Oil Cooler Housing seal replacment
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Joined: Aug 2007
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95 e320 Wagon, 98 s320 LWB
Oil Cooler Housing seal replacment
2011 E350 Sport
Looks like I will have to replace the seal on the oil cooler or maybe the oil filter housing and oil cooler on my E350 Sport ( a little oil leak on the front of the engine just below the filter housing). I did find a couple YouTubes but wondered if there are things that would either make it easier (doesn't look very hard though) or things I need to watch out for. I do need to verify if it is the oil cooler or the oil filter housing.I see the whole filer housing is not too expensive, is there a reason I need to replace it or just reseal it. Also looks like I will have to remove the thermostat housing. When I looked at parts on line the thermostat and the housing seem to come as one piece?
A local very reputable shop wants $1000.00+ to do the work. They also want to do an oil change (of course) and coolant change, etc.(some of the things shops like to add into repair work.
I plan to do the job when I do an oil/filter change since I understand I have to remove part of the oil and also drain the radiator.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. They would be would be very much appreciated.
Harvey
Looks like I will have to replace the seal on the oil cooler or maybe the oil filter housing and oil cooler on my E350 Sport ( a little oil leak on the front of the engine just below the filter housing). I did find a couple YouTubes but wondered if there are things that would either make it easier (doesn't look very hard though) or things I need to watch out for. I do need to verify if it is the oil cooler or the oil filter housing.I see the whole filer housing is not too expensive, is there a reason I need to replace it or just reseal it. Also looks like I will have to remove the thermostat housing. When I looked at parts on line the thermostat and the housing seem to come as one piece?
A local very reputable shop wants $1000.00+ to do the work. They also want to do an oil change (of course) and coolant change, etc.(some of the things shops like to add into repair work.
I plan to do the job when I do an oil/filter change since I understand I have to remove part of the oil and also drain the radiator.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. They would be would be very much appreciated.
Harvey
Last edited by HVF; Dec 11, 2020 at 02:06 PM. Reason: better description.
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Joined: Feb 2014
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Both gaskets leaking is pretty common on the M272 so I'd do both of them at the same time. The gasket isn't really that expensive, it's just the labor involved. I don't see how resealing it would work. Once you take it apart, you just pry the old gasket off and put in the new one. Resealing it sounds like more work and you risk having too much or too little in those narrow grooves.
If you're going to tackle it, yes, doing the thermostat and pulley/tensioner at the same time is the way to go. The oem for the thermostat is a Wahler, looks exactly the same as the OEM except the spot where there's an MB logo is scratched out and yes it's one piece, about $60-$80. One of the pulleys has to come anyway to get at the thermostat so you mind as well replace the tensioner, two pulleys and the belt, they're also known to go. You can just get a kit on FCPeuro or just get the parts individually on rockauto. I'd do either Gates or Continental. I got Continental parts last time. There's a washer on one of the pulleys so make sure that goes back in. I did change the oil right afterwards but didn't bother with the coolant. It's supposed to 15 years/150k and I had already topped it up at one point when I changed the thermostat. You don't have to fully drain the radiator as the thermostat is up high, drained some of it and it took about a gallon to fill it back up. It's just basic wrenching, any mechanic should be able to do it. Not too much oil came out when doing it so it didn't really mix with the coolant. That 1000 is the MB premium, especially if they're charging like $100 for an oil change when you can just get the synthetic oil/filter for around $40. And you can get a knock copy of the WIS on ebay.
If you're going to tackle it, yes, doing the thermostat and pulley/tensioner at the same time is the way to go. The oem for the thermostat is a Wahler, looks exactly the same as the OEM except the spot where there's an MB logo is scratched out and yes it's one piece, about $60-$80. One of the pulleys has to come anyway to get at the thermostat so you mind as well replace the tensioner, two pulleys and the belt, they're also known to go. You can just get a kit on FCPeuro or just get the parts individually on rockauto. I'd do either Gates or Continental. I got Continental parts last time. There's a washer on one of the pulleys so make sure that goes back in. I did change the oil right afterwards but didn't bother with the coolant. It's supposed to 15 years/150k and I had already topped it up at one point when I changed the thermostat. You don't have to fully drain the radiator as the thermostat is up high, drained some of it and it took about a gallon to fill it back up. It's just basic wrenching, any mechanic should be able to do it. Not too much oil came out when doing it so it didn't really mix with the coolant. That 1000 is the MB premium, especially if they're charging like $100 for an oil change when you can just get the synthetic oil/filter for around $40. And you can get a knock copy of the WIS on ebay.
