Major oil leak. help/advice needed

[rumbo76]

Hi guys
Just bought a C240 sport off of a work friend. long story short i bought it because it is immaculate inside and out and only done genuine 85k with all mercedes garage service history.
it developed quite a serious oil leak which is why he sold it. the oil leak is definitely coming from the front of the engine as the oil is leaking onto the auxiliary belt and spraying all over the engine bay, its not a trickle either its proper pissing out.
before i steam clean the engine bay i was just wondering if there are any common problems that could be the issue, my plan as it stands is to steam clean the engine bay fill her up with oil start her up and see where the leak is coming from. is this a good strategy?

[vaspen]

yes actualy that is a good stragity just wear a mask lol its more than likely a gasket that blew I would pick up some indian head gasket seal as a temp eather orange tube or brown bottle but try the tube one

[RemoLexi]

I would advise against any gasket sealer as it can clog and cause more issues instead of doing any good.

C240 V6 M112 leaked pretty commonly at the oil pressure test port front of the engine, right below the oil filter (same housing) it's a cheap part.

Also common is people not replacing the O-rings on the oil filter plastic housing as well.

[vaspen]

I meant that as in just lightly on the outside if u needed to take it to a mechanic for short haul not as a perm fix n actualy gasket sealer can be used properly
(to do so I dab both sides with it away from the center of the gasket completely around it making shure not to use too much of it )

[Sulaco]

I had similar situation on my C43, with the M113 V8 (front of engine is identical to M112 V6).

I had 2 very bad leaks.

One: the oil cooler gaskets. The metal housing the oil filter resides in. Undo the 4 hex bolts holding the 2 pieces of it together, replace gaskets. Cheap, easy fix. Remove air pump for easier job.

Two: the really bad one. Previous serpentine belt shredded. A length of belt got wrapped around the crank pulley. Torque of the engine pulled it in so tight, it shoved the crank shaft seal back into the engine, resulting in (like you said) a really awful oil leak that I could not locate. Indy mechanic found it for me.

Front engine oil leaks on all M112 or M113 engines are at least one of the following:

Oil cooler gaskets
Oil pressure test port (beneath oil cooler)
Crank shaft seal behind crank pulley/harmonic balancer