Why is there oil on my radio?
 

After replacing all speakers and moving onto the radio head unit, I am surprised to find the old Becker (currently not working) covered with motor oil, as well as some of the wires, etc.

What is causing this and do I need to be concerned...I am finally taking this car for its inaugural road trip to Bay of Fundy- we will be putting on like 1600 miles this week.

There has been some weird behavior with the temp control before this- there is no medium level of heat- its either hot or cool.
What is the prognosis?

Oil pressure gauge is leaking. Replace it soon because it can make a really nasty mess, as you discovered.

Could it be oil in the vacuum lines?

Since his things were covered with oil, I doubt it could be vacuum lines. Having that much oil in them would surely show engine shut-down problems.

There's actually an oil line into the dash for the oil pressure gauge?? Wow, that's weird...

The aftermarked ones for the 606 use an electronic sender at a port below the oil filter.

Maybe you should cut back on listening to so much Barry White ;)

Only on the W123 and older models.

I have the same thing-- found it when I pulled my radio out a while back to fix it.

I thought the oil line entered the cabin closer to the instrument pod than the radio. Am I wrong? Does oil sometimes squirt all the way over there?

I figured the ACC pods sucked oil into themselves at some earlier point and then released it when they dissolved.

It was Sunday's task to clean the lines and make sure the problem isn't ongoing, but the weather was too nice and I relaxed instead :)

I think I'll track down some small clear tubing I can install in key spots so I can see if I've still got oil migrating around in there. And to make future inspections easier.

It means the oil line going to your pressure guage is weeping. Change it soon, if it blows it makes a huge mess.

its not that messy, but....
 

Do I NEED to replace the oil pressure gauge before the long drive? In other words- Is this fix 100% necessary in order o road trip with this car- will it cause catostrophic failure?

Also, there was oil in the brae booster vac line about a month ago as well, so I am thinking that this is a 2 part problem- vac pump diaphram failure and oil pressure gauge leak?

Also, I don't have automatic door locks if the car sits overnight so there is definitely a pattern here.

Ben

I'd fix it right away, but I'm pretty conservative and have never been stranded on the side of the road.


If you cannot by pass it you will be stranded. You can't exactly drive the car with hot oil shooting down at your feet now...:eek::D

Can it be by-passed?

The gauge may not be leaking. It might simply be the line where it connects to the gauge. A new ferrule and a slightly shorter line and you're good to go.

But, others who have suffered the malady will chime it as to the likely failure scenario.

No, I wouldn't drive it 1600 miles in that condition.

I have a related question. How can you give recommendations when you don't even know what kind of car he has. I assume it is a Mercedes, but it could be an S class that has a radio from an old 123 or something. He could have a young child that tried to put his engine oil in the radio. Maybe it sits in the sun in sunny Texas and the dash is melting and running into the radio. How about a capacitor in the radio has ruptured and is leaking oil. I would hate to see someone spend a lot of money and time trying to fix something that ain't broke. In my shop, I won't work on a car until I know the year, make, model, and engine. Mistakes are easy to make on cars nowadays so all the information is needed to make a diagonisis. I know you get tired of me making these statements, but good information is VERY important, and without it a lot of mistakes can be made.

ahhh........I'm going to take a WAG and suggest that he has a 1984 Mercedes 300D........617 engine.........but, then again, I'm clairvoyant.;)

Read his profile.

Vehicles:
1984 300D Turbo - mileage unknown, 1996 VW Jetta - 213K+