I have an 89 300 SE and it tends to leak on the passenger side of the oil pan near the front. It's not a bad leak but I want to fix it. Is anything more involved than just dropping the pan and installing a new gasket? Could this be a front seal? Thanks for your help in advance.

 

clean it first with carb cleaner, then observe the source of the leak sfter 3 days to be sure.

 

Thanks Sleepwalker, I cleaned it and it is definately the pan gasket. Do I have to lift the engine to remove the pan or will it drop down enough to clear the suspension member? Also would there be enough room to just lower the pan and clean the old gasket and replace it that way? Thanks again for your help.

 

we have two kinds:

1) there is an oil sump only. it's the whole thing assembly.

2) there is an oil sump, and oil pan on the lower part, a two separate component which is easier.

i will assume yours is the first one.

the easiest way is to remove the front springs first, the lower the front axle partially. this will prevent you fro doing any damage on the engine parts, hoses, pipes, etc.

there is no way you can change it without a reasonable space, since the oil pump suction extends right down to the bottom! i have tried it several times to save time and effort, but i goes banana. now i have learned.

you may need to detach things such as steering coupling, left drag link with steering damper, lower torsion bar bolt, and that body ground (have your radio code ready... just in case).

pull it all out..it's just the same thing and work to do.

 

Well, I took this car to the dealership to get it fixed. The pan leak that I thought I had turned out to be a timing chain cover leak. They fixed that but there is also a head gasket leak at the rear of the engine and it real expensive to fix. The mechanic said that most MB inline six's leak there in time. They said to just change the gasket is not advisable and that they needed to redue the head with guide seals and bearings. You all think that sounds reasonable?

 

just make sure he is really talking about the cylinder head gasket leak, and not the cylinder head COVER gasket.

the valve seal is very reasonable, but the bearing depends on findings. too much play on bearing can reduce the oil pressure for lubrication.

take a look at the babit... if the copper color is not visible, just have them re-torque it to proper tightness.

 

Hey Sleepwalker
Whats a "babit" ?
According to my local mechanic I may have the same problem. I discovered oil had leaked on to my garage floor from the front right side.... but my mechanic said its coming from the back of the engine (97 e320).
Hey Buck - what did you finally do ?
I just bot the car and it only has 67 k miles...... Any oil additive fixes ? It leaks about 4 or 5 drops a day (so far)
Help, need sound advice

 

it's our slang for the teflon/coating on the bearing that makes it more slippery. it also means the contact area.

 

BigFP, I am just going to have to live with it. Mine is not too bad, Just a few drops at night. The mechanic says it will likely cost $2000 to fix it. I have always found them to be trustworthy. He says that they used to just fix the gasket but he said that about 2/3rds of the jobs came back in 6 months so they just fix the valve guide seals and all at that time. My car is an 89 and that's about half of its value so I will just add oil once in awhile.