i took an 82 300TD on a 2000 mile journey and somewhere towards the end of the trip started to get an alright oil leak. the car has now been parked for a few weeks and there is a decent stain under it. the underside of the car is so saturated (from this and many other leaks) that i don't know where to even start. its wet from the back lip of the oil pan to the front of the trans (roughly) and up high enough that i probably can't assume its just the oil pan. both my trans oil and engine oil seem a tiny bit low but nothing drastic. any thoughts on where to start searching/replacing to get it ready for the 2000 mile trip back?
thanks!

I'm sure it's frowned upon in this forum, but I've had great results with blue devil stop leak.
At the very least, it's worth a shot.

step 1-Power wash the underside
step 2-run it and look for new oil
step 2.5-determine rate of loss (made the occasional x-county trip carrying a case of oil along)

__________________
0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

Oil filter housing, maybe valve cover gasket? Wash engine and re-examine. Only way to know for sure.

How do you power wash the underside? (without a hoist)

I have seen some special attachments for power washers that might work, but never seen one in a store. I have also read that a power washer could possibly damage the undercoating.

It's a lousy job, but I have put car up on ramps and wiped greasy/ oily sections clean using a solvent or Simple Green or whatever I happen to have and a rag.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Both my 300D's usually get a little oil on the underside like yours, despite my best efforts. It isn't enough to leave noticeable drips where I park and no significant oil usage, nor does it hit the exhaust pipe for that "burning rubber" smell (currently our 2002 minivan), so I consider it basically an advantage in keeping the underside from rusting.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Go to the car wash and use the soap wand. Get down on your knees and shoot everything you can see. Then go under the hood and shoot the wand down each side of the trani. That will get most of it.

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1984 300SD turbo 126
"My true love"

God made me an atheist and who am I to question His wisdom

Bring your ramps to the car wash and remove the belly pan at home (if you still have yours).

If you have a membership to Sam's club, in the commercial cleaning supplies section they have a gallon jug of degreaser. It's meant for commercial kitchens but it works pretty good on greasy cars too. Put it in a spray bottle and hit the engine with that first.

Note that some spray car washes forbid cleaning engines so be sure to check for signs first.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

i have an excellent jack that, when used with a block on the crossmember, can get the car in air 3 feet.....pretty easy, although messy, to get the car wash wand under where it needs to go.

__________________
0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

thanks everyone. ended up taking the ramps to the car wash and using the 'engine degreaser' setting and then rinsing it down. it did an alright job...hopefully at least enough to start a process of elimination search.

after driving and parking it though there are no drips now. maybe just 2000 miles of straight driving accumulated enough of a supply of oil on the underside to drip down onto the concrete for a few days after parking it.