1997 E320 Oil Leak
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Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 217
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1997 E 320 - 2000 S500
1997 E320 Oil Leak
I am getting a fairly heavy oil leak from it seems somwhere in the botton front of my engine
What is it likely to be?
What could repair cost look like?
Any tricks car has many miles over 200k
What is it likely to be?
What could repair cost look like?
Any tricks car has many miles over 200k
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 597
Likes: 1
From: Monterey, CA
'97 E320
Probably the timing cover gasket. Not sure of repair cost as mine has never leaked enough to care. Might try a good high-mileage oil like Valvoline Max Life to see if leak decreases, but chances are if you're leaking more than a couple drops, repair is necessary.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 278
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1997 s320, 1997 e320
resealing the timing cover shouldn't take a mechanic over 2 hours. actually a mb mechanic that has done that job before should take about 1 hour, but not sure how many hours the book says though, and a lot of mechanics will charge you according to how many hours their book says. my guess is somewhere between $200-300. other people might tell you to change the headgasket which is over $1000 job, but i would definitely reseal the timing cover first and see if the leak comes back.
if you are using synthetic i would change to a dino universal 15w40, anything from mobil delvac, rotella, delo or valvoline. in my case that slowed down the leak a lot. if the leak is small you could live with that for a long time if you don't mind a couple of oil drops on the floor.
if you are using synthetic i would change to a dino universal 15w40, anything from mobil delvac, rotella, delo or valvoline. in my case that slowed down the leak a lot. if the leak is small you could live with that for a long time if you don't mind a couple of oil drops on the floor.
