Hi all, I'm trying to trace an oil leak on my SRT6 coupe, and would appreciate some advice please.
Oil drips accumulate around the lower half of the oil pan - 80% on the left hand side of the pan as you look from the front of the car. It accumulates slowly and mainly on the left of the plastic splash guard under the engine.
I have had the car on ramps and run the engine hot, but can't get oil to drip. Is it possible it leaks only randomly or when the car is in motion?
The drain plug has no oil around it, and I cannot see a leak from the pan gasket nor oil sensor. The pan itself seems intact.
In terms of traces of oil in the engine above, there is none on the areas immediately above the oil pan. There is no oil from valve covers or breathers.
To complicate matters,
1) About two months ago, I could see oil dripping from the oil cooler and replaced the seals. That leak stopped.
2) I then saw oil dripping both sides onto the manifolds, but the air intake blocked my view of where it came from. The gaskets had been replaced by a mechanic about 18 months earlier. I ordered valve gaskets etc to replace them. In between times, I installed the Needs Wings SCAI, and discovered that the leak I had seen each side was no longer happening.
I've attached some photos in the hope someone has seen a similar pattern and where it comes from.
My guess is that I should replace the valve cover gaskets and reseal breathers anyway. They could be leaking from the side I cannot see, against the main block. It will be a first time job for me... big but straight forward?
Thoughts please!

 

"They could be leaking from the side I cannot see, against the main block"
I'd try to sneak in there with a telescoping small mechanics mirror and a flashlight or try and get your phone in there to rule out the breathers and valve cover gaskets.

 

It might be your oil level sensor, if most of the oil is on the left side as you look at the front of the car. I just replaced mine a couple of weeks ago. Here's a link to the post that I did: Oil Level Sensor Replacement
The picture below shows mine before I replaced it. I held my phone up there and took the picture and saw all of the oil around it. Take a look at yours and see if you have the same trouble. It's not very hard to replace them.
Good luck!

 

Hello,
My case was because of power steering oil reservoir tank o-ring. Dripping point is under the tank as your picture.
Good luck~~!

 

Thanks Hindin, I'm going to have to do this after I take it out on a run. I can't replicate any dripping while in my garage, but I can smell it from time to time on a run.

 

Thanks ku95. I checked: the reservoir is damp and dirty underneath, and perhaps crucially, the level is at minimum. Also, I can see "wet" spots in a descending line of tubes underneath it, possibly where it drips or the serpentine belt throws it. But there's nothing apparently wrong with the connection between reservoir and pump. Certainly not with the main front seal either. I will change the o-ring anyway. Special request: Can you point me to where you got the part, or the part number?

 

Thanks M60A3Driver, I checked my sensor and the area is pretty clean - the sensor certainly is. It even looks relatively new (I bought the car 2-3 years ago). So it's not that. Sigh.

 

I had a slow leak at the power steering pump and it went away by tightening the hose clamp.

 

Thanks Zeracer. The only hose clamps I see are on a short pipe connected to the reservoir. The connections are not oily or dirty. But the clamp screws still had a turn left in them, so they are now tighter. There's an oil and dirt smear on the underside of the reservoir, and hoses directly under it and the connection to the pump have damp-colour patches. That points to a possible leak from the seal, so I've ordered one. I guess when I remove the reservoir to replace the seal, I will get more of an idea about the possible source.

 

Hi there, it turns out there were multiple leaks, and you're right... the last one - I hope - is indeed a leak from the oil level sensor. I will try this myself, but can I ask: in your case it was a faulty sensor - could my sensor be okay but just needs reseating, sealing, tightening or something similar? My sensor looks quite new. I guess if I'm going to the trouble of opening the oil pan, I might as well replace it. Could you please link me to the part you got.

 

@M60A3Driver has a thread for all he has done on his Crossfire but I cant find the "oil level sensor replacement" posts on his thread

 

@HumanMode Hi, I got mine from ebay for $89.00 Mercedes part number is: A275 905 00 00. You might be able to get it at your local dealer.
Here's the link to my detailed post when I changed mine: LINK - Oil Level Sensor Replacement
Removing the lower oil pan is the hardest part of the job because it is really stuck on there. They used a sealer instead of a rubber gasket. Just take your time and you can do it.

 

Thank you - much appreciated. It's about the equivalent cost here in NZ - although none are the OEM. I've asked the crossfire forum if I can just replace the rubber o-ring on the part of the sensor that goes through the top of the sump. What do you think?

 

I would replace the whole sensor. People have replaced the o-ring and the sensor still leaked.

 

Thank you, I'll do that.