henry47

i have a 2005 clk55, my mechanic told me that I have a little oil leaking and that I should replace it. He stated that it was a fairly easy job and that if I were a bit mechanically inclined, I should try it myself. He said it'd take about 3 hours. Any idea where I should purchase the part and if there are any manuals/DIY instructions on how to do it myself? I'm not afraid of a 3 hour job, he explained it and it didn't sound too difficult. any help is appreciated

henry47

did a quick search, am not sure if this is correct. can anyone confirm? seems as if it's the valve cover and not the head gasket?

betrezra

Sounds like valve cover gasket if it's only 3 hr labor.

HG would be much more $$ and time.

Get the manual and take your time..... looks easy enough.

Someone from here (PTE or others) can chime in if there are any special MB only tools needed to do this.

henry47

you're right, i just looked at my invoice and it stated the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced.

my mechanic also stated that I would take a lot of time cleaning, what specifically will I be cleaning, and how will I be doing it? should I be using solvents?

2PRECISE

no special tool needed. just pop the wires from the coil and let the wires hang off the spark plugs. remove coils and bolts from the covers... you can leave the small torques screws in for now ( 2 on pass side and 3 on driver side). covers come off.

If there is oil leaking from the smaller covers on the top, u can now remove the small torques screws and pry the covers off ( lots of prying needed, they r stuck on there real good!!) U also need to buy the black benz slicone because there is no gasket under the small covers.

clean covers and head, new gasket and reinstall.

henry47

thanks for the advice!

i followed you up to the point of prying the covers off. what should i use to pry them? what do you mean i need the black benz silicone? where do i buy it from? the dealer? do you have a part number? how do i apply it? also, how do i clean the covers and head? with a towel? with any type of solvent?

sorry for the questions, i want to do everything right the first time.

do i need to torque the screws back when i put the cover on?

btw, from the looks of the instructions, i'd have to remove the fuel line. any precautions with this? I wouldn't want fuel leaking everywhere.

M-bENZ

Im about to do mine too but with my warrantty thou. The guy said w/out warranty it will be $300 labor + parts.

Andy

henry47

yeah it's not too much, but from what my mechanic told me it's a fairly easy job and i figure it'd be a good learning experience.

2PRECISE

the covers r 2 piece.... once removed you need to carefully pry the small one off the top because they r siliconed on. i used a screwdriver and separated them. then u need to scrap the old silicone off then I used brake cleaner to make everything new. spary some brake cleaner on a rag then clean the heads.

Just ask for the black sealer at the dealership, they know what it is, its a small tube. You only use it on the small cover only!! u fill the groove on the cover and set it in place then u put the small screws back and let it dry. You then put the new gasket in place and bolt it back on. Just dont tighten them too tight.

Only the coils need to be removed. A tip.... get the cover ready for install then clean the head , bacause oil will slowly drip on the gasket surface.

betrezra

Now that valve covers are off.... how hard is it to change cams?

suicidal4life

Kleemann cam instructions

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/p...all_LowRes.pdf

PTE

It is about a 4 hour DIY job. The hardest part is cleaning the sealant out of the groove. I would not use a Drill motor or a bench grinder with a Wire wheel. Just scrape it clean & you may want to use some E/Z off oven cleaner. Please use the MB sealant P/N A 003 989 98 20 10. This stuff is very strong & Tuff. It has a short work time . You will know this because you have just spent an hour trying to remove this sealant. So Have all the parts clean & ready too assemble. I did a bench assy , Got some extra nuts & washers and put together the little .covers / baffle assys with the sealant . Let it dry for an hour. Then scotch bright pad the out side surface . Then spray painted them GSA gray. . I had tryed other brands of sealant , but the covers would start to leak again after a hard run. So Stick with the OEM sealer. Cheers _PTEngineering

betrezra

Wow great instructions on the valve covers and cams from K.

How much HP can be had from k cams? The do it yourself looks very easy..... compared to a small block ford which requires pulling the entire front of the engine off.