droc112

hey guys is there any known issues with the cl600s or 500s havin a oil leak problem? im seein a oil on the ground and it looks like its getting worse

s5benzo

what year is your cl600? im guessing 01-02? the 500's have a bullet proof motor, the non turbo v12 had some serious oil cooler issues. the oil cooler plate sits right in the middle of the engine between the cylinder heads. this is probably what is leaking. this is a very common and really expensive repair because the heads have to come off. not a rare issue if you have a n/a v12. the part cost around $300-$400 ...but the labor is in the thousands, this job is very labor intensive as the top half of the motor comes apart. if this is an 03 or newer the biturbo motor is way more reliable compared the non turbo, but could have oil line from turbo leaking or the oil cooler...which was better placed and designed on 03 and newer. let us know what you find out, goodluck

droc112

hi thnx 4 the insight i have my cl at the shop as we speak and it turns out my leak is comin from a head gasket its leakin from the top of the motor in the back and runnin down the the side of my trans

s5benzo

Droc any updates on what the problem is ?

droc112

yea bruh its comin from my head gasket...waitin 2 hear what that tab is gonna b......yo have u heard of anybody having a head gasket put on?? i know i heard of the oil cooler goin but this leak is up top and i seen where it is

s5benzo

its strange that they found the head gasket leaking. thats not very common. the oil cooler on the non turbo motor sits between the heads ...thats very notorious for failing and causing massive leaks. the heads come off to change the cooler, so i suggest if theyre replacing the leaking head gasket(s)....best change the oil cooler plate for preventative maintenance. this is a very costly job...i think at least like 4-5 thousand with parts and labor depending on where the work is performed. from what your describing i think its the oil cooler leaking but i could be mistaken. take care of it be4 leak becomes massive. goodluck , keep us updated

droc112

hey sfive should i tell him to change the oil cooler also since he already have to take the heads off? will the cooler be right there once he take the heads off

s5benzo

I'm guessing your car is an 01- 02 600 right ? If its the non turbo motor than yes , the oil cooler sits exactlyin the middle of the heads . Oil cooler is a known failure, I would change it.

saintz

I've seen a lot of valve cover leaks, but not head gasket leaks. Head gasket normally means coolant in your block, which means white smoke and foam/yogurt when you open the oil plug.

droc112

ok cool thnx! i'll keep u guys posted...also one more thing s5 where can i purchase the oil cooler besides the stealership....lol...and is there anything else i should change while he has the motor open?

droc112

also s5 u dnt think its the head gaskets? plus i dnt c any smoke and it aint no yogurt like stuff in there...i dnt believe it is i think its the oil cooler also!

s5benzo

Parts.com lists an oil cooler for your 600 around $308.00 . Replace head gaskets anyway since heads are coming off , valve cover gaskets etc... whatever is preventative maintenance that is easily changeable while all taken apart just change .... Goodluck , keep us updated

grane

+1 check the valve gaskets first and replace these since your engine is older. Good advice for all engines. Just this and all the breather tubes replaced with plugs on my113 v8. Mileage is already up 15%!

If your in there do the oil cooler and replace those hoses!

saintz

The V8 valve covers leak a lot. You can normally just tighten them back down. It's only if it's really leaking or keeps leaking after you tighten that you need to replace them.

sknight

That sounds horrid, and frankly, disappointing. The prices charged and this nonsense continues.

grane

At 104 k miles I figured it was prudent to replace the plugs, the vcgs and the hoses. Keeps the nasty oil away from the expensive spark packs. Inexpensive maintenance if you do everything at once. And have a good inexpensive indy.

droc112

Well fellas the silver surfer is finally done...oh and it was the oil cooler like i suspected..i changed the oil cooler..valve cover gaskets...head gaskets..lower intake gaskets...timing chain and assembly..all spark plugs..thermastat..water pump..all seals...and then on top of that my tech went to do a test drive and noticed that my trans wasnt shifting right did a diagnostic and it showed that my tcm was bad..yo this car is really f%ckin expensive!! this is like havin a new motor...if one more thing go wrong its outta here! oh i 4got 2 mention this job ran me around $5000! pray for me guys...

SLCL

Was your car the turbo or NA (what year model)? Talking about bad luck! No wonder these cars are dirt cheap nowaday

droc112

its a 2002 non turbo

droc112

my bad cl600

kfillhart

Here are some pictures when I tore my V12 down last winter. !FUN, FUN, FUN! If anyone attempts to do this on their own, as I did, I'll be happy to give some tips and tricks on how to make the job a little easier and less painful.
Expect 30+ hours to do this from beginning to end

RGDetroit

Hey , I was reading this thread and at the bottom it states that some one could offer the tricks to getting this completed on my own. Any assitance would be greatly appreciated. I did not see what or where the cooler leaks from. Is it a complete remove and replace or does the small rubber gasket fail? Need help!!!

kfillhart

You have to buy the whole oil cooler.
What happens is the oil cooler is made in 2 pieces and the rubber gasket between the two pieces leaks. The cooler is located in the middle of the engine where temperatures get very hot. Over time the rubber gasket gets dry, brittle, and shrinks allowing oil to leak between the 2 pieces of the oil cooler. Mercedes will not sell just a replacement gasket they only sell the whole oil cooler assembly.

RGDetroit

Has anybody tried to reroute the oil lines away from this cooler to an outside or external hung cooler and not repair the engine mounted cooler? Does oil enter and exit on top or does it travel into the motor on the bottom of the cooler? Seems pretty straight forward to eliminate the issue or am I being stupid??

kfillhart

It would probably be hard to reroute and put in an external cooler. The 2 hoses on top of the cooler are breather lines. The oil enters and exits through the bottom, you can see where in the pictures of the engine with cooler out.
Another issue with relocating is there is coolant that runs under the cooler too. Better off replacing it or making your own gasket. If you make your own gasket I would recommend putting the cooler in water and running air into to test for leaks. It would suck to do all that work and it still leak. Getting a new cooler is safe bet. I have never heard of the new cooler leaking again but that's not saying it hasn't happened.