I have a 1997 E320 with about 49K miles, which has been perfectly maintained according to MBZ schedules. During the warranty period, they replaced a valve gasket (at about 25K mi). Now that the car is out of warranty, I've been noticing drops of oil on the garage floor. The dealer took a look and said there is a small leak in the head gasket on the end of the engine block (facing the driver).

They want at least $2,100 to fix it! The car is like new and I can't help but think that there is a defect in this engine. There is no excuse for these kinds of problems so soon. Also, there has never been any signs of overheating.

Do you have any recommendations as to the price one should expect to pay for a new head gasket (we're in the San Francisco bay area where labor rates are higher)...and what kind of recourse might I have with MBZ? The warranty ended about 18 month ago, but the car has only 49K miles.

Is it possible that when they repaired the valve gasket that the head gasket could have been damaged? Or, are these unrelated?

Anyway, I'm furious about this and hate to spend over 2 grand to have the head gasket replaced. What kind of risk do I have if I keep driving it at is?

 

Hello,The OIL leak in Question is The HEADGASKIT and SHOULD be DONE UNDER WARRANTY!!! Im a ex Factory Mercedes tech.
and I have done SEVERAL 103/104 headgaskits lots and lots
1 Please call the DEALER that inspected the oil leak and ask them to GOODWILL IT as in NO CHARGE to the customer!!

2 If that DOES NOT WORK Please CALL THE 800 MERCEDES #
And tell them (BE NICE ABOUT IT) CALM.... And explain THAT
YOU are aware of the oil leak IS A PROBLEM ON MOST ALL 103/104 engines and that you feel that the car in question should have it done under GOODWILL and MERCEDES WILL PICK UP THE TAB!!!! SINCE YOU CAR IS JUST on the edge of WARRANTY both in miles and time It should have been caught at the last service if they were looking for it!

Good LUCK

 

Even though you were gentle and maintained it well, the inline six-cylinder in your car is notorious for developing oil leaks at the head gasket. A dealer may cover you for the repair, or at least go 50-50 with you and cover half the total cost. Just be nice about it, and don't throw a fit. This decision to cover it is solely based on how you act. If you're rude and complain, the dealer may not cover anything at all. Just be nice, and they should take care of you.
The valve cover gasket replaced earlier has no relation to the head gasket leak now.
Since the head gasket is an external leak, not an internal leak, you don't run much of a risk at all if you keep driving it. If you can live with an oil leak in your garage, thats about all there is to worry about. Eventually you'll want to get it fixed, but if it's just starting to leak now, you could probably go another year or two before I'd say it's about time to fix it.

 

I appreciate the earlier replies to my initial posting. So, here's some more interesting information. After having the local dealer tell me I had a serious head gasket leak (near the rear of the engine block) and that this repair would be at least $2,100, I decided to take the car to an independent German auto repair shop that's been around for years and has a good reputation. The lead mechanic "Dieter" allowed me to come into the shop with him. We raised up the car, took off the belly pan, and had a look with the flash flight. After about a 15 minute inspection, Dieter told me the engine was "bone dry" with no signs of oil leak...except in one area nowhere near the head gasket. He lowered the car...spotted the source...and tightened a loose hose clamp near the air intake, which had a little oily residue on it. He buttoned up the car and said "drive it for another 30-40K miles...you're engine is spotless." What floored me is that there was no charge for this diagnosis.

So, now I'm thinking....hmmmmmm. Did the dealer make an honest mistake....or did Dieter miss something. So I went back to the dealer to confront them with my findings. They said, why don't we have another look....and they invited me back into the Mercedes shop. They removed the belly pan, did a quick inspection....and said...."see this is where your gasket has signs of leaking...." and they pointed out an area near the FRONT of the engine that had a little bit of dried oil. Of course, I had no idea what I was really looking at or whether this oil had come from something else, etc. In any case, I asked why the first mechanic (from the same Mercedes dealer) said the leak was coming from the rear of the engine block...and this mechanic says the leak is coming from the front.

Well, unsatisfied, I had the Director of Service try to explain these 3 separate diagnoses. The answer I got was unsettling, he said, "You know, all Mercedes engines leak a little...it's the nature of these engines. If it were my car, I'd keep driving it and just keep an eye on it." My interpretation of that answer was, "you really don't need a new head gasket, even though we would have loved to soak you for a $2,100 repair." Bottom line is I'm not saying the dealer was unethical.....but when it comes to a major repair like this, getting a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion is important. Of course, I asked the dealer why they didn't notice the primary source of my original oil leak, which was clearly coming from the air intake area...and is now gone after "Dieter" spotted this, tightened, and didn't charge me a dime. Go figure!

 

I, too have noticed a decline in service, competence, and integrity in my dealership. My CLK55AMG was delivered in Feb'02 with a wheel vibration problem that I'm still dealing with. After 4 tries at the dealer's service dept., with stupid reports like "...your car is a sensitive car and you will feel every bump on the road...", they finally replaced 1 tire after I had an independent shop diagnose the problem. I've given up on them.
I got a new E430 last month on a good deal and the car was prepped so horribly I stood there for an hour watching a tech wax and clean the car after I complained to the salesman. Then I made a U turn since the car had 2 malfunctions; one of which said "Display defective, visit shop". (The other was a teleaid malfunction message). The foreman, no less, said to me that he had to order a new instrument cluster for the display defective message. When I got home and read the book, Display Defective simply meant that the systems that send messages to the computer had a failure, not the literal translation. I HAD to show this to the foreman and they proceeded to reset with their computer. Same thing with the teleaid message, they spent half a day figuring out what it was and changing something in the computer, only for me to find out (after calling the MB 800 number) that they had to call in some info before the system would recognize my signals. Are they milking the corporate offices with these warranty "claims"?

Oh, and after all this, I was introduced to the service dept. manager who told me he was the parts dept. manager for 10 years and got promoted. He said he was trained as an accountant. (Nothing against accountants but I think I'd be more comfortable with a mechanic or engineer in that position)

 

Wow what Idiots!!

I Would Be looking for a Better Dealer...At least Someone That Knows What they are doing ....If thats Possible

Btw Try to get the C.D. on the car and learn as much as possible so You can TEACH the Tech How to repair Your car