oil leak on fortwo

[SmartFella 0]

i am wondering if any of you fellas have been experiencing oil leaks....mine seems to be coming from the front of the engine, you can't really tell where its coming from when looking from the top of the engine....i have a few pics i have taken and emailed to the dealer...this car seems to have had more issues than most...but im in it for the long run

[Duck 16]

Yeah - my transmission casing is just doused - but on the back side (not the front). But it has even more oil on it than yours. Has been from early on, and in my case it's coming from the turbocharger inlet pipe (I think - it's all overflowing there at the seal where the return tube meets the intake tube of the turbocharger), from all the oil that is getting sucked out of the top of the engine. I hate it, because I know it's clogging my intercooler... But that's how the engine is designed, which is crap.

(maj is down otherwise I'd show you a picture)

-Iain

[cappytanjack 0]

When mine looked like that it was output shaft seals which were still covered under warranty. Yours definitely looks like it is above the output shafts. Are you still under warranty? If so, make an appointment. The only other suggestion I have is to check your oil level regularly to ascertain how much you are indeed leaking.Cappytanjack ...

[Duck 16]

...aha! I wonder if that's what's happening on mine, in conjunction with the overflow from the turbocharger intake/crank case ventalation tube. :: goes to have a look ::-Iain

[Francesco 71]

Yeah, Duck, mine was both seals and the oil return on the inlet pipe. All squared away and no "oil use" since the last change 7800 Kms ago (before that I think I "used" almost a litre between changes).

[SmartFella 0]

the dealership....they said it was a chafed hose from the turbo...just from those pics, they diagnosed the problem....it will be going to the dealer this week, will keep you fellas informed.

[Duck 16]

My concern is that there should be NO oil leaking around the turbocharger intake hose... because there shouldnt' be that much oil going in there!! If it's leaking out, that's a huge issue, I think - because it means it's sucking gobs and gobs of oil out of the crank case ventalation tube. Horrifying!

Edit: Crap. I just looked. I'm nearly 100% positive that one of the two seals that goes around the half-shafts on the transmission casing is shot. This has been like this for YEARS. I bet my transmission has no oil in it - or at least, it's down to the level of the bottom tangent of the half shaft I'm going to go change the transmission oil tomorrow night or the next, and see how much comes out. :( :( :(

It has been shifting *very* roughly lately and I know it's not my clutch actuator (I can "feel" it). crapCRAPCRAP.

That said, this forum has proved useful once again - without it I would never have considered that the seals around the shafts could fail, spraying oil out!

-Iain

Edited August 11, 2008 by Duck

[bilgladstone 13]

I'm guessing intercooler pipe, SmartFella. How's you boost?Bil

[SmartFella 0]

I'm guessing intercooler pipe, SmartFella. How's you boost?Bil

im not sure...i have no boost gauge....what should i look for?? spoolup speed??i have a broken back, so im not really able to explore this car as i would have liked..

[SMRT EH 0]

I have the same type leak the dealer said its the intercooler. I think it was caused by over filling on the last B service to much oil is note good. I sucked out 1/2 a liter to get it down to mid the stick. Oil has been running down ever since. Not much though, I check the oil regularly and don't top up between oil changes.

[SmartFella 0]

all fixed....the service manager said "It was the turbo inner cooler, it was rubbing and caused a leak"

[bilgladstone 13]

Note that there is a spot where potential severe chafing will cause a leak in the i/c pipe that leads to the intake manifold. A shielded wiring cluster crosses this pipe and engine vibration makes it rub away a weak spot in the pipe.

This picture shows a simple fix: zip-tie the offending ribbed shielding away from the i/c pipe.

Have a look at yours - some are not touching but some are really wearing away a big hole!

Bil

[Speedie 4]

This is a known issue by smart - good smart centre's look after it when your car goes in for service - mine was done at the last service - then we have a good smart centre out here.Cheers,Cameron

[stellair 0]

The oil seals on my turbo have leaked for the past 60,000. It is a known issue with Mercedes and the cases where they have serviced under warrantee do not indicate a turbo failure. Sssooo, I've saved my money, leaked on many roadways and await the failure of the turbo before parting with the money.Upon picking my car up on Tuesday, I've spend $16,641.72 in maintenance and repairs ($.104 per klm) since new, not including rental car costs while the fortwo is sidelined. I've saved a barrel of money on fuel, but spent any savings on higher maintainence and insurance costs.Ken

[MikeT 747]

Man that is B-A-D luck, sorry to say but you have a bit of a lemon.I've spent $3200 on services and the failure of the clutch actuator since getting my car 100,000 km ago. So in the next 60,000 km I guess I can "look forward to" spending $13,400 more? ;)Not unless I am very, very, VERY unlucky! I could buy several rebuilt cdi engines and new turbos from Germany for that amount!

[Speedie 4]

the Wet Coast is a lot easier on cars - the island more so - your results may vary.It is rare to see a 10 year old car back east - out here sort of the norm (heck the interiors are usually even still in good shape - not too many 30+ days) - conditions out there with the driving style required, road conditions, salt, cold/heat extremes really take their toll - and of course there is the luck of the draw too with some cars having issues and others not.Cheers,Cameron