1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. Big oil leaks.

[juular]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

This was a good day and the Mot result was not expected and I had already bought new wheel bearings since I was sure some of them would fail but they didn't so they will have to be shelved until later. And the oil leaks to the rear axle need to be fixed in the near future but since money is a little tight this fall I will wait until next year.

And after the MOT I meet @juular and @MrsJuular in the village and they really are the nicest people I have ever met and I really enjoyed meeting and talking to them. So with this and the MOT result, this is my best day this year without a doubt.

 

And I got to try a exotic new thing today also.

It was so nice to meet you at last.

We enjoyed your stories of driving in the snow, camping in your 740 and dodging moose on the roads.

The Mercedes is a truly stunning car. 

Norway is the most amazing place in the world. Truly sad to be leaving tomorrow. 

Till next time..

[juular]

2 hours ago, dome said:

Congratulations on the MOT pass and meeting some shiters of the finest order.

Although, if they were really good they'd have brought you some square sausage too. Maybe next time...

Only authentic local breakfasts for us in the Netherlands.

Germany. 

Sweden.

[ETCHY]

Every time I see that Mercedes it looks cooler.

Mercedes were (imo) very special cars back then.

[dome]

16 minutes ago, juular said:

Only authentic local breakfasts for us in the Netherlands.

Germany. 

Sweden.

Well, I guess @Dyslexic Vikingneeds to jump on a ferry then to the land of square sausage and round people 

[JakeT]

1 hour ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

The only thing I can think of that is called Villa and is a drink here is the one below which is a soft drink if that right and that is what Americans call a Soda.

And from what I can remember, this is quite similar to the Scottish one in taste.

That’s the one! I really like it, close to Irn Bru, but also not quite like anything else on sale. A great Norwegian curiosity.

[hairnet]

Mmm norge

Mmmm merc

[Matty]

8 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

that I was sure would fail were still within spec.

Ask no questions kid. God moves in mysterious ways 😁

 

(Brilliant result by the way 👍)

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, juular said:

It was so nice to meet you at last.

We enjoyed your stories of driving in the snow, camping in your 740 and dodging moose on the roads.

The Mercedes is a truly stunning car. 

Norway is the most amazing place in the world. Truly sad to be leaving tomorrow. 

Till next time..

This place, you wouldn't have met otherwise, I guess - maybe you might have gone somewhere else?

[juular]

7 hours ago, High Jetter said:

This place, you wouldn't have met otherwise, I guess - maybe you might have gone somewhere else?

We had no plans except "go to Norway" but thankfully the stars aligned.

What a country.

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

Like many locals, I may not think much about it because for us this is completely normal, but I realize when I talk to foreigners that Norway is quite special.

And as the Juulars found out, Norway is not as expensive as some people make it out to be. Just think and plan a little and it's fine.

And great pictures @juular .

[Dyslexic Viking]

A couple more weeks have passed and there's not much to write about. The weather has been bad so there hasn't been as much driving as I would like, but this weekend has been nice so I did a little over 2 hours yesterday and a 4.5 hour round trip today in this which went without any problems. And noticed today that at the highest points the leaves have started to change color and the fall colors are starting to come so fall is coming early this year.

 

And this one met a younger relative today who is probably close to its equivalent today.

[hairnet]

norway oof

 

[mercedade]

On 07/09/2025 at 14:31, Dyslexic Viking said:

A couple more weeks have passed and there's not much to write about. The weather has been bad so there hasn't been as much driving as I would like, but this weekend has been nice so I did a little over 2 hours yesterday and a 4.5 hour round trip today in this which went without any problems. And noticed today that at the highest points the leaves have started to change color and the fall colors are starting to come so fall is coming early this year.

 

And this one met a younger relative today who is probably close to its equivalent today.

When your car is photographed alone, it looks so stately, serene and really quite large.

Plonked next to an anonymous modern Estate, it suddenly looks so much more diminutive.

[Dyslexic Viking]

While in town today I got spare keys made for this one. And the one for the boot lid works fine and the one for the door and ignition works fine in the door and works in the ignition but I'm struggling to get it out of the ignition. Has anyone experienced something similar? Old key is fine.

Edit.

With advice from a member here, I have adjusted the new key a little and it is now better.

Edited September 23, 2025 by Dyslexic Viking

[Dyslexic Viking]

On Wednesday I filled up on diesel and it had used 54.95 liters in 873km, which is around the fuel consumption it has been during my ownership.

And with the weather getting worse, this was put into winter storage today. 2053km covered this year which makes the total mileage in my ownership now approximately 4906km. This year it has also been very reliable and quite problem free, the biggest thing was replacing the fuel tank, but it started leaking last year, but I misdiagnosed the leak last fall, so it's actually a problem from last year. So the only new problem this one has had this year is a leak on an axle seal.

And this one doesn't need any work done this winter so this thread will probably go quiet until spring. And finally, thank you to everyone who has read, commented and reacted to posts here this year. I appreciate it.

[Missy Charm]

On 23/09/2025 at 14:26, Dyslexic Viking said:

While in town today I got spare keys made for this one. And the one for the boot lid works fine and the one for the door and ignition works fine in the door and works in the ignition but I'm struggling to get it out of the ignition. Has anyone experienced something similar? Old key is fine.

Edit.

With advice from a member here, I have adjusted the new key a little and it is now better.

Sometimes one just needs to find the right key cutter.  I had tremendous trouble with an old Orion, many moons ago; the original key was fine but there was only one and wanted a spare so had a spare cut off the original key.  Did the new key work?  No.  Got someone else to cut a new key.  Did that work?  No.  

In desperation, I telephoned the second-hand dealer who had sold me the car and he gave me the name of a mobile locksmith.  Without much hope, I arranged for the mobile man to come round and have a go.  He arrived, checked the Orion's locks and pronounced them worn and then cut a key using the machine in the back of the van.  Said key was then fettled, fitted, re-fettled and fitted again and, eventually, certified good.  Did it work?  Yes, absolutely reliably for the rest of the time I had the car.

The mobile key cutter was on the wide side and, I suspect, more than capable of opening any car, house and, most likely, safe in England.  He really knew what he was doing, though.

There are key cutters and people who really know locks.  

[vtec-e]

Spotted today in the suburbs of London. Such a rare sight

 

I dont know if the boot was full of lead weights or the engine was removed, but the front was much higher.

 

[Surface Rust]

2 hours ago, vtec-e said:

Spotted today in the suburbs of London. Such a rare sight

 

I dont know if the boot was full of lead weights or the engine was removed, but the front was much higher.

 

Lovely colour combo too.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Had a check on it today and everything is fine. It is spending the winters in a heated garage with a dehumidifier as it deserves.

In about 2 months it will be on the road again, Looking forward to that.

[Dyslexic Viking]

This was woken up after it's winter storage now and had been sitting for 6 months. It started instantly and is running perfectly.

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

The next thing is to give it a service and getting it ready to hit the road again.

[hairnet]

hhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

 

also nice barn

[Dyslexic Viking]

After letting the engine run a bit to get up to temperature, I drove it back into the garage and let the engine cool down a bit before starting an oil service.

Quality oil and filter were used but the oil I used earlier has disappeared so I have switched to this Motul oil which smells very strange but that probably doesn't matter.

 

The oil filter on this one is a challenge, it's hard to get to and laborious. But I got it out and in this time without too much trouble. And the oil pre filter is quite full of oil sludge as earlier.

 

And after a lot of cleaning, the oil pre filter got clean and ready for reuse.

 

And after cleaning the oil filter housing and oil filter spring, everything was put together with a new oil filter and o-ring and installed on the engine.

 

After that, the oil was changed and the engine started and let it idle until warm again. Before starting today, the engine had other maintenance done, such as checking the air filter, oiling the water pump and flushing, and putting in new oil in the diesel pump. And with all this, the engine is serviced. The next step is to press new grease into all grease nipples, check and quickly clean the brakes, check the diff oil, etc.

[Popsicle]

I love this time of year, two important things happen, DV's beautiful Merc comes out to play and the clocks go forward.

[Dyslexic Viking]

A little update. It was an early spring this year but the weather has been terrible so even though they have swept the roads this one hasn't been on the road yet. But hopefully it will be within the next week. And maintenance has been done and I have gotten a new oil fill cap / air filter for the diesel pump which was among the last thing that needed to be done.

[hairnet]

*dribble

[Dyslexic Viking]

The roads are now clean and today dry so it is time to take this one out for its first drive of the year.

The battery was flat and wouldn't accept a charge so it's dead not surprising as it came with the car and has been through hell. Luckily I had the new battery from the Vivaro so thrown it in and it started instantly and the first drive of the year went without any problems.

After not driving this for 6 months, I was quickly reminded how much I love this car, it just drives so well and is such a nice place to be.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Nice to be able to use this again. A little over 170km covered today.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Needed a new vet vac/vacuum cleaner and some other things so an 80km round trip to town tonight.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I'm considering whether I need to stop driving this one much as it's struggling with oil leaks now. The rear axle leaks a lot at the front towards the driveshaft and leaves a puddle of oil on the ground. The axle seal in the brake drum has started to leak even more and after driving today there is a puddle of oil inside the rim that runs down over the tire.

The oil leak on the timing chain tensioner on the engine seems to have gotten worse and it now has a larger oil leak on the upper oil pan/sump on the engine which means the car is wet underneath with engine oil. And I'm not sure if this is possible to remove with the engine in the car and all the bolts are torx that sit so close to the oil pan that I'm struggling to get a tool on them.

A upper engine oil pan/sump on these.

From from below.

 

From above.

 

These cars are a bit more complex than the average 1960s car which is a bit frustrating in times like these. The rear axle is not normal either.

So some thinking about the plan going forward needs to be done and I think I need to find help, but finding someone  that knows these and has the willingness to work on it is probably not easy. But I have joined Norway's largest Mercedes Benz club to hopefully find help.