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Hello everybody! Have not been here for a while. For a good cause, of course. Car runs great! (knock on wood)
Winter is around the corner, so I would like to make sure that my car is ready to go entire season w/o need of service. Any service.
Done oil change myself yesterday and.... noticed excessive amount of oil on the bottom of oil pan and surrounding stuff. Please, review pics.
I know, valve covers have bad design. Previous owner have been changing them every 4k miles at his Mercedes shop (private, not a dealer). No wonder why so often, they put those cheap Victor Reinz things. While i don't have any excessive oil on covers, drips or messed up exhaust manifold, YET, I notice that gaskets are wet and oily. So I have to replace them ASAP before big mess starts. Seems like an easy task to do. I already found Mercedes-Benz gaskets and ready to buy. But I also read that it advisable to replace breather hoses too. Do I need all of these or small fittings will be overkill? http://www.ebay.com/itm/201397176453?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Is it reasonable price?
What else will I need for that project? I believe I don't need any sealant for valve gaskets but I do need for breathers. Is it true? If yes, could you specify?
Why do I have a leak mess on the bottom? Last year I didn't have any. I lost 1qt of oil since last year.
I am not sure about any of your other queries, but if you haven't done so yet, get a bottle of degreaser on and spray in and around everywhere, rinse off and check again after a while, and then see if you can see its source.
The most common source of oil leaks on this engine are the valve/head covers. If that's your problem, and if you use Victor Reinz gaskets, they will continue to leak. You need to use genuine MBZ gaskets. They are about 50% thicker and will be a permanent fix.
As I said before, I didn't use them personally, previous owner's shop did. As result, they suck big time. I will use Mercedes-Benz ones, of course.
I already found Mercedes-Benz gaskets and ready to buy.
Could you verify that no sealant required here?
I need more extensive help on breather tubes. I don't know anything about them. And anything else I should look into while doing covers.
I'm not doing plugs anytime soon since car has only 49k on it.
Once again, as I said earlier, valve gaskets don't drip oil. They are wet, but no oil accumulation on them. Everything below them has no evidence of oil drips. Being so, that mess is not from VG. Maybe rear main seal? But I got no knowledge about it whatsoever.
Pull that rectangular rubber "door" closest to your engine and stick your finger in there and rub it along the bottom of the bell housing. If it's all oily in there, then it's your rear main seal.
No sealant is require (nor should any be used) on the valve cover gaskets. You will need to use black RTV to reseal the breather covers. A good valve cover job involves removing the breather covers and cleaning them and their vacuum hoses and ports thoroughly. Clogged breathers will result in pressure build-up in the crankcase which causes oil leaks.
Even if the valve seals are just slightly damp, the pressure in the crankcase can cause a lot of oil to spit out at higher RPMs, so this could be the source of the oil. But, it could be something else, too, such as a bad rear main seal as Yidney suggested. I'd do as Sailorben suggested and clean everything thoroughly, then find the source.
Pull that rectangular rubber "door" closest to your engine and stick your finger in there and rub it along the bottom of the bell housing. If it's all oily in there, then it's your rear main seal.
Could you be more specific? Honestly, I have no idea what are you talking about. Could you specify the picture? Thank you!
No sealant is require (nor should any be used) on the valve cover gaskets. You will need to use black RTV to reseal the breather covers. A good valve cover job involves removing the breather covers and cleaning them and their vacuum hoses and ports thoroughly. Clogged breathers will result in pressure build-up in the crankcase which causes oil leaks.
1. Any black RTV reseal will work?
2. How to clean breather covers?
3. Vacuum hoses.. are those from my eBay link?
4. Do I need new hoses only or fitting as well as shown in eBay listing?
5. Thank you!
The access door Yidney is talking about is the black plastic thing in your photo here - the one closes to the engine:
Any black RTV will work. If you are OCD, you can buy the genuine MBZ part for this, or, the usual parts shops (autohaus, rmeuropean) sell their brands.
That breather hose kit looks like the right thing. You may or may not need all of that. It will just depend on what breaks when you do the job. These rubber and plastic parts can get very brittle with time.
Yep, those are the covers. They allow access to the bell housing, where the torque converter is located. If you have oil inside there, then it's most likely the rear main seal leaking.
I checked the pictures you posted and they look exactly like mine a couple of months back. It was the rear main seal on mine and once changed, no more oil was dripping.
I checked the pictures you posted and they look exactly like mine a couple of months back. It was the rear main seal on mine and once changed, no more oil was dripping.
Good luck!
Oh boy, I really had a hope that this is not going to be a case.
Did you do it yourself? How long did it take you? How complicated is it?
Yep, those are the covers. They allow access to the bell housing, where the torque converter is located. If you have oil inside there, then it's most likely the rear main seal leaking.
Oh boy, I really had a hope that this is not going to be a case.
Did you do it yourself? How long did it take you? How complicated is it?
Great! Thank you!
My MB-certified mechanic friend did it. It cost us $50 for parts (Cranshaft Seal and Transmission Pump Seal). Mind you I have the M112 V6 engine with the 5-speed 722.6 transmission while you have the M113?
It took him 4 hours to get it done because you have to uncouple the transmission from the engine in order to access and replace the seals. He said it's complicated enough, but shouldn't be a problem for an MB-familiar mechanic.
I live in Beirut, Lebanon so the labour cost was $150 all together.
Well, it sounds like a huge and expensive project. It doesn't leak that bad, yet, so I will hold on to it. I bet it close to $1k for repair in the US. Definitely won't do it myself.
Yes, I got M113.
Well, it sounds like a huge and expensive project. It doesn't leak that bad, yet, so I will hold on to it. I bet it close to $1k for repair in the US. Definitely won't do it myself.
Yes, I got M113.
Yeah, it's not a DIY job unless you have a lift. Rodney dropped his tranny while laying under there, but that's a job I'd pay to have done. Not all that technically difficult, but at bit like trying to dress an elephant in a phone booth.
Tell me know about breather cover now. I believe it is only one. Right?
How do I know if I need to clean one? Seems to be such a PITA...
I will have to disconnect breather hoses for valve gaskets change anyway, won't I?
Yeah, it's not a DIY job unless you have a lift. Rodney dropped his tranny while laying under there, but that's a job I'd pay to have done. Not all that technically difficult, but at bit like trying to dress an elephant in a phone booth.
Haha that's a pretty good analogy. I would definitely pay to have this done as well...in the absence of a lift.
Pulled cover and took a look. Breathers are bone dry, RTV is visible and small bolts show sign of reusing, being so, they have been changed 10k miles ago during valve cover gasket change. I'm not going to redo them (breathers) again. I will do valve gaskets and replace hoses. Do I have to apply RTV on fitting before attaching the hose?
If you are going to pull the valve covers to replace their gaskets, you really should also remove (and reseal) the breather covers to clean them well. They get full of crud and that can cause excess crankcase pressure.
As for pulling the transmission, I don't think there's any way this is a 4 hour job! Even knowing everything you need to do and having all the right tools at hand and a proper lift, it;s still a major job. Some of the bolts are just darned hard to access and there are a lot of things to remove - cooling lines, linkage, exhaust, O2 sensor wiring, etc. And yes, doing this on jack stands on ones back is a bit like "dressing an elephant in a phone booth"
11-06-2016, 09:21 AM
Leaky stuff under the engine (oil) pan
Please, review pics.
