Hi everyone,

I have an 83' 500SL euro. It runs great. The weather is getting better and my wife has taken the car out twice recently and when she got back I found antifreeze on the floor in the garage.

The radiator has leaked in the past and I'm tired fooling with it so I am just going to replace the radiator and hoses.

We don't drive this car much maybe 2000 miles a year in the summer. I have noticed a few drops of oil on the garage floor over the past year or two. And I had cleaned the bottom front of the engine a year or so ago. I noticed that the bottom front is dirty again. I decided while I had the radiator out, I would clean the engine and look for the leak.

I can't tell at all where it is coming from. I believe this engine is an M117.962. The oil pan/housing comes down and kind of mushrooms out (for lack of a better description) the oil/dirt is all over the top of this. My only guess is it must be the front crank seal. I'm guessing that it is leaking and while the car is moving the air is blowing the oil back along the top of the oil pan. There is oil on the front of engine behind the harmonic balancer also.

Since I already have the radiator out I am going to replace the front main seal. I have the CD but, I haven't looked at it yet regarding this. I have replaced the rear main seal on a Chevy small block so I have an idea of what needs to be done.

If anyone has experience with this I would greatly appreciate their input. (possibly step by step)

Any "known problems" or "gotchas" I should look out for or special tools needed.

Or if you think there is some other possiblity of the oil.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.



I also posted this in the SL forum.

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1983' SL500 euro