Weird leak/bolt missing?
 

ok i am hoping that someone can help me with this problem, i have an 85 300d and i devloped a BAD oil leak while driving down the highway and now i think i have found where it is leaking from. my question is wheter i should be worried about why the bolt cam out or if anyone can give me instruction on how to proceed from here. can anyone take a picture of what it looks like where there bolt goes so i have a reference? hopefully the pics are self explanatory.

http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i848833_286copy.jpg

<img src="http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i848833_286copy.jpg" width="943" height="805" alt="Image Hosting" border="0">

That looks like where the upper tensioner rail pin bolt should be. It's not something that would fall out.

I agree about the rail pin. Thats something where you should not start the engine again until you fix it.

well the car ran and runs but like you said i won't be running that again till i get it fixed but i am a little lost as to how to fix it or where to get the parts....and it did fall out??? i heard it fall while i was driving down the road...i really need to fix it like you said and unfortunately it is my daily driver so fixing it is no. 1 on my list. anymore help would be greatly appreciated

After looking at that photo of the hole more carefully, that has nothing to do with the pin bolt. It's nothing more than a missing head bolt. All you need to do is find one that will fit. Easy fix.

so it is plauseable that oil can come out of there with out meaning something is more drastically wrong? the car just broke 98k miles

Looks that way.

it is a verry small diameter bolt like the one right below it in the picture...maybe the same size as the oilpan bolt but is there an easier way to get to it?

It's an 8 mm thread diameter so the oil pan bolts won't work. It's the same diameter as the bolts holding the P/S bracket to the head.

It would still make me worry quite a bit. If that one came out on it's own, how about the others?

The other one is on the other side, inside under the valve cover.

have you ever had to replace it?
i got a new one in there 8mm but it feels a little loose, it tightened down tho...i think i am going to take the bracket off tho and tighten it down some more

No but I haven't owned any MB diesels long enough to find out. I don't think it's something that loosens up regularly.
The bolt should be an M8 X 25. I couldn't find any torque value for it in the FSM. Be careful not to over tighten it.

any bolt that would fit in there should be fine. it simply makes it so the threads dont plug up inside the railpin.

If I'm not mistaken (and I can be at inopportune times ;)), that is one of the two internal hex screws that hold the power steering pump support assy from the top. Part #000931 008244. A washer goes with it. See #32. The size of attachment is the best I could do without effort. FWIW