Robert Schrader

Over the last few hundred miles, my 2004 coupe has been getting noisier up front. When I got out of it yesterday, there was a smell of burning oil. I asked the computer to check the oil level. It was 1 quart low. I added one quart at the next gas station.

I took it to a local mechanic - not a dealer - who I sort of trust. He put it up on the rack, looked for about 10 seconds, and said that both head gaskets were leaking. He checked with his computer for a few minutes and then quoted me $453 to replace them and add oil.

So, I have 3 questions:

1) is that a reasonable price? ( Yes, I intend to get other bids, but I'd like to hear what other people have paid. )

2) What are other possible sources for leaks? And which is most likely?

3) Is it that obvious? Car a good mechanic really make a diagnosis that fast? Or is he BSing me?

Thanks
RS

Song

My car has a fuel smell once (it is M271). took it to a dealer and they changed a gasket. Total cost was ~120$CAD and the smell is gone.
Cheers,

LILBENZ230

Congrats but this has nothing to do (at all) with the OPs question.

OP:

I'm not a mechanic, but I was quoted much higher than that to replace seals on a Honda. Based on that, it would seem a fair price - but again, this is anecdotal and you'll need something concrete. But wouldn't a head gasket leak be leaking coolant into the oil, not oil out? I've seen a thread here about the M112 3.2L V6 having an oil leak around a certain pump.. damn I can't remember what it was.. but it wasn't difficult to replace. Let me look around and see if I can dig that up.

LILBENZ230

Here you go:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ing-cover.html

Maybe this will help!

holycaoAMG

^ thats the valve cover gasket. My m112 3.2 was leaking on both sides of the valve gaskets. Had them replaced around ~$500.

Robert Schrader

Thanks, guys!

TemjinX2

I agree with libenz230, its probably the valve cover gasket. There known to leak. I would try just tightening the torx screw for it first. There known to come loose over time and leak oil.

Try that first since thats free. I got both of mine replaced for $250 in so cal.

Glyn M Ruck

It's the captive crankcase ventilation covers that leak. Read Tru's thread.

james90755

Gee... my 03 C320 is in the shop... dealer says valve gasket is $950 to change out... oh please.

I like the tighten the screws idea... it will give me time to research regardless...

anyone know the torque spec for these bolts?

battl3ax3d

Hey all, I've been reading through a lot of material on the site for awhile, and I've learned a lot both reading, and getting under the hood. I see this was posted like 6 years ago, BUT I am sure I won't be the last one to see this post and wonder how the story ends, so I wanted to share what I've learned.

Basically, I am way too cheap to pay someone $250+ per hour to fix something just because Mercedes makes it, so I turned to the internet and popped my hood.

As far as these Valve Cover Gaskets go, they are not terribly DIFFICULT to replace, but it is time consuming.
-Basically, you pop the hood, remove the air filter/intake covers to expose the engine, and then remove the spark coil packs (x6 on my 2002 c240).
-Pull spark Plug Wires out of spark plugs (in order to access the hex bolts, and a good time to check the spark plugs if you've made it this far)
-Remove valve cover (which includes an attached recirculating cover)

Boom, there is the exposed valve cover gasket (one per side).
Regarding time and cost, removing all of that took me approximately 45 minutes, including figuring out the right tools, best approach, and reading guides/videos, which tells me a mechanic could easily get in there in less than 30 (and i can in about 15 now that Ive done it a few times).

The parts themselves cost about $70 for a pair of the gaskets.

SO, the bottom line is that if you have the time and tools (8mm socket, extension, and the hex screw to get the spark coils off) you can do this job yourself. If you don't want to or can't, then please figure out what the labor cost would be for MAYBE 90 minutes of work and $70 in parts.

Thanks for all the info from before, hope this helps anyone out there still wondering if the price tag is fair.

-Battl3

battl3ax3d

If you do this replacement yourself, they don't make gaskets for these covers, so you need the rubber compound/gasket maker to do it yourself. I did mine when i replaced the head cover gaskets and it was super easy.

quip11

battl3ax3d, Just wondering. Did you take off the valve cover first before taking the smaller recirculating cover off? OR did you take the recirculating cover off FIRST while the valve cover is still attached, then took off the valve cover after that. Thanks!