large oil pan 88 560sl

[mattcara]

hi all


I was just under my 560sl with a flash light, looking for the drain to stop the water leak on my feet from the a/c

and i noticed alot of like black caked oil build up on the oil pan i think

its the large big metal squarish box under the center of the engine.
anyway. what causes this to be like that?

i mean what kind of leak is it? i want to get it stopped and cleaned up

thanks

[rickjordan]

Oil leaks/seapage will cause that. Oil seaping down the enigne from valve cover gaskets, gets down to the pan, the wind blows it onto the pan and it sticks. Since this seems to be the first time you have notice this. I would clean it up reall good and see how fast the build up comes back. This could be from years of minor oil seapage. The oil could be seaping from the oil pan bolt themselves.

[mattcara]

there are no drips on my garage floor. but yes it is all caked up on the pan..


and after a oil change. the guy must have forgotten the washer..

i have 80 miles.. you dont think my gaskets could be bad already?

[rickjordan]

So basicly, you just bought this car. You know another source of grime build up is from the road it'self. Other cars leak oil onto the road and when it rains tha stuff splashes up onto the underside of your car.
As I said, just clean it, brake cleaner or simple green will do the trick. When I got my SL, that was one of the first things I started doing was to clean the underside.

[mattcara]

Rick!

your a genius thank you!

all this time I have been so concerned about the colling system, and its valve gasket leaks..

I just had 2 mechanic appraisals.. and its clear that there is a very slow leak.. and thus! the burning smell i always blame on the cooling fan..

im an arm chair mechanic. but im learning fast.. and on a 560SL!

thank you.. you put 2 + 2 together for me..


Matt

[mattcara]

Rick,

if you dont mind.. what size gasket cover do i have to buy? and how many..



thank you sir....




Matt