Hi,
New to this forum and am hoping that someone can offer some words of wisdom!
I own a W203 (2004, facelifted) 220CDI Auto, and noticed smoke coming from the bonnet whilst driving a few days ago, stopped and discovered that a fair amount of oil was splashed around the filler cap on top of the engine cover, and had also leaked down underneath it. Not sure whether the cap was loose, whether the cap seal has failed or whether there is a leak from somewhere else that resulted in oil ending up on top of the engine cover.
Despite the efforts of a local garage (was away from home) to clean the engine, a fair bit of oil had run over the engine and was not removed. I was assured it ought to be fine to drive home and that the engine might smoke a bit while it burned off.
Drove the 60miles or so home, no problems or burning smell despite a fair bit of motorway driving. As I was about 2 miles from home in stop/start traffic I noticed smoke from the engine again. It seemed to be worse when I was in D but stopped at lights etc with my foot on the brake.
I made it home and opened the bonnet - I couldn't see any fresh oil splashes or leaks, but quite a bit of thin smoke was coming off the engine when I removed the engine cover (perhaps best described as being equivalent to steam coming off a freshly poured cup of tea!).
I'm thinking this must either be the remants of the oil from the first leak, or there is a more serious leak that I can't see. Checking the oil level using the dashboard function (no dipstic) says 'Oil Level Ok'.
I'm due for a service anyway - my question is, given the smoke coming off the engine but the indication that oil level is ok, do you think I'll be safe to drive about 30-40 mins to my local MB specialist to have the engine cleaned, checked and serviced?
Any help appreciated!
New to this forum and am hoping that someone can offer some words of wisdom!
I own a W203 (2004, facelifted) 220CDI Auto, and noticed smoke coming from the bonnet whilst driving a few days ago, stopped and discovered that a fair amount of oil was splashed around the filler cap on top of the engine cover, and had also leaked down underneath it. Not sure whether the cap was loose, whether the cap seal has failed or whether there is a leak from somewhere else that resulted in oil ending up on top of the engine cover.
Despite the efforts of a local garage (was away from home) to clean the engine, a fair bit of oil had run over the engine and was not removed. I was assured it ought to be fine to drive home and that the engine might smoke a bit while it burned off.
Drove the 60miles or so home, no problems or burning smell despite a fair bit of motorway driving. As I was about 2 miles from home in stop/start traffic I noticed smoke from the engine again. It seemed to be worse when I was in D but stopped at lights etc with my foot on the brake.
I made it home and opened the bonnet - I couldn't see any fresh oil splashes or leaks, but quite a bit of thin smoke was coming off the engine when I removed the engine cover (perhaps best described as being equivalent to steam coming off a freshly poured cup of tea!).
I'm thinking this must either be the remants of the oil from the first leak, or there is a more serious leak that I can't see. Checking the oil level using the dashboard function (no dipstic) says 'Oil Level Ok'.
I'm due for a service anyway - my question is, given the smoke coming off the engine but the indication that oil level is ok, do you think I'll be safe to drive about 30-40 mins to my local MB specialist to have the engine cleaned, checked and serviced?
Any help appreciated!