Sickmatic

Hello!

I have oil leak on passenger side of motor, it drips on exhaust and smells terrible inside the car. It has new valve cover gasket (changed in local service) and it still leaked afterwards so I took breather cover off yeasterday and put it back with fresh loctite, car was odorless for a while but I just got the smell back. F!! Might be a warped valve cover?? Anybody had that? I took it to a dealer to get it right in a first place, but no, no luck.

CLK 500 2005

__pierce

Do you know if the shop used genuine OEM Mercedes valve cover gaskets during repair? Apparently, most or all aftermarket gaskets are too thin and oil will continue to leak through..

Sickmatic

Yes it should be genuine mercedes part as far as I know.. I'm getting sick of that friggin' smell but I dont want to replace valve cover if it isn't a must, might be quite expensive I think?

__pierce

There's a sticky on the forum with detailed instructions for DIY.. it's not a difficult job, a couple hours and a few beers and you're finished. The genuine Mercedes valve covers are fairly inexpensive and as long as you can turn a wrench and follow the steps you'll be able to do it for next to nothing. AutohausAZ.com will have the parts. Be careful when applying the sealant, there's a right and a wrong way to do it.. This could actually be the issue you're facing now, incorrect application of sealant which has lead to a failure.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ark-plugs.html

Also, you could buy the OEM gaskets yourself and have an indie pop them on.. Much cheaper than the stealership and you won't get your hands dirty.

Rudeney

Definitely get the genuine MBZ gaskets. I replaced mine with the Victor Reinz gaskets and they leaked. I bought genuine MBZ's for about $20 more and compared them side by side - the MBZ gaskets were easily 50% thicker. No problems since that.

Yidney

I doubt the cover is warped. But are you sure the leak is still from the valve cover and not somewhere else like cam plugs? It is not clear if you actually see a leak from the cover, or are assuming it is the source based only on smell.

gixxerboy

there are 0-rings on the back of the head for actuators, they leak often and are mistaken for valve cover leaks, i've done a few of them at the shop.

Rudeney

Are you talking about the cam plugs (left head) or centrifuge (right head)? Those are problems on the M272/M273 engines. They aren't on the M112/M113 engines.

gixxerboy

yes, i've done allot on the m272 engines. doesnt he have an m273 engine? his car isnt an amg, or did i missread something

Bill51sdr

The OP has a CLK 500, not a 550.

Rudeney

Yep, MY2005 CLK500 = M113 engine.

Sickmatic

Looks like I'm getting new cover and gasket, if it isn't warped or something else is obviously wrong when old cover is off I take new cover back, if its possible to return it. Are there some other possible leak points on M113 engine?

Rudeney

You could have a crankcase ventilation problem. When you removed the valve covers, did you also remove the breather covers and clean out their vacuum line ports?