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Did some digging but wanted to put some feelers out. At the title suggests, when I took my car into the MB dealership service shop in Ft. Lauderdale for scheduled service, the mechanic noticed a small oil leak and recommended I get my valve cover gaskets replaced. My car has 53k miles and has been regularly serviced on time. The quote from the dealer/service shop was astronomical and I'm curious to understand what a "fair" cost to do this work would be. When I described the scenario to the mainstream AI chat bots - I'm seeing around $1,000 to $1,500 (with the bulk of the cost being the labor).
Would love to get some feedback and know if there are any top, independent MB repair shops in the Central/South FL areas.
@S. Madman is referring to check where the oil leak is coming from : yellow (valve covers), blue (timing covers), red (camshaft solenoids)
Blue and red are know to leak, and it is a lot cheaper to fix than yellow.
Attached is a technical bulletin from MB to its dealers. Typical oil leaks on these engines. Though valve covers can leak, they do not seem to be a common issue, so be careful with misnamed problems
Keep in mind the photo is of the undressed (naked) engine. It takes some work to get to this state to remove the valve covers.
and for clarification, there are no gasket on the covers nor the timing covers, they use sealant, i.e. the quality of the work is highly dependent on the mechanic and product used.
Hey @juanmor40, SUPER helpful post. Chipping away at the videos now. Honestly, I'm not sure *where* exactly the oil leak is coming from / depositing. I just went in for my 60k service in May and the SA said there was a small oil leak (not super, super urgent) and issued a proposal to fix:
I just got back from some errands and will let me car sit a bit and then go have a look under the hood and see if I can see any oil dripping or pooling.
The folks at Renntech said they could do the work (and for a lot less) but I'm also researching other MB specialists in the Central/South Florida area. Do you happen to be a tech?
Ahhhhh, nice. My E550 has been great so far and this is the first "issue." I'm gonna have a look and see if I can see what the MB mechanics/SA was referring to.
Keep an eye on oil dipstick ... if the valve cover leak is minor and not flooding the alternator or the serpentine deal with it later combined with VVT gear job.
Lifting the valve cover is an extreme amount of work (HPFP, Injectors, Coils, ...) to accomplish not much result.
I think many will agree, maintenance is cheaper than piece-meal repairs. With planing, we get to pick - Combine that work with necessary maintenance:
-- PCV breather
-- Spark plugs and boots
-- HPFP ie. the 3500Psi pump
-- VVT gears x4pcs
-- Camshafts with reluctors set
-- Leaky cam sensors
-- Tensioners + C-Valve
No rush, that way you'll get your leak fixed free. Go buy another TV or an Italian cruise balcony upgrade.
++++++ strong oil smell?
Does your car smell like a giant oil leak when parked inside garage??
The smell maybe coming from hot oil vaporized in the intake plenum.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Aug 8, 2023 at 12:03 PM.
Hey CaliBenzDriver, thanks for the feedback, although not fully sure how to interpret it! I'm going to have a look under the hood and see if I can snap some pics of any oil leaks. The MB dealer/SA didn't actually show me any leaks - just said there was a small leak and gave me a massive quote to fix.
Hey CaliBenzDriver, thanks for the feedback, although not fully sure how to interpret it! I'm going to have a look under the hood and see if I can snap some pics of any oil leaks. The MB dealer/SA didn't actually show me any leaks - just said there was a small leak and gave me a massive quote to fix.
Please.. Pictures are free these days. Try to get a good light, so the pictures are even better. For the M278/M276 Turbo, there are a few "plastics" pipes for the turbo that tend to either leak or break if you pry on them the wrong way.
Once you finish with the pictures, and some here do not ask for more of them, , you could probably get a wet rag with brake cleaner and clean the oily areas and start monitoring for a few days/weeks. Perhaps time consuming, but perhaps nothing to fix at the end. Fingers crossed.
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'14 E550 (M278) - Valve cover gaskets replacement cost question
, you could probably get a wet rag with brake cleaner and clean the oily areas and start monitoring for a few days/weeks. Perhaps time consuming, but perhaps nothing to fix at the end. Fingers crossed.
