Oil / Diesel leak on the Merc (NLC)

[Sanjøy]

Noticed a fdew whisps of smoke from the bonnet at the traffic lights today. On inspection there appears to be some form of oil/diesel leak just under the turbo on the Merc. Looking at the undertray it may have been on going for some time as it is wet and has spots dripping down.
Checked the oil with the automatic thingybob and all okay. Thoughts before I head to Western Mercedes ?





Cheers

SP

[thinfourth]

Thats oil as diesel isn't quite as sticky so it tends to clean instead of getting covered in crap.

Its either air from the turbo which contains a wee bit of oil most of the time or its one of the oil pipes going to the turbo.

I would just keep an eye on it before throwing cash at it.

But it could be something nasty about to happen to the oil feed to the turbo.


personally i'd see if you can get a better looky with a mirror

[Sanjøy]

Some macro pics






Needs 180 rotation

[r055]

yup somfins leakin

[ryallm]

Oil leaks are a pain in the ass - they can be anything from very cheap/easy to fix to an engine out job depending on where it is coming from. Just a thought, but are there not any good independent Mercedes specialists in Edinbugh which would be a lot cheaper than Western Mercedes? What about http://www.deutschmarque.co.uk - never used them but they seem to have a good reputation.

Curious to know how reliable the Merc has been generally. I have always quite fancied a big old E class estate barge, but have heard very varied reports on reliability and running costs.

Mark

[Sanjøy]

Oil leaks are a pain in the ass - they can be anything from very cheap/easy to fix to an engine out job depending on where it is coming from. Just a thought, but are there not any good independent Mercedes specialists in Edinbugh which would be a lot cheaper than Western Mercedes? What about http://www.deutschmarque.co.uk - never used them but they seem to have a good reputation.

Curious to know how reliable the Merc has been generally. I have always quite fancied a big old E class estate barge, but have heard very varied reports on reliability and running costs.

Mark

TBH do not mind chucking some cash at it as I have covered 20k in the last 11 months and am 1600 miles from a service. Apart from that and some hesitancy to start when cold we love the car.
I guess it is the piece of mind I was after what with it being a big complicated beast with lots of sensors etc all over the place that need reset @ service time hence the visit to Western. Not doing it for resale. Might shop around and see, cheers for the heads up on DM as I thought they only did sales.

SP

[Neil72]

See :

http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... es#p166033

I done a bit googling on this at the time and Deutschemarque seemed to take a fair slating in terms of std of workmanship and cost. Unless you're feeling particularly flush and fancy burning some serious cash I would avoid Western and take a trip West to one of these specialists

[Sanjøy]

Turned out to be a high pressure diesel leak on three HP fuel lines 3 OEM pipes and a OEM belt that was getting pissed on, £260 inc VAT from http://www.lochrinautos.com/
Dropped car off Friday morning @ 08:30, called by 11 to tell me the fault and the costs, called Sat 13:00 to say the car was ready.

Guess I can expect better mpg

[r10crw]

We have a 2001 which I imagine is the same car and engine. I had it in bits recently and all the HP fuelines were on the inlet side to the engine not beside the turbo, have a good check over it when you get it back. Just so you are aware mate, cheers Craig. Just realized you got the car back already

[Sanjøy]

We have a 2001 which I imagine is the same car and engine. I had it in bits recently and all the HP fuelines were on the inlet side to the engine not beside the turbo, have a good check over it when you get it back. Just so you are aware mate, cheers Craig. Just realized you got the car back already

Will have a look, could the fuel hitting the belt have sprayed it ?

[tuscan_thunder]

Possible-bearer-of-bad-news-faction:

Could be 2 problems here: the fuel lines could be one part but that definitely looks like oil in your pics.

If you can get a hose off and spin the turbo with your hand, that'd be a good idea. Does it use engine oil?

If it doesn't use engine oil and you can spin the turbo's shaft easily without any scuffing and the shaft has no play in it, I'd be inclined to leave it.

You could run a socket over everything to check things are all tight just in case

(The cold start issue will probably be resolved with the new fuel lines).

[Sanjøy]

Possible-bearer-of-bad-news-faction:

Could be 2 problems here: the fuel lines could be one part but that definitely looks like oil in your pics.

If you can get a hose off and spin the turbo with your hand, that'd be a good idea. Does it use engine oil?

If it doesn't use engine oil and you can spin the turbo's shaft easily without any scuffing and the shaft has no play in it, I'd be inclined to leave it.

You could run a socket over everything to check things are all tight just in case

(The cold start issue will probably be resolved with the new fuel lines).

Cold start issue has indeed gone. Worried now ref the turbo as driving to Brighton on Saturday. I will clean it up and tighten everything.

wonder if AA P&L class a turbo as exhaust system ?

[tuscan_thunder]

if it hasn't been using oil, it's likely to be ok.

if it is using oil, then the first thing to be starved of oil will be the turbo. You would likely notice if it was damaged as it would/should whine under load. if you're gentle with it in terms of not revving it hard when cold and letting it idle for a wee minute after a hard run it will likely be fine.

[tuscan_thunder]

did it make it to Brighton?

[Sanjøy]

1005 miles and made better mpg, 39.6.

After 4 hours it felt like the turbo was not kicking in. Stopped, check oil nothign. Got a coffee, tested it and all okay. Problem never came back.