dawhitak

My 1996 C280 (120,000 miles) has an oil leak from the front right of the cylinder head gasket. I can see a slow drip, drip, drip when the engine is running, and I regularly see a small pool of oil underneath the car when it has been parked - 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls. It's been the same for all the time I've had the car (about 5,000 miles), not getting any worse. No coolant apparent in the oil, everything else seems OK. The MB dealer quoted £1,100 to fix. I would welcome some advice - should I have it done right away lest it progresses suddenly to something much more serious, or can I leave it until I can (a) afford to have the work done or (b) can't stand the dripping any more?

dawhitak

Answering my own question....I was told that most 280s leak from this point, 'cos the oilway is only an eighth of an inch from the edge of the gasket, and not to worry because you can buy a lot of oil for the price of a gasket replacement. Which is likely to go the same way in any case. Anyone agree/disagree?

heckflosse

I've heard of head bolts stretching, which could cause the same effect. Unfortunately it's supposedly a big job to get them replaced so would imagine the oil/cost reference has some meaning here aswell. I would say however if left, when you next take it for an MOT it to give the engine a good degreasing with an agent such as Gunk for example.

KurumaGOD

THE DEALER IS BS~~!

Here comes my story:
Last time i brought my car in had em deal with the check engine light...and i was told that there is a oil leak from the head gasket... And they told me that they have to replace the whole gasket and ****...and it will cost me around 1000 bucks just like how much u were quoted for...and of course i didn't let em do it... Then i went to a local gas station which they also do oil change and stuff...and i told them to check if theres a leak... Guess what they found out? the oil was actually leaking due to a loosen bolt below the engine...they just tighten it and the engine never leaks again...

Personally...i think the dealer did that on purpose...and bs about everything which pissed me off so much that i swear i'll never bring my car in again...so be smart...good luck...

regardz,

k-god

narci

Most likely it's a head gasket. Ask anyone with a W202 and they will tell you they had the head gasket replaced at least once.

Do a search on other boards for headgasket and you'll know what I mean.

I had a head gasket problem as well, lucky i got it fixed wile my car was still warrantable.

narci

Oh, bring that issue up with the dealership, maybe they will help ya out cause it's a known fault with w202's.

bamberger_1

as long as you early enough refill the lost amount you are not jeopardizing the life of the engine. However one more question- is it V6 or inline 6? the inline 6 have all the tendency to leak oil on the upper front cover of the engine block. Due to the air blown across the engine it's quite hard to locate the exact leak position. This is easy to fix and not expensive at all. Just remove the valve cover and the distributor and replace the gaskets of the upper front cover. I dont know about V6 at all.

KurumaGOD

Yep its a inline-6...and it all seem to be ez to fix but its the part and labor thats making it tougher to do... Like i said...my headgasket was not the one causing the leak when i got it fixed...or maybe thats just an excuse that every dealer brings up when theres a leaking problem? Well...who knows...anywayz...

regardz,

k-god

DougandhisC280

There was a factory defect in the earlier head gaskets on w202's. If you get a head gasket from the dealer now it will be the updated one. I had to do it a year ago and now it is fine.

KurumaGOD

Hmm...is there much of a difference between the earlier headgasket for the w202 and the updated ones?

regardz,

k-god

DougandhisC280

The old head gasket had a weak point at where it started leaking after around 50,000 miles. The new gaskets were re-designed to last longer.

suginami

The head gasket design on early M104 engines was bad. The M104 engine (2.8 liter and 3.2 liter) was used in the C-class from '94-'97, the E-class from '93-97, and the S-class from '92-'99.

The usual places where they leak is at the front of the head at the "C" shaped area it meets the timing chain cover.

The other place is at the right rear corner (passenger side) of the head gasket.

If your engine is leaking as much oil as you say, I'd replace it soon.

Just know that this problem is incredibly common on these M104 engines.

Also, the new headgaskets have steel inserts that prevent them from leaking. Trust me, your head gasket will never leak again.

C280 Jr.

I dont know what is wrong with my car but tha thing leaks like crazy ever since i went to the dtmpower meet. I need to get that fixed.

Elvir

IQguy

Bought today C 280 1996 with 43K real miles. It has oil leak. Read about possibilities that very likely head gasket v/s something simple if engine is inline 6. Few questions. Any help appreciated.

1. How to know V6 or inline 6 engine?
2. If Head gasket what is the max cost at dealership? any ideas?
3. Should I first go to local mechanic or dealer?

DougandhisC280

Your engine is Inline 6

I was quoted 3000 at dealer

Go to whomever you trust most. Some independent shops are better than dealers.

suginami

I would take your car to an indendent that specializes in Mercedes.

The average indy would charge between $1,400 - $1,800 to do a head gasket on an M104 engine.

IQguy

After reading posts on this thread, checked my C 280 to find it has the following.

1. Maximum leakage is at a bolt level that is on the driver side of the engine underneath. I cannot see a drip as engine was idle when I checked.
2. No pool collected on idle car. AFter driving over 100 miles had seen 5 spots under the car on the parking spot.
3. Coolant is clean. No oil in coolant.
4. Do not smell burning oil, but after car running when I come out of car do smell oily stuff.
5. No smoke from exhaust.

Question is:
Does this mean bolt tightening is the likely cause ?
Or replacing the valve gasket after removing distributor?
I do not know where is the head gasket. Is it on the passanger side of engine? How do I locate it?(please pardon ignorance - learning from this forum)

suginami

Even though you see the oil dripping from a bolt on the driver's side of the engine underneath, it could be coming from anywhere up above. The head gasket is the seal that is between the engine block and the head. Head gaskte failures do not usually result in coolant mixing with the oil like other engines. You wouldn't get smoke in the exhaust as the oil leak is not internal.

You also might not see much oil on the floor because your car has a plastic cover underneath the engine that collects all this oil.

Next time you have your car in for an oil change, either at the dealer or an independent that specializes in Mercedes, have him look at the oil leak and get their opinion.

paste

I bet this was happening to all the inline motors. A big reason why they stopped making them and now I am changing a gasket for the M111 4 cylinder in my C230 and am wondering about Mercedes trying to reintroduce the I6 motors in Europe. Hopefully they have made changes to the gasket as the "kit" that I got from Mahle shows a date from 2018 making it 20 years newer then what could possibly be in my car. So my question might be if Victor Reinz was the OEM supplier as that is what I found in my car and also on the kokes.net guide. Mahle also owns VR which I did not find out until recently as well.

Xavier Lonbue

At what mileage did you have to replace the head gasket on your c230 im wondering because mine has 114.500 miles and im suspecting head gasket. There is a lot of oil in the back cylinder by the firewall and also the second one from the front of the car. I have only 3 engine codes p0300 multiple cylinder misfiring and p0302 p0303 misfires on cylinder 2 and 3 codes. Maybe I need coils and also be on the lookout for head gasket failures is my first thought. I changed spark plugs and nothing happend but they needed to be done so. Any helps tips and advice or insight on your cars mileage id appreciate.

paste

I changed it at 190,xxx and it has stopped leaking oil on the ground since. However, it still has a weird fluctuation at idle when the A/C is off and I suspect it could be an ignition related problem as well. You could look in the coolant to see if there is oil in it (mine had it), do a compression test, but it is most likely on its way out if it is leaking back there because that is where mine had the worst problem.

edit* my car does not currently throw any codes but the idle bothers me like mad