96 C280 Rear Oil Leak
 

Hi,

Noticed a small puddle of engine oil under car. Looked under car and the oil appears to be coming from the rear of the engine and leaking down the front of the torque converter housing on the passenger side. Is this yet another problem associated with the head gasket?

I also have a small leak in front of the engine next to the alternator. This is not the leak that is causing the puddle.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Can the rear oil leak problem be addressed by 15 to 20 degree retorque of the head bolts, or is that approach a total waste of time?

Any small leak will tend to migrate down to the bottom of the block and then along the pan rail and drip at the back, since that is the lowest spot on the engine. You should be able to identify transmission oil versus engine oil by the color.

You need to carefully inspect the engine top to bottom to find any suspect leaks.

If the engine is real dirty, clean it with Gunk and then keep inspecting as you accumulate some miles. Start with the cam cover gasket and work down looking for leaks.

Duke