Uh-oh! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

greasybenz · #1 05-28-2006, 02:43 AM

My 603 is leaking oil, alot of oil!. ok here is the scoop...

I park in the driveway and i noticed a small puddle of engine oil. So i pull the dipstick and it said it was dry!

So i panicked and grabbed the powerservice diesel lube and filled the car up with it, about 4 quarts. Checked the dipstick and it went back up to in between the red tabs.

And i stop by autozone to pick up some engine leak additives. bought some STP engine oil stop leak, directions said to pour all contents in and let it idle for 15mins. So i do so but before i did that i noticed some drops come out from the bottom of the car! Pour the STP stuff in and let it idle. And the drops stopped after about 10mins.

so i know it temporarily stopped the leak but i need a permanent fix. Im going to pressure wash the bottom to see exactly where the leak is coming from since the bottom is very dirty and oily.

But before i checked the dipstick i noticed the upper hose on the radiator was flat

and when i poured in the diesel lube stuff it went back to normal

whats all this mean???

Hit Man X · #2 05-28-2006, 02:50 AM

Isolate the leak. Could be the IP, level sender, oil cooler, etc.

Hatterasguy · #3 05-28-2006, 06:02 PM

Please don't tell me you put Power Service in the crank case.

If thats the case change the oil before you turn the engine over again. While you are under their figure out where the oil leak is coming from. If its leaking that much it can't be to hard to find.

Also the light on the dash should have came on if the oil level got that low, you should check that. The sensor is probably bad.

greasybenz · #4 05-30-2006, 09:01 PM

no not powerserive diesel kleen for diesel fuel, but power service diesel lube. It supposidly adds extra lubrication for diesel rated crankcase oil and replaces 4 quarts of regular oil.

Since ive used the STP stop leak the oil level has been fine according to the dipstick, but everytime i take the car around the block just to check and i drive it back up to the driveway i get drops here and there. I dont know if there is a puddle of it hanging around under the car somewere or its still leaking

I used my dads pressure washer and hosed down the bottom of the car of oil and gunk. So its pretty clean under there but still oil spots

It doesnt leak at idle just when you park it and turn the car off.

aklim · #5 05-30-2006, 09:09 PM

Maybe it has an intermitten leak. Kinda like my water pump did. Sometimes it leaks, sometimes not.

My solution would be to wash the thing again, dump dye into the crankcase and watch it with a blacklight

greasybenz · #6 05-30-2006, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

Maybe it has an intermitten leak. Kinda like my water pump did. Sometimes it leaks, sometimes not.

My solution would be to wash the thing again, dump dye into the crankcase and watch it with a blacklight

good idea, they have plenty of that dye at work i can get for free. I think i have a black light in the garage too.

aklim · #7 05-30-2006, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greasybenz

good idea, they have plenty of that dye at work i can get for free. I think i have a black light in the garage too.

I know there is coolant dye and oil dye. Not sure of the difference but be careful of which you put in. If it doesn't mix with the oil you will not be able to make it work. Think of oil and water. They don't mix so it would be hard to use that to detect the leak. Make sure it is for the right application

greasybenz · #8 05-30-2006, 09:17 PM

ok, ill make sure to get the correct one. But i know my work has them for their small GM delivery vans which leak alot of things

so they have tranny fluid dye,crankcase, coolent,etc.

aklim · #9 05-30-2006, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greasybenz

ok, ill make sure to get the correct one. But i know my work has them for their small GM delivery vans which leak alot of things

so they have tranny fluid dye,crankcase, coolent,etc.

Good. Wash the engine down too. Drive for a bit and check, drive for a bit and check. Might be a weeked job with all this start and stop.

blueranger · #10 05-30-2006, 09:32 PM

well, I always have an oil leak.... a car that leaks oil never rust...
my car is 24 years old so i expsect it to leak and mine always leaves
a little mark.... like a harley...

I find I have to add a quart or two every month. So its really good for the car getting fresh oil....

my car leaks around the turbo down spout, very common rubber gasket there that leaks....

Also my AC leaks some black stuff.... I need to repair this.....

Check your turbo, check the pipe coming out of the valve cover going to the breather... that brings oil gasses down to the turbo... there is a little o ring on the breather check it...check the turbo down spout....check the oil cooler,
check the oil pan... remember there two of them... upper and lower....
wash the bottom of the car.... the two most difficult oil leaks are the front seal and the rear seal.. and they are what usually leak on an old high mileage car....all you can do is use one of those oils with a seal conditioner and just hold on till rebuild time....(since your stp stuff slowed your oil leak it probably had seal conditioners)

If I were loosing a quart a week i would not worry about it...

but of course I am not one of these guys who use mercedes coolant...

aklim · #11 05-30-2006, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueranger

well, I always have an oil leak.... a car that leaks oil never rust...
my car is 24 years old so i expsect it to leak and mine always leaves
a little mark.... like a harley...

I find I have to add a quart or two every month. So its really good for the car getting fresh oil....

If I were loosing a quart a week i would not worry about it...

but of course I am not one of these guys who use mercedes coolant...

Nope. I have had a car that did leak oil. It just never coated the rusting areas.
The newer ones don't leak like the old ones, AFAIK.

Are you serious? I hope not. That sounds like about the craziest thing I have ever heard as a justification for having the car leak.

What has mercedes coolant got to do with anything? Is non-MB coolant free?

blueranger · #12 05-30-2006, 10:46 PM

Mb coolent is a socilogical inference that means if a guy is so
sensitive to his car that he goes and buys the mb coolient he is not going
to put up with any oil leak....

the reason I have oil leaks is because I buy the cheap coolant at autozone and change my oil once a year wheither it needs it or not...

but there are benefits to oil leaks... your whole car underside is coated in oil and protected from salt.... and you are having to put in fresh oil ever week or two... but that is not the reason for my oil leak.. the reason for my oil leak is that i just dont care... i figure if a car is 24 years old then it should leak a little.

Hatterasguy · #13 05-30-2006, 10:50 PM

Sounds like the front or rear main seal, a leak like that is pretty hard to miss get under the car and look for fresh oil.

Don't waste your money on those snake oils, just use regular diesel rated oil.

aklim · #14 05-31-2006, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueranger

Mb coolent is a socilogical inference that means if a guy is so sensitive to his car that he goes and buys the mb coolient he is not going to put up with any oil leak....

the reason I have oil leaks is because I buy the cheap coolant at autozone and change my oil once a year wheither it needs it or not...

but there are benefits to oil leaks... your whole car underside is coated in oil and protected from salt.... and you are having to put in fresh oil ever week or two... but that is not the reason for my oil leak.. the reason for my oil leak is that i just dont care... i figure if a car is 24 years old then it should leak a little.

Well, IIRC, MB coolant does have something that does help prolong the life of the engine. While I cannot see it, some people have sentimental value for the car and want it to last forever. I replace my car after it is worn beyond what it is worth to fix.

As mentioned, that is fine for a beater car if you don't really care if it makes it to the destination or not. I had an old Ford Fairmont. It used a quart of oil ever few hundred miles. I didn't care either. I paid $125 for it and later sold it as a beater for $100.

And there are benifits to being poor. Less taxes to pay, less items to have and therefore less to maintain, hell, with a cardboard box, you don't even have to mow the lawn.

Your car is basically a beater or will soon be. Therefore, that attitude is fine. However, I would like to sell my car someday to upgrade. Therefore, leaving it that way is not an option. Now, you can be like a friend of mine. Trade in the car every 3 years and never even changes the oil. Just dumps more oil in till she sells it. Of course, one time she didn't get lucky and the engine broke and was not covered under warranty.

greasybenz · #15 06-02-2006, 12:43 AM

Ok used GM dye labeled "engine oil dye" poured the small bottle in and drove it home. Waited until it was dark (which it is now) but in the meantime pressure washed the bottom of the car again. Drove it around the block and here we go....

Ok from what the blacklight is showing the majority of the oil seems to be coming from the rear of the oil pan. And around the starter.

Should i replace the oil pan gasket?