S-Class (W221) 2007-2013: S 320 CDI, S 350, S 450, S 500, S 550, S 420 CDI, S 600

13 S550 Oil Leaks

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Old Feb 28, 2021 | 07:26 PM
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BMW 323is
13 S550 Oil Leaks

I have a 2013 S550 with 63,000 miles on the clock. It now leaks about 1 liter of oil every month or two. I have not looked over the car since I performed a belt service a while ago. Are there any common oil leaks to check that could be fixed by a moderate home mechanic? I have dropped a subframe before to do an oil pan gasket on a BMW but I am not in the mood to do the same on the W221 if that is the case.
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Old Mar 1, 2021 | 12:18 AM
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2013 W221 S550 2016 C217 S550
My car had oil leaking from the vacuum pump and timing chain covers. Vacuum pump was a part replacement. Timing chain covers wasn't too bad. They are rtv gaskets. Also check your camshaft position sensors and magnets.
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Old Mar 4, 2021 | 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by red996
My car had oil leaking from the vacuum pump and timing chain covers. Vacuum pump was a part replacement. Timing chain covers wasn't too bad. They are rtv gaskets. Also check your camshaft position sensors and magnets.
I found oil leaking on the back of the front differential, I believe one of the oil return lines for the turbo, and down the passenger side front of the engine onto the alternator. The engine bay is so packed I can't see were it is coming from.













Last edited by Nick Gorkes; Mar 4, 2021 at 02:10 PM.
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Old Mar 7, 2021 | 06:46 PM
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I had the same exact leak and my mechanic said on how it was coming from the chain covers So I just had them done. Hopefully that was it...below is a pic of mine.


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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 01:21 AM
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On my 2013 S550

Its the timing chain covers, fairly simple DIY as I just did mine, one side per day took my time. I also waited 24 hours before starting the car to let the new sealant set up well.

You need 16 new bolts, 8 per side and MB Sealant to make a gasket (parts below) . Once I had my covers off, there was literally no gasket material left for a seal so very little to clean off. I also found that the bottom bolts were not that tight so its no surprise they were leaking with loose bolts and no gasket material.

000000-006365 Hexalobular Bolt
003-989-98-20-10 Mercedes Benz Sealant

You may also want to have some new hose clamps for the 4 metal pipes you'll be removing out of your way as when you go to tighten them back, the clamps sometimes strip and won't get tight.

DO NOT - I repeat DO NOT clean the old gasket areas with sand paper or a scraper of any kind. Plastic putty knife is OK but Loctite makes a spray to help clean surface before putting the MB sealant on. See those products below:

LOCTITE SF 7200 for removing old gasket material and then clean metal surface with LOCTITE SF 7063 before putting new gasket material on. I also used high strength thread locker on the new bolts so they remain tight. Careful when tightening them as I broke one and had to get an easy out to remove it. They are supposed to be 5 Nm but my torque wrench doesn't go that low so I just snugged them, one a little too much. I'll be getting a digital torque wrench from eTork that does 5 Nm so I don't break anymore bolts.

I would recommend following this techs procedure towards the end of the video when prepping the surface for new sealant, he stuffs clean paper towels inside the opening to catch the over spray from the gasket remover spray:







Last edited by s550hollywood; Dec 27, 2022 at 09:55 AM. Reason: added relevant info
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 03:41 AM
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none of those pictures get a l litre leak in a month - they are such light weeps you couldn't measure that on the dips stick in 10k miles
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 03:43 AM
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one litre a month, you'd have big puddles in the engine trays with a drip to the floor you could count each minute - how sure are you its not coming out the exhaust ?
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