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Thats about right, I think mine was $1,000 more including the separators...different dealer pricing etc. Mine was covered under warranty too thankfully
Interesting ... I found three OVS described as "left" for 2018, 19 or 20 S560 on EBay and each had the part number A 176 078 05 00. Perhaps the item they gave you was a newer part with the different numbers shown?
Interesting ... I found three OVS described as "left" for 2018, 19 or 20 S560 on EBay and each had the part number A 176 078 05 00. Perhaps the item they gave you was a newer part with the different numbers shown?
I checked on mbparts usa website. Ebay is little sketchy for parts.
Yeah, reason I brought it up is the part numbers for these are such a mystery ... the Mercedes parts catalog doesn't have a left side number or fitment data and the dealer says to order the part number that's on the old part you took off. Based on these EBay items, it appears many 2018 - 20 cars had this number on their original OSV, making me wonder how it was that your new one had a different number.
Interesting...But if you think about it; only 2 people on this entire forum have had a valve cover leak with an S560. Maybe I missed the others, but only you and @SW20S to my knowledge, and no RMS leaks at this point that I can remember on an S560 so maybe it is quite rare.
Hi all,
This forum has great information.
This past week, I had a mis fire on my S560. I have a great relationship with my service writer and was able to get car over there same day. Later that day we found oil in cylinder 7 in the spark plug area. Sounds like a leaky something but they are looking into other areas to make sure it is not an internal problem. But all this information is good to know there is a concern in this engine.
Mine looks to have started around 83K miles. We found it now at 87K miles.
Oil changed every year or sooner depending on mileage. But sounds like this expense repair if mine is the same.
To everyone who follows this or reads this. Suggestions on what else to replace when this is apart to maximize labor time?
Engine Mounts on the table?
Oil separator?
Thermostat?
Yeah, reason I brought it up is the part numbers for these are such a mystery ... the Mercedes parts catalog doesn't have a left side number or fitment data and the dealer says to order the part number that's on the old part you took off. Based on these EBay items, it appears many 2018 - 20 cars had this number on their original OSV, making me wonder how it was that your new one had a different number.
Hey Tom, I know they updated part numbers from the originally installed OVS to the OVS they using to fix the cars. Like you, I've followed the W213 section and they ahve talked about updated part numbers extensively. I think @superpop mentioned that when he posted about his experience. He also cut his old OVS open to show the design.
This past week, I had a mis fire on my S560. I have a great relationship with my service writer and was able to get car over there same day. Later that day we found oil in cylinder 7 in the spark plug area. Sounds like a leaky something but they are looking into other areas to make sure it is not an internal problem. But all this information is good to know there is a concern in this engine.
Mine looks to have started around 83K miles. We found it now at 87K miles.
Oil changed every year or sooner depending on mileage. But sounds like this expense repair if mine is the same.
To everyone who follows this or reads this. Suggestions on what else to replace when this is apart to maximize labor time?
Engine Mounts on the table?
Oil separator?
Thermostat?
Any information would be great.
Love this car and miss it right now.
Sorry to hear you're having this problem. What year is your S560? And what part of the country do you live in?
I guess we now know of 3 verified cases. Interesting that all three S560s have leaked at the valve covers, not the RMS.
This past week, I had a mis fire on my S560. I have a great relationship with my service writer and was able to get car over there same day. Later that day we found oil in cylinder 7 in the spark plug area. Sounds like a leaky something but they are looking into other areas to make sure it is not an internal problem. But all this information is good to know there is a concern in this engine.
Mine looks to have started around 83K miles. We found it now at 87K miles.
Oil changed every year or sooner depending on mileage. But sounds like this expense repair if mine is the same.
To everyone who follows this or reads this. Suggestions on what else to replace when this is apart to maximize labor time?
Engine Mounts on the table?
Oil separator?
Thermostat?
Any information would be great.
Love this car and miss it right now.
valve cover gasket issue. 20 hours labor to repair it. They will remove bumpers, crossmember many parts, turbos, harnesses. If they would remove engine let them replace Rear Main Seal too.
s560 uses rtv type liquid gasket not a physical one. Technician should do a good job reseal them.
while they removing many parts, have them replace Oil separators, spark plugs and thermostat. With 87k miles I would chage engine and transmission mounts too.
M176 engine does not have updated oil separators. Updated version is only for M177/M178 AMG versions.
In bay area california, mercedes service bill was $7800 for valve cover gasket resealing spark plugs and oil separators (for spark plugs and oil separators I paid only parts not labor)
Sorry to hear you're having this problem. What year is your S560? And what part of the country do you live in?
I guess we now know of 3 verified cases. Interesting that all three S560s have leaked at the valve covers, not the RMS.
Thought I'd update this thread on my S560 (see earlier posts).
The new aftermarket coil packs are working just fine so far. No more misfires.
I had cleaned oil out of 3 spark plug wells when I replaced the plugs. The new coil packs have the ribbed boots, which I'm hoping is keeping most of the oil out of the plug wells. I suspect it takes a LOT of oil to build up in a well before it will cause misfires. If your S is getting misfires then it's more likely that it's a bad coil pack.
I'll take a peek at the plug wells again when the weather warms up.
Thought I'd update this thread on my S560 (see earlier posts).
The new aftermarket coil packs are working just fine so far. No more misfires.
I had cleaned oil out of 3 spark plug wells when I replaced the plugs. The new coil packs have the ribbed boots, which I'm hoping is keeping most of the oil out of the plug wells. I suspect it takes a LOT of oil to build up in a well before it will cause misfires. If your S is getting misfires then it's more likely that it's a bad coil pack.
I'll take a peek at the plug wells again when the weather warms up.
Mercedes updated coils with new part numbers. Also there is ecu update for that misfire issues I believe.
Thought I'd update this thread on my S560 (see earlier posts).
The new aftermarket coil packs are working just fine so far. No more misfires.
I had cleaned oil out of 3 spark plug wells when I replaced the plugs. The new coil packs have the ribbed boots, which I'm hoping is keeping most of the oil out of the plug wells. I suspect it takes a LOT of oil to build up in a well before it will cause misfires. If your S is getting misfires then it's more likely that it's a bad coil pack.
I'll take a peek at the plug wells again when the weather warms up.
If I remember correctly, the valve cover leak happens under the sealed part of the coil packs, the part under the ribs of the coil packs where they connect to the top of the spark plug. The ribs on the coil peck actually seal the oil inside the spark plug well, instead of blocking the oil from dripping into the spark plug well. I could be mistaken, but that's how I remember the design from when I changed the coils and plugs on my 18 S63 last year.
Carlos, not sure how effective the boot ribs are. When I changed my last coil pack I had oil on the outside of the boot below the ribs. As an experiment, I put an O-ring between the upper two ribs on #7 and with some 'Kentucky jelly' was able to push the boots back down into the bores. The joint that leaks between the cam cover and the head is almost at the top of the bore, so one would think the ribs in the installed position would end up below that joint and seal the bore.
As an additional comment, I wiped the oil off the old boots and set them aside last fall. I was surprised later to see they had oil on the outside again, almost as if they were 'sweating'. Appears the boots are somewhat porous and may actually absorb some of the oil that leaks onto them.
Last edited by Tom in Austin; Mar 2, 2026 at 12:43 PM.
If I remember correctly, the valve cover leak happens under the sealed part of the coil packs, the part under the ribs of the coil packs where they connect to the top of the spark plug. The ribs on the coil peck actually seal the oil inside the spark plug well, instead of blocking the oil from dripping into the spark plug well. I could be mistaken, but that's how I remember the design from when I changed the coils and plugs on my 18 S63 last year.
I'm pretty sure that if not the top rib then the next one down would definitely seal the bore from oil. In this photo you can clearly see the seam for the valve cover above the plug bore.
Found a picture of the #7 plug boot mentioned in my previous post ... looks like I might have added two O-rings between the ribs. My engineer buddy and I have debated whether they could affect the engine in any way but so far it runs fine ....
About a month or so ago I posted about oil leaking into the boot where the coil packs are from the drivers side value cover.
Dealer cleaned it out, and replaced coil. They also added a leak detection agent and came back to do a oil change, service A was due. No "major" oil leak but there is some oil seen on the engine parts not like it was last time.
Soooooo, my ask to everyone here, should I do the work to stop the "leak".
Miles driven to see the small oil concern, 1500 miles and no major oil coming from the area suspected. I plan to do oil changes every 5000 miles now and check for the "leak" then.
Miles on motor, 88000.
Looking for any advice, and how many other people saw this issue on the 2019 motor?
Is it worth fixing or give it few cycles to see how bad it is first?
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