I wouldn't try Teflon tape or glue here. There is probably an O ring inside the manifold that could be replaced. Or if you get stuck I may still have one of these and possibly lines from a 1996 SL600.
Lynn, We have a saying that all bleeding eventually stops and I suppose that it would apply here too as I slowly drip away all of my hydraulic fluid.
Jim, that's funny and scary to those who are afraid of death.....
BTW, I was only kidding about the use of Superglue. Your problem is braking new ground for those of us that have been paying attention to RST problems. But then again this should not be a problem for those of you that are use to braking new ground. Sorry, but I don't have a really good answer for you other than a Google of 'stopping hydraulic fluid connection leaks'.
Many people look to eBay for answers but I'm a fan of Google.
Jim, that's funny and scary to those who are afraid of death.....
BTW, I was only kidding about the use of Superglue. Your problem is braking new ground for those of us that have been paying attention to RST problems. But then again this should not be a problem for those of you that are use to braking new ground. Sorry, but I don't have a really good answer for you other than a Google of 'stopping hydraulic fluid connection leaks'.
Many people look to eBay for answers but I'm a fan of Google.
I had already googled the problem before I posted the question on this forum and the answers were usually additives. However, my understanding about additives is that they may temporarily help worn seals and if you look at the pictures I posted there really aren't any seals. Looking inside the distributor I don't see anything either. The clips cannot be tightened either. In reading through the forum for answers, most of the more experienced people admonish additives as simply temporizing measures. Ironically though, I didn't notice this problem until I flushed my system with new MB hydraulic fluid. Dennis told me to flush my system after he sent me back my rebuilt cylinders and said something "attacked his gloves" as he was working on my parts. I'm hesitant to add anything that might jeopardize my new (rebuilt) cylinders yet I don't want to buy a $200 distributor if there is a simple fix. I also worry that I may have created tiny leaks in other less conspicuous locations although to date all of the cylinders look dry.
In reading through the forum for answers, most of the more experienced people admonish additives as simply temporizing measures. Ironically though, I didn't notice this problem until I flushed my system with new MB hydraulic fluid.
Please excuse the off topic
Yes, and I didn't have any known problems until I was told to try various Statin and Fibrate Rx's like Lipitor, Pravachol, Lopid, Altocor and with each of them I blew up like a ballon due to Edema after about 7-10 days. When I went to a Cardiologist for a Treadmill and told him about these side effects he suggested not to take them from 7/02 through 12/07.
But in the meantime I was diagnosed on 9/07 with bilateral non-arteritic acute anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. We now know why this irreversible damage took place, probably cholesterol related, after two prior misdiagnosis by an Opthamologist in 11/98's left eye and 8/05's right eye of optic neuritis. My question is, are there grounds for a lawsuit due to two misdiagnosis ?
So it wasn't until my current family Doc suggested Zetia that the numbers went in the right direction with NO side effects since 12/07.
All kidding aside. I'm going to call out the forces that may not have read about your current problem. So bare with me while I try and get us a consult.
Vehicle: 2000 Obsidian Black Metallic Mercedes SL 320 V6
Location: Northern Italy near Milan
Posts: 3,211
Lynns I wish you all the luck in the world to solve your health problems and I suggest you to talk to a lawyer to see if there is ground for a legal action. In my humble opinion and from my experience as an insurance professional I see there is some room there. Chris as a lawyer can chime in and give you a professional opinion.
Good luck mate .
Cheers.
__________________
I drive like I stole . . . YOURS
This leak might be unrelated to the MB fluid flush. It is simply an increased pressure in the system after you have all cylinders rebuilt. Personally, I do not trust any glue or tape solutions for this pressure. It is low pressure for a hydraulic system, but high comparing to water facet standard. I have never heard of fixing a hydraulic system with any soft of glue or tape. Glue will not hold in hydraulic fluid. Besides. pressure in such a small opening can be enormous. Teflon withstands the environment for sure, but will still drip under pressure. Is it possible to take the thing apart? There might be a $0.02 o-ring inside that gave up or damaged. Mybe you should try swapping the clips and reassembling carefully?
Quote:
Originally Posted by karas
I had already googled the problem before I posted the question on this forum and the answers were usually additives. However, my understanding about additives is that they may temporarily help worn seals and if you look at the pictures I posted there really aren't any seals. Looking inside the distributor I don't see anything either. The clips cannot be tightened either. In reading through the forum for answers, most of the more experienced people admonish additives as simply temporizing measures. Ironically though, I didn't notice this problem until I flushed my system with new MB hydraulic fluid. Dennis told me to flush my system after he sent me back my rebuilt cylinders and said something "attacked his gloves" as he was working on my parts. I'm hesitant to add anything that might jeopardize my new (rebuilt) cylinders yet I don't want to buy a $200 distributor if there is a simple fix. I also worry that I may have created tiny leaks in other less conspicuous locations although to date all of the cylinders look dry.
Please consider the safety of the other readers and consult the mercedes manual and stop referring to the system as a low pressure hydraulic system. It puts out 200 bar which converts to around 2800 psi. Once the rest of you realize this high pressure is present you will stop the foolish talk about hot glue and tape. Mentioning crazy glue is never appropriate anywhere on an automobile other than a temporary jury rig.
Another point. There is most certainly an o ring in each receptacle. You may see this in the mx manual illustrations or with look down into the part itself.
The copper color is a foreign object and indicates that somebody before you jury rigged the connection. If you look at it closely I will bet it is copper tubing or shim material. The official term for this is: its boogered up!
It will never stop leaking until you replace all the damaged connections.
For the solution, I recommend contacting Potomac Motors and getting them to send you all the plumbing that attaches and the part itself. They have these parts out of several junked 129s and it will not cost anything worth worrying about. They will have to be shown pictures because they do not necessarily know the details of the 129 since they handle all Mercedes.
If that fails, send me an email and I will go out there and salvage it myself.
Another comment was to replace the o rings. Yes, I have removed the little buggers from the actuating cylinders but never found one that needed replacing.
Most likely the shim material damaged this o ring and contributed to the leak. They are very small and probably hard to see. If I locate the correct size I will let everyone know. Use a dental pick to carefully remove and replace. Also use magnification of at least 5X so you can see what you are doing.
I keep hearing about stop leak. Its ok to try it for a get home fix but remove it as soon as possible to avoid long term damage. It only swells the seals temporarily and then they collapse like a balloon with a slow leak. There are too many o rings in the system to risk an early failure and they are not all in the cylinders.
Hope this helps but I hold no great expectations given the difficulties of talking about something that everyone seems to have already discussed extensively.
Thanks everyone.
George, the copper ended line appears stock and even has the Mercedes line number wrapped around it. I know it may have been replaced but interestingly it is not that end that is leaking but rather the other "normal" looking side. I got the rear view mirror and top console off today (not tearing up things too badly) to expose the two lower clips on the distributor and confirmed that they are not leaking. They are dry. I'll see about taking out the whole gizmo and inspect closer.
Jim
Please, consider reading my post carefully before posting comments. I said that the pressure is low "for a hydraulic system". It is a really low pressure hydraulic system according to industry standards. I also said that the pressure is high comparing the typical pressure in the water system, and that is why I think that no glue or tape will hold.
Any hydraulic pump puts out around 2000 psi. If it is lower, it is just called a pump and simply transfers fluid. ANY hydraulic system is dangerous to work on. And one should always use common sense, taking into account that any hydraulic system can crush bones easily. A foot operated hydraulic jack for example can develop 40000 psi pressure. And still called low pressure system by a mechanical engineer. There is also low and high pressure side of the A/C system. And just for your information, if the hose on the low pressure side of A/C gives up, the injury can be fatal. Should I stop calling that size of the A/C system "low pressure" side? These are simply engineering terms, like deep vacuum, or low temperature or high temperature. What is low temperature for you? For me it is something on the order of 0.4 K. For you, it might be 0 F. What is high temperature? For me it is 100,000 K - just where the hydrogen starts to "burn". How about the Sun's surface temperature? It is only 6000 K So, when I made a design for the seals for the MB hydraulic system, I made it for a "low pressure hydraulic system". And that is how it is called! A high pressure hydraulic system is completely different beast! It requires different design of everything. There are some limits of what we can do however. Consider a pressure inside a neutron star, not talking about a black hole On a neutron star, the pressure is enough to push electrons out of the protons! Well, it is different physics, but the in popular terms it OK to talk like that. Now, our high pressure hydraulic systems pales in comparison to this machinery Yet, I'd still call it a "high pressure hydraulic system". BTW, just a disclaimer, a neutron star poses a significant safety hazard to work on it's surface or even within 1 a.u. proximity
BTW, MB manual simply recommends to keep the ignition key in your pocket and disconnect the battery. This should be enough as a safety measure. I can add to this what MB does not say. If you remove the hydraulic line and then push the cylinder piston in, few drops of fluid that remain can form a powerful jet getting out of the cylinder. I would not recommend doing that without safety goggles Be smart, be safe, be quick, be done! Sometimes I miss common sense that prevails in other parts of the world The fire can burn, a tree can kill, water can drawn. If a person does not know anything about electricity, how he/she is allowed to flip the switch!!! Electricity can kill! 120 V is enough to kill. I guess I will see signs "Danger - high voltage system" next to every electrical switch in this country one day! Or, wait, what do we call a "high voltage" in this country? Is 12 V enough? or it is 1 kV ? And remember, V is only the potential drop So, it is not absolute! Charge is. It is actually a charge that kills! So, 20 V can kill - and it is called "low voltage". Will 10-20 kV ("high voltage") from ignition system kill ? I do not know any person killed by it. Why? Not enough current = charge! But I prefer to insulate myself from it and recommend doing so for everyone. It is very unpleasant, and people with heart problems can be at risk as well.
So, please, let me call the "low pressure hydraulic system" by its name. I still call 20 V as low voltage, 0.4 K as low temperature, and only 10^5 K as high temperature For safety information, everyone must read MB manual before even considering opening the hood .. as well as opening the car door, trunk or fuel tank! A door can crush your fingers, hood and trunk lid can fall on your head, and the fuel smell can paralyze breath not talking about bursting into flames! Those can burn! Happy driving guys
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwillie
Belov,
Please consider the safety of the other readers and consult the mercedes manual and stop referring to the system as a low pressure hydraulic system. It puts out 200 bar which converts to around 2800 psi. Once the rest of you realize this high pressure is present you will stop the foolish talk about hot glue and tape. Mentioning crazy glue is never appropriate anywhere on an automobile other than a temporary jury rig.
Another point. There is most certainly an o ring in each receptacle. You may see this in the mx manual illustrations or with look down into the part itself.
The copper color is a foreign object and indicates that somebody before you jury rigged the connection. If you look at it closely I will bet it is copper tubing or shim material. The official term for this is: its boogered up!
It will never stop leaking until you replace all the damaged connections.
For the solution, I recommend contacting Potomac Motors and getting them to send you all the plumbing that attaches and the part itself. They have these parts out of several junked 129s and it will not cost anything worth worrying about. They will have to be shown pictures because they do not necessarily know the details of the 129 since they handle all Mercedes.
If that fails, send me an email and I will go out there and salvage it myself.
Another comment was to replace the o rings. Yes, I have removed the little buggers from the actuating cylinders but never found one that needed replacing.
Most likely the shim material damaged this o ring and contributed to the leak. They are very small and probably hard to see. If I locate the correct size I will let everyone know. Use a dental pick to carefully remove and replace. Also use magnification of at least 5X so you can see what you are doing.
I keep hearing about stop leak. Its ok to try it for a get home fix but remove it as soon as possible to avoid long term damage. It only swells the seals temporarily and then they collapse like a balloon with a slow leak. There are too many o rings in the system to risk an early failure and they are not all in the cylinders.
Hope this helps but I hold no great expectations given the difficulties of talking about something that everyone seems to have already discussed extensively.
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