Johnbwilson1

Hey Everyone,

I took my 2014 E350 4Matic in for service, and $1200 later they found a small leak coming from the oil separator (centrifuge housing). The service advisor said a small amount of oil is leaking into the intake so I should not let this go unresolved. too long. The part is about $60 but the labor is $2300. This part is external to the engine but supposedly requires a lot of labor to reach.

Has as anyone has this problem? Is the $2400 repair price reasonable?

Thanks for you feedback!

-J

i700plus

I believe the centrifuge housing is on the back of the engine and replacement requires the engine to be partially removed from the chassis.

Johnbwilson1

Thanks, I was afraid of that.

Johnbwilson1

Hey, I took my car to an independent service shop and he seems to think that it's unusually early for this type of leak to happen, but also thinks it will be straight forward to fix. I'll take it back later in the week for a full diagnosis and repair estimate.

i700plus

Thanks for the update! I'm curious where the leak is actually coming from.

PatrixUSA

Is the car still within basic warranty (4ys / 50k miles) period?

AMGNEEDSPEED

Wait, you own a 2014 Mercedes and your Mercedes dealer is charging you for something that is cover under your factory " bumper to bumper " warranty? Something is wrong and I would ask your SA what does exactly does factory bumper to bumper warranty mean besides ware and tear.

Johnbwilson1

The car has 61K miles on it (had 40K, when I bought it) so the warranty has expired and I did not get an extended warranty. My initial thought was to keep it until it got about 75K miles on it, then move on to the next.

The independent said he's booked until Wednesday or Thursday. Fortunately, I can walk to work from there so logistics will not be a problem.

I'll post an update once I know more.

cetialpha5

It was a pretty easy/simple fix on the W211 or M272 engines, but after 2012, it's a different direct injection engine.

jahquan3

^I think you're right

I'm pretty sure I had this same issue and was only charged 300 bucks in total with Labor on my 2010. Also at the time I was told it was not a big deal and could be put off until later. Which is a rare statement coming from the dealer. I have to double check my receipts when I get home since I could be talking about a different part.

davidjohnbamber

I would consider contacting M-B USA, and request some "goodwill" customer assistance.

S212@845

Hi @Johnbwilson1. Very long shot, but I’m curious how this was resolved in the end. Thanks!

CaliBenzDriver

service the crankcase vent and reduce crankcase pressure ("MOD-2")
else engine will start venting high blowby pressure from next seal until $5 rear seal requires pulling engine out.

MB USA fixing old cars for free is a remote hope.

MBNUT1

So I replaced mine on my M272. I was barely able to do it because of it's proximity to the firewall but got it done. Is it worse on the M276?

S212@845

Yes, much worse. There’s a lot to love about the facelift 212s, but the location of the centrifuge and the engine oil and oil pressure management that results in camshaft and timing issues are not among them.

Left Coast Geek

I'm curious, just what does this centrifuge do? I don't think anything I've owned before has had such a thing

CaliBenzDriver

It's the heart of the Mercedes PCV system... it is supposed to sling shot oil around so it doesn't end up through the intake to contaminate cats & lambda.
Newer "API SP" oils are formulated to burn cleaner with less ashes.

It's no match to stop M276-NA blown-by vaporized 0W-40 oil stream.

Left Coast Geek

hmm, is 5W40 any better? I think thats what our E350 has in it? I've never liked the idea of 0W oils, and it hardly never goes below even 0C here, never mind below -25C. In fact looking at https://operatingfluids.mercedes-benz.com/sheet/224.1 it seems like we could be using 15W40 or even 20W50 for our temp range. I used 15W40 in our old W124 M103 and M104 engines....

CaliBenzDriver

there's a lot of confusion around the lubrication topic.

The newest trend is that "limited oiling saves gas" - Yes, 0W-8 sure does! It's a good deal for leased fleets.

However, the oil film thickness can not be replaced by polar Zinc/Phosphate chemistry attracted to steel or Moly/Boron to Aluminum - They can only help!

Currently I am running an 15w40 SP rated lubricant to limit oil vaporized back through intake valves.

MBNUT1

So you have to partially drop the engine as suggested to replace it?