naj959

So I got the check coolant message last week which was soon followed by the add 1 quart of engine oil message. I go to check the fluids and to my dismay there is clearly water mixed in the oil. Stuff looks like some type of disgusting baby food. Headgasket decided it was time to go. The crazy thing is that the car never got hot, not once. Guess I'll have to do an engine swap now. I'm currently debating between having a used engine installed and trying to see if I can patch it up with that stop leak crap and trade it in somewhere. I have limited mechanical abilities. I've done simple things like starters, water pumps and ect. but an engine swap is way out of my league. I have friends that have offered to help but I'm too intimidated to even think about doing it.I've had the car for three years and would only keep it another 2 or 3. Spending $1700 would be cheaper than leasing a new car. Okay so I have a few questions:
1. other than the wrecker, are there trustworthy sites where I can buy a used engine. I haven't tried LKQ yet. I was forwarded some links that had m113s for around $500 depending on the mileage?
2. What's a good price for the labor on an engine swap? I've heard $1000
3. Are there any other pitfalls I need to look out for? Other things that need to be replaced besides the engine (possibly the cooling system since its contaminated)

Advice and suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks.

Rudeney

Are you certain it's a head gasket failure? That is extremely rare on these engines. A more common problem is that the oil cooler or its gasket leaks.

naj959

No I'm not positive. I saw milky oil and assumed head gasket. Oil cooler sounds like a less costly repair. Fingers crossed. I'll have to take it to an indy and get an official diagnosis.

Yidney

Way less costly, and pretty easy. It's that rectangular ribbed box next to where your oil filter screws in. Just because you are taking it ti an indy, don't just assume they will diagnose it correctly unless it is an MB indy.

naj959

Very true. I would like to do the job myself and save the labor costs. I'm assuming that I will be able to see a leak from the cooler if it is indeed the culprit?

Yidney

No. The cooler has multiple internal channels that are separated by a spongy rubber gasket that has several sections. It allows coolant and oil to pass next to each other but not touch. If one section of the gasket fails inside, the two fluids can mix, but you won't see it. Or the cooler itself could fail internally.

Rudeney

I will be hard to know if that's the culprit. If you remove the cooler, you could check the gaskets for any breaks. Checking the cooler itself will be more difficult. I might go ahead and spend the money to buy a new cooler and gasket and just see if that fixes it.

aleks001

Are you seeing any smoke from the exhaust. ? Check that first, both when the car is hot and cold. If yes then its your headgasket, if it was the cooler it would just mix but not make it to the combustion chamber. You will need to stand behind the car and check as usually while driving its never bad enough to see in the rear view mirror.

once the car is warmed up you can put your hand behind the exhaust for a couple of seconds and then smell it. If its a sweet smell at all thats coolant.

naj959

OK I will check it out tomorrow morning. I've looked online and seen multiple pictures of the oil cooler but they are all showing a different part. If someone could post a pic of the correct one it would be much appreciated.

Would the car run hot if it were the head gasket? I've driven the car out of necessity and have observed normal operating temperatures. A mechanic told me I could keep driving it until it got hot. I figured if it was the head gasket, then the engine was gone anyway.

aleks001

a car can have a bad head gasket and not overheat, just depends how or where its failed. Check for the smoke and get back to us.

Picture attached of the oil cooler yours will just be on the other side of the oil filter housing.

Rudeney

That photo shows it on an M272/M273 engine. It's located in a slightly different place on the M113:

http://benzbits.com/m112/OilCooler.pdf

naj959

It's been hectic at work so ive been slow in checking the forums. There's no smoke so I guess that"s a good thing. I guess I will order the cooler and then see if that solves my issue.

Rutland75

Unless I am missing something the oil cooler pictured above is not connected to the water system (it relies on air flow) so if it was bad or the gasket was bad then the oil would leak into the engine bay.

Yidney

No, as I said above, it has multiple internal channels for both coolant and oil.

aleks001

No smoke pretty much rules out the head gasket IMO anyway.

naj959

Okay so my oil filter assembly looks completely different from the one pictured in the WIS. Haven't been able to locate my cooler. Thoughts?

Rudeney

Looks like yours does not have the oil cooler. Maybe it's an option based on country? Are you in the USA? (please consider updating your forum user's profile to include your car model and year and your location).

naj959

Yes, I'm here in California. Darn, I was really hoping it was the cooler. I'm still getting used to this forum but once I figure it out I will update my user profile.

aleks001

yeah doesn't look like you have one. Are you sure it's engine oil in the coolant and not transmission fluid ?

If it is engine oil you really may have a slow headgasket leak. After how many miles do you need to top up the engine oil ?

naj959

I've been watching some youtube videos and it appears that some other benz models have the oil cooler located in the center of the block towards the front. I wonder if perhaps it's located there on my model?This would make the task a lot more invasive. I'm trying to find a good engine schematic and will try to see if I can tear the engine down enough to see if I can find it. I've never had to to top off the oil but I am getting the low coolant message. I can smell oil now when I run the car for an extended period of time.

aleks001