger side door.

Oil puddle on the cardboard just underneath straight down from the outer edge of transmission bell on the left/passenger side facing me. Oil leak could be from the above the transmission bell area and dripped down under, causing the oil puddle? I really cannot pinpoint where exactly the oil leak is coming from. I am guessing the rear seal (broken,torn, cracked?) is the culpit that goes in between the transmission gear to the rear motor.in addition, the oil pan gasket seems to be ok and I don't think that is the issue. I am tempted to drive the Mercedes to a mechanic who can actually (hopefully) spot the exact location where the oil leaking is coming from and give me the correct/right diagnosis. Anybody out there have any clues? Comments/feedback is greatly appreciated.

Attached Thumbnails

         

The most common spot for leakage on the M104 is the Stirndeckel (upper timing cover). Oil leas there and gets blown back over the motor. It leaks right at the junction cylinder head to cylinder block. It looks to me like you have oil at this height, so get a mirror and light and inspect that seam closely.

__________________
Prost!

With that much oil it looks like it is being sprayed under pressure. There is a oil pressure passage in the back corner that supplies oil from the block to the head. This is a common problem with the M104 (and M103) engines although it is usually a slow leak.

Has the head gasket been changed and if so do you know at what mileage?

Hirnbeiss. Thank you for your comments. I appreciated it. I found this post on the forum with the title "M104.992 / 95E320 Timing Cover Seal Replacement Steps and Pics"

M104.992 / 95E320 Timing Cover Seal Replacement Steps and Pics. Is that what you are referring to?

Rick76, No, the head gasket had not been changed when I bought the Mercedes last year. The issue was still there when I bought the Mercedes. Previous owner claims the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. When I removed the valve cover, oil was everywhere inside the valve cover. I replaced the valve cover gasket with new seals. I also had to replaced the front fuel injector facing me on the right side (driver's side) and oil was inside as well. The older fuel injector had broken o-ring seal. Will look into the timing cover seal area and check that out as well. Thanks for your comments.

That's it.

__________________
Prost!

I checked the front main seal behind the front black cover using the dye I put in the oil crankcase. No sign of any leak anywhere on the front area.

I also made an appointment with a mechanic who has a lift to check out locations of the oil leak on March 15th. I will then report my findings afterwards. Stay tuned.

I received an email from the shop that was going to do the oil leaks issues as well as other things on the updated checklist. I was informed that the owner had stated that he will not be able to work on my Mercedes. No reason or explanation given as to why he declined to diagnose the oil leaks among other issues as well.

I am tempted to do this work on my own. The problem is trying to find and locating the source and location of the oil leaks. Even though, I already tried the oil dye and using the UV led flash light to pinpoint oil leaks location, I got mixed results and not clearly finding the source and location of the oil leaks. So I ordered a 5M 7mm Endoscope Waterproof Snake Borescope USB Inspection Camera that can connect to my laptop and I could put the camera under the Mercedes while running and hopefully will show some area of the leaks as well as the source of burning and smoking oil. I will follow-up/update on this as soon as I get the camera.