I have a persistent, and according to my mechanic, difficult to isolate oil leak coming from my engine. He thinks that it might be coming from the dipstick tube, which apparently has some sort of O-ring at the bottom. He is running the UV dye in the car today to hopefully identify the leak. He does not believe that it is coming from either the head, the valve cover, or the oil pan gasket. Do these engines have a propensity to leak, and if so, is there a common source? Also, is there any truth to the rumour that German cars do tend to leak oil more than a Japanese car? Thanks.

I have seen them leak often from the area of the front upper timing covers and the valve covers. (m119) Also in that area are the cam advancers, they will leak at the sealing surface as well.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
300E
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM
OWNER OF MB AUTOWERKS .COM

Although this thread is old, I have discovered a similar leak in my car. Has anyone ever seen a leak from the base of the dipstick tube? Is this as easy a fix as it looks?

Thanks, Dave