OIL

[Matt Crooke]

Coming out to the car this morning, and i noticed every drivers nightmare...a puddle of oil under the car. Not good. After having a really quick look before i had to shoot to work, it looked like the leak was coming from somewhere just below the Inlet Manifold, i was thinking rocker box cover gasket, but it seems lower than this. Anyone know whats down there, as the view is really obstucted without a powerful torch. Plus ive got the engine pan, so i cant see from underneath either. Looks like its a job for the weekend?

any ideas.

thanks

 

[dave elcome]

Can't see anything in my crystal ball Matt, but we could have a "fix our oil leak party"  on the weekend, as mine sprung a leak yesterday!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

We are one step closer to all Mercs exploding in Feb 2002.

see i wasnt lying..its starting already!!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

Ps, Dave, ill expect an invite for the party in the post then.

Magic!

 

[dave elcome]

It could be a "bring a 15/40" party!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

Guaranteed some flash git will turn up with the Magnatec!

 

[dave elcome]

Do you know Matt, when i worked in a garage i believed the oil was free, after all, all i had to do was pull a trigger and my can was filled up, i had a very nasty shock when reality bit, and i had to start buying the stuff!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

Its a pain isnt it. I thought the same about cigarettes when i used to work in a newagents...but then i left and realised that i had to pay for them....not nice at all.

Anyway about the leak, one powerful torch, and a rocker cover gasket later, and the puddle is no more.....

and of course i had fun with the jetwash cleaning the drive up!!

 

[dave elcome]

Matt.

Lucky you, i'm sure mine is a head gasket oil leak, oh joy!! Rather than just get on and rectify it, i had a look at a couple of 300e's over the weekend, very nice but why do garages insist on putting vehicles up for sale without doing all the little niggles that are always present, IE my wife and i go out in a car which they've had in stock since last Sept, only to find that all the seat belts are covered in mould, none of the A/C worked, and it had a semi flat n/s/r tyre. Then the salesman, (read idiot!!) tried to offer me peanuts for mine, saying "All diesel Merc's have been a taxi at sometime in their life", and then got the hump when i told him his offer was derisery.

It's cetainly the last time i will visit them, they claim to be Mercedes and BMW specialists, but the place was full of secondhand 3 series, and lets face it, who wants one of those??

 

[Matt Crooke]

I know exactly what you mean about dealers of any sort. The trouble is, for some reason, they would rather try and sort all the niggling problems out after the car is sold. Surely they would have a much better chance shifting cars if the little detail was sorted before it went on sale.

Maybe if a dealer reads this he could answer the question.

And as for the taxi bit, i would have been tempted to smack the bloke!!! does he realise this isnt Germany?!!!

 

[dave elcome]

Matt

You took the words out of my mouth.

Day off today, so we went and had a look at another example, (300TE),  instantly different approach from the sales chappie, no pressure, answered all my questions, i felt honestly, (makes a change!!), left us free to go for a test drive, and didn't quibble at all when i mentioned it having a couple of tyres "close to the limit", even agreed to renew the spare as it had seen better days. so i'm going to have it, after all as you said yesterday, "money is for spending"

Its a pity the other garages staff aren't as impressive as their web site, but there we go they lost out, i feel i've gained, and i certainly will never waste any time in future with them!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

See, thats all it takes sometimes. I think dealers seem to forget that buying a car involves parting with a lot of hard earned cash, and you want what you have just bought, ot about to buy to be top notch. Most dealers just see it as parting with another 'Unit'!!

I will want a full run down of the new motor of course.

 

[Matt Crooke]

Hows about this for me being totally blind. i came out to the car Sunday morning after a run up to Cambridge to see the outlaws, and guess what....the puddle of oil was back. Needless to say i was in tears on the floor, however after i picked myself up, i decided to have another look (as i thought the rocker gasket had sorted the problem) Low and behold i took the airfilter off, and looked at the oil filter. The last person who had changed it had done it up with molegrips or something and crushed it quite badly... Where the pain had chipped off in the process it had gone rusty over time, and the casing had split....hence the oil would seep out when the engine was running, and drop into the belly pan. One oil filter later, and the problem is solved. And my oili pressure gauge sits happily on number 3 all the time again, where as before it was dropping down to 1 on tickover. How i missed that the first time i will never know.

 

[dave elcome]

I bet you breathed a sigh of relief that it was only a small split!!

Lesson 1, don't let king kong change your oil filter for you!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

Dave.
too right, the filter was in a right state, god knows what Kong was doing when he changed it last!