I have had a small amount of an oily substance leaking from a hose under the right rear corner of my 2005 Roadster. Can anyone tell me what it is coming from?

Thanks!!!

 

You have to be willing to do some work, or take it to an independent European shop and let them do the work. In the right rear of the car there is the fuel pump, a fuel filter and a filter canister under the plastic covering you see when looking under the right rear; Of course there is always the possibility that you have a leak in the brake line. That last is unlikely if you feel no difference in the brake peddle. Can you tell what the fluid is??

 

Top still work? Possible it's the rear cylinder leaking into the r/r of the car?

 

Mine had a leak also. The seal in the top pump had gone bad and damaged the pump. I also found that 5 of my top cylinders were leaking.
a new pump and a redo of all cylinders and no more leaks. I had the work done at Sunbrite auto works in Tampa by the stadium. Not cheep ,but Mr.Murphree has been in business over 30 years at the same location. He and his people are Mercedes top experts. If you give them a try..I can get you back to the Villages.

Sunbrite auto works
3924 west crest ave.
Tampa ,Florida 33614
813.873.9816

 

The fluid is coming from a 3/8" ID rubber hose that exits right behind the tire. The fluid appears to be motor oil? Not sure where the line is coming from. I will need to pull that panel and maybe the rear wheel. It hasn't leaked much and has appeared to have stopped. I can't see any top cylinders leaking and the top works fine.

 

Passenger side behind the tire? The drain for the gas cap area empties right behind the right rear tire.


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Sounds like a potential source of the problem to me. I doubt that there is a rubber hose drain line for the hydraulics on the roadster's top. I don't own a roadster, so others that do can chime in on whether there is a drain line for the hydraulics.

For drainage to be occurring that feels "oily", possibly fuel treatment additive that spilled during pour into gas tank. Or possibly a gas tank cap not fully seated or unable to seat when tightened (e.g., defective gas cap). I'd start checking along these lines before I decided to pursue having the top's hydraulics serviced. Sunsetseeker - Do you use fuel treatment additive in your XFire?

 

The rubber tube fuel fill overflow is a direct line from the filler well to the wheel well exit. In the roadster you can put the top half up. With the tonneau cover open, you can reach in and feel the rubber tube all the way down next to the fender. I had a problem where water wasn't draining from the filler after I washed the car. Tried running a chase and it wouldn't go thru so I had to get it all apart. Turns out the drain hose was kinked and tucked up in the wheel well and pinched. Straightened it out and it hasn't been an issue since. I brought the car home from Arizona so it may have been built that way, it looked like it. Little rain in Arizona and everything evaporates so fast. From what I could see it sounds like as dedwards 0323 said, may be fuel additive, even fuel overflow. Open your gas filler and pour some water in your gas filler area with the cap on of course. It should drain straight through. At least you will know if it's clear and narrow that area to the source of the ":stain" if it comes out in the same area or not. If it is the same area I wouldn't worry about it and wait for a re-occurrence. Keep an eye on it.

 

If you add a fuel additive or fuel system cleaner to your gas, I would recommend getting a Capless Fuel Funnel to reduce the likelihood of spillage when pouring additive into the gas tank. You can pick one up at most Auto Part stores, eBay or Amazon. I have one primarily due to the fact that my 2012 Ford Fiesta has a "capless" fuel filler which seals by a very strong return spring which prevents suction from the fuel tank opening the fuel fill line to atmosphere . This funnel can be inserted into the opening and keeps open the fuel filler line so any additive can be poured in. Also allows fuel additives with larger spouts to be used due to the funnel on the end of the device.

 

He says oily so I imagine it is not gasoline, maybe it is hydraulic oil seeping out from around the gap between the gas drain and the fender and running down the outside of the drain hose.
Gasoline would be just a temporary leak when filling the car and even that is hard these days with the new gas fillers with the auto shut off.

 

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All good ideas, hope the OP comes back and tells us what he/she found!


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