The two o-rings at the bottom of the oil housing lid stem need to be changed around every 15,000 miles according to a tech article in The Star.
I have been meaning to change mine.
If they are hard, or missing?, or shrunken, they really need to be replaced.
I wonder if this is an often neglected item? My dealer did not even have any, even though nearly every diesel has them.
The part no. is 015 997 94 48. The price is .50 cents each.
There purpose in life is to prevent oil from draining back into the oil pan once the engine is turned off.

Thanks for the heads up. Its also a good idea to check that the bore of the stem is not blocked. I always fit my vacuum tester over the end of the stem and pump away.

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2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel - 4x4, auto, 3.54 gears, long bed
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'92 300D 2.5 Turbodiesel - sold
'83 300D Turbodiesel - 4 speed manual/2.88 diff - sold
'87 300D Turbodiesel - sold
'82 300D Turbodiesel - sold

They were hard and brittle on mine. Changing them at 15,000 miles may be overkill, but this is certainly a neglected item.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

I agree with Paul, I don't think they need to be changed as a preventive maintenance item. When you change oil, just give them a look. If their flattening out, replace them.

TXBill, you bring up a good point. We need to have a "black oil under fingernail detector" on this forum to ensure that posters are indeed diesel folks. Most days I would have no problem passing such a security test.

Have a great day,

I know that this is not a big ticket item, but as a recommended mtc item, why not add it to the Fast Lane? I would think this would give the Partsshop a competitive edge over other sources who do not have this! If I do not see a reply from the Webmaster, I will post this to the Partsshop Forum.

Larry,
I'm not sure what you mean by, "I agree with Paul, I don't think they need to be changed as a preventive maintenance item."

If they are worn out they need to be changed. The 15,000 miles is what the Technical Director (George Murphy) of "The Star" has found to be the average lifespan of the o-rings.

It is a rough estimate of how long they usually last. I included this figure to let people have an idea of how worn out theirs might be.

I only wanted to alert people, who may not be aware, that they should check them to see if they are worn out. Whether you call it "preventative maintenance" or not, was not my point.

Hmph, never thought about replacing the seals on the old diesels. On the 603 motors I have done so and of course on the 112 and new 606 diesel you really have to at each change considering they are part of the filter kit. So I guess I've had the seals on the rod in my 300SD for over 100,000 miles! Although maybe not, I may have replaced them at some point and just don't recall doing it. When I light it off in the morning the oil pressure gauge pressurizes pretty quickly so I guess I haven't thought about it. But I'm going to replace them at my next change in 500 miles!

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Regards,
Aaron

Thanx for the reminder Patsy. I planned on doing this in about two weeks at the next oil change. Hey, I just remembered that I won't have black dino-oil under my nails at the next oil change, my wife said that she wants to try changing the oil.

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1980 Mercedes 240D
1982 Mercedes 300SD
1985 Mercedes 300D
1993 Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel

Go Girl!
Moraine, I just replaced the oil dipstick o-ring, and I was shocked to have my dipstick actually stay closed. It was usually always slightly ajar,

I certainly have no quarrel with someone who wants to use the overkill method of maintenance. Owners and technicians who are pickey about the little things are the ones whose equipment works the best and lasts the longest. When you contrast that against the average yuppie who can take a car that costs a year's pay and turn it into worthless scrap in 3 years from lack of maintenance, there is no contest at all. Just judging by the condition of mine at 97,000 miles / 14 years old when I bought this car, they were hard as rocks. I'm sure they probably still sealed OK, but the way they crumbled when I took them off makes me feel that they could have disintegrated and gotten circulating, possibly clogging an oil passage or something. I now keep spares and check them every oil change. They are now at about 50,000 miles and they are still plyable, but I think I will change them next time.

__________________
Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

patsy,

Please take no offense by my comments. I for one appreciate very much your pointing out this issue.

I personally give them a quick look, and replace them when they get flat. My experience has been that this takes quite a long time. I would say maybe 75,000 to 100,000 miles on a US model with oil cooler, something less on a Euro model with no oil cooler.

There is absolutely no problem in changing them every 15,000, but unless they are flat or brittle, my opinion is that this is an unnecessary step. As long as you have good oil pressure immediately after startup, you probably have gained nothing.

Thanks very much for the information and suggestion. Your comments on this forum are appreciated by all.

Have a great day,

I asked the question about putting the o-ring in the Fast Lane in the PartsShop Feedback Forum.

Can we back up and go into detail about one item. When you say blow air into the stem, I want to make sure I know what you are referring to. Correct me if I am wrong. Are you talking about the lid of the oil filter housing? What should I be blowing air into, the bottom stem? Is there really a valve in there? I never looked at it in great detail. I am going to look at my CD manual now and take a peak, since I am not due for another change yet. Any information you can share would be great.

I just looked at the CD and it says, "EXAMINE RESTRICTION OPENING ON OIL PIPE FOR FOREIGN BODIES. IF IT IS BLOCKED, REMOVE FOREIGN BODIES BY HAND. FOLLOWING THIS, BLOW COMPRESSED AIR INTO RESTRICTION OPENING. AIR MUST BE FELT ESCAPING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OIL PIPE. IF THE RESTRICTION OPENING IS NOT FREE OR IF NO AIR FLOWS OUT, RENEW OIL FILTER COVER TOGETHER WITH THE OIL PIPE."
Thanks Patsy for bringing this to my attention, and to think all these oil changes I was just pullingout the stick and I never once looked at it. I just may pull the lid on the cover and check it out.
Wow, I though that knew everything about oil changes.

CJ, don't thank me, thank SW. I had no idea I needed to check the stem either. I am also glad to know about that.