W210. Interesting point on eng. Oil leaks.

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

hi everyone, this post may save others the confusion i just experienced with an engine oil leak. my car is a 97. e300 td. 7 seat. est. i have changed my oil and filter many times but on a recent occasion i had an oil leak at the top "o" ring seal on the filter bowl, i lost one litre of oil in a couple of days and 120 miles. following replacement of the seal i was still not sure that there was not another source of the leakage eg, rear eng. crank seal ? another week past and 100 miles and there was no puddles of oil on my driveway, so thought problem solved. i then had to raise the rear of the car to work on my suspension, the following day my puddles of oil were back on my driveway, i then figured out what had happened, the engine plastic/ foam base covers had soaked up the oil leakage and then it had run out when i elevated the back of the car. i left the larger of the covers standing on a drip tray, i was amazed to observe at least a litre of oil seaped out over a 24 hr period. it also follows that if you do get an oil leak it could be some time before you see the stains on your drive way. herbiemercman.