Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

Oil Filter Housing Failure Point - 3661802510

12K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  mjfreshyfresh 
#1 ·
Hi Guys,

Over the last 2 years we have had 5 failures of these oil filter housings. Not a huge data set, but definitely something that we would consider a problem area.

One photo is after cleaning prior to startup. Second photo shows the hairline crack. Four the 5 failures we have seen were in this exact same location. The housing is aluminum and welding the crack successfully is very difficult.....

In the recent failure, truck was running for about 1500 miles. All dry for about 1000 miles. Drivers noticed a slight oil leak coming off the housing. The progression from small drip to large puddle was rather rapid, especially when the engine is running at temp.

Part Number - 3661802510
Gasket - 3661840180

Cheers,

Scott
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#2 ·
Hi Scott, just checked my housing and it doesn't look like that. I assume from the part number that it is something on the OM366 engines only. Mine has 352 184 1408 cast onto it.

Mine is really close to the chassis - around 12mm away, could it be the engine is moving and the filter hitting the chassis causing the crack? An evidence of impact on the dead ones?
 
#3 · (Edited)
It appears to be used on numerous engines. The EPC shows it is used in both the 353 (352) and 366 models. Attached is a picture of the replacement unit which obviously has been reinforced with ribbing considerably so I am guessing MB realized the failure issue with them. I'll post up a complete shot of the failed unit once it gets changed out.

Have not noticed any witness marks to indicate the housing is coming in contact with anything. Looking at the design you do have a considerable amount of weight hanging off the bolts....

Cheers,

Scott
 

Attachments

#4 ·
Scott,

Excellent info and pictures, thanks.

Does the replacement part have a different part number? (I know you posted the part number and gasket number, but actually stamped into the unit) Usually an updated part like that would have a newer number would it not?

When I go into the EPC for my truck, it lists that as the housing for my truck, but it doesn't list a newer, updated part number for replacement (as it does sometimes when a updated part is available).

What's the cost on a replacement housing and gasket? Might be worth changing, just in case :D
 
#5 ·
I'll pull the casting numbers off both the old and new on Monday and post them up. I may be mistaken, but I think this is a case where MB redesigned the part and kept the same part number.

Currently the complete housing runs between $300-400 and the gasket runs between 25-35. Not an inexpensive item.

I will say all of the failures have been with the "smooth" casting that does not have the ribs on it.

I'll update the thread when I get all of the photo's/info.

Cheers,

Scott
 
#6 ·
Hello.

I've recently joined this forum and what a goldmine of information it is.

We have had exactly the same fault on two of our unimogs and rather than trying to repair the old part, we bit the bullet and replaced the whole unit as pictured in Scott's post. As he says, it is a rather expensive part but hopefully it should last a long time with all that extra metalwork there. There was no evidence of any other damage to the housing so I think it may be years of vibration exposing a weak point in the design.

It was this updated version that the EPC listed for our unimogs so I assume Mercedes knew of the flaw in the older version hence the redesign.

I've just gone out to check the part numbers:

Old version: 352 184 14 08

New version: 366 184 09 08 (don't think you can get this on its own though)

Complete new unit with filter bowl: 366 180 25 10

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Ross
 
#7 · (Edited)
Very interesting, mine has only three bolt holes, and the new part would probably sit and an angle based on Scott's photo as the two bottom bolts are in a straight line.

Is that what your new one does Ross? I have a cut out in the chassis around the filter head to give it some clearance, The U1250 chassis has a dog leg just at the spring support and is about 100mm narrower at the back.

Does it take a different filter Scott?
 
#8 ·
Hi Iain,

The new filter housing sits vertically exactly like the old one. In Scott's photo, his finger is covering up one bolt hole. The hole that he is pointing to and the one immediately to the left of his finger are blank.

The chassis on our U 1300L's are straight so it can be a bit of a pest to fit.

I use exactly the same filter in both old and new versions. (366 180 08 09)

Regards,

Ross
 
#10 ·
Any idea what kind of hours on those machines that have failed (just for data purposes), or are they all EX-BW 1300's? (those don't have hour meters right?) I checked my truck last night, same housing, ~9000hrs on the motor, no crack or leaks (yet).
 
#11 ·
Is the metal of a type that can take a weld? Just wondering if those who have that type can pop a few beads of weld in the area in advance as prevention
 
#13 ·
Thanks for pointing out what I missed.
...The housing is aluminium and welding the crack successfully is very difficult.....
While welding the "crack" has been said to be difficult the question still remains... is it plausible that one could weld an aluminium bead to act as a rib to help prevent a crack BEFORE it happens.
 
#14 ·
I will try to answer the questions raised in the last few posts. Hopefully they will be understandable!

coachgeo;

I think a precautionary weld would be extremely difficult to execute successfully. As far as I could tell, the crack originated from the bolt hole so to add a strengthening weld but retain the machined face for the bolt head to butt up against squarely would be quite a challenge. My local blacksmith just laughed when I asked if the old housing could be repaired.

tkv000;

Our unimogs are all Ex BW U1300L's so no engine hour counter unfortunately. However I remember that one housing failed at approximately 200k kms. The other failed at around 350k kms. I don't know what that would be in engine hours but I would think its quite a lot.

krisinak;

We are a small beekeeping firm and we use the unimogs to go round checking our beehives. We also use the unimogs to move our hives from crop to crop and find them perfect for getting in and out of fields and travelling off-road in the mountains and moors to get to the best heather sites. Hopefully there should be a photo of the fleet attached.

Regards,

Ross
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Awesome! Thanks for the pic, oddly enough, my neighbor is a beekeeper, and I have to keep pulling his guys HINO out of the mud when they get stuck every spring ;) I'm going to show him this picture :)

Scott, were all your seen failures EX-BW units as well?
 
#17 ·
tkv000,

Maybe your neighbour needs to invest in a Unimog....? That said we have got spectacularly stuck a few times in recent years.

Ours always turn heads whereever we go in them, particularly if we have two or three travelling together. They are ideal for the work we do with them plus, when they are not needed for work, they are great fun to play about with off-road! Or through flood water after all the rain we have had here...

Regards,

Ross
 
#20 ·
Just to update the thread with a couple better pictures and information:

Casting # Old = 3521841408
Casting # New = 3661840908

Visually it is very easy to tell the difference between the 2. As far as I can tell both parts were sold under the 366 180 2510 part number. This might be an issue if sourcing a surplus unit, as you might get the old style. If sourcing new from MB they are only delivering the newer style.

Cheers,

Scott
 

Attachments

#21 ·
just to clarify....... it is the corner hole that cracks appear at right? ...

If so someone with no cracks yet, they might should consider adding some triangulation to their old unit similar to that MB has done? Unless the cost is no different than just buying a new one.
 
#22 ·
I have a '90 1250 L with OM366A and had the leak at approx. 4400 hrs. When I changed it the replacement was a take off from a donner motor. Old unit had 352 on it and appeared OK when cleaned up. Donner part had 366 on it and is as Scott posted. Until reading this thread I believed the gasket was the culprit. And yes it is a pistol to work between the frame and part.

E.W.L.
 
#23 ·
Back to basics

Having worked with German stuff throughout my career, I cannot help but thinking that it might be worth reminding ourselves of the basics. In this case, have the bolts been religiously torqued to specification ?
My manual, that deals with the 355, lists the bolts as M10 and the torque at 60NM. More importantly would be that they be tightened exactly the same as this will prevent distortion that might actually contribute to premature failure. Just a thought I considered worth throwing into the mix.
 
#25 ·
Just to help people like me looking for information in the future, the new updated part fits the narrow frame Unimogs as well!

No one I talked to was 100% sure, but I installed mine today after my 1988 U1250 broke in the same spot Scott was talking about. About 115k miles and around 9k hours was when it happened for a point of reference. OM366.

For future reference with mine the front motor mount had to be undone and the motor tipped up to access the one bolt that is blocked from coming out by the frame. Lifting it up a few inches clears it easy.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top