Mercedes: 82 300D MAJOR oil leak, valve cover gasket, drain pipes

Question
I have an '82 Mercedes 300D (turbodiesel) that is dropping a quart of oil every 200 miles. The oil is all over the passenger-side of the engine block and even drips back down the length of the exhaust pipe. The air filter has some oil in it as well. We are going to pull the valve cover off and replace that gasket, but it seems like more oil than could be coming through the valve cover gasket. We cannot see much of the engine, since the turbo is in the way. Help! -Eric

ps-It is running on vegetable oil, but I don't think this has anything to do with the problem.


Answer
Air filter housing has an oil drain tube (with O ring) attached to bottom.
When the O ring fails, you can coat the entire bottom of your car from that alone.

Here are links to other possible issues:

Replacing Seals on Turbo Oil Drain Pipes
http://engine.articles.mbz.org/diesel/seals/

W126 OM617 1985 300SD turbo drain tube gasket & seals
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?p=799062#post799062

Minor Lesson Learned - Air Cleaner Bracket
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?p=1001435#post1001435

Jumpy air filter housing
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?
p=1001435#post1001435

Heat shield OM617 engine mount
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?p=873875#post873875

Bad engine mounts
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?p=868339#post868339