S-Class (W222) 2014-2020

M176 S560 Valve cover gasket leak

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Old 06-03-2024, 03:49 PM
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2020 S560 4Matic
M176 S560 Valve cover gasket leak

Wanted to mention this here because I don't see this issue talked about really at all. My 2020 S560 has a valve cover gasket leak, it was discovered when my independent shop did the spark plug replacement. Luckily I (deliberately) had that done about 1,500 miles early to make sure anything he discovered would be covered by the original B2B warranty. Well, they discovered oil in the spark plug wells on the back plugs on each side of the engine and diagnosed it as being a leaking valve cover. Dealer confirmed it with 500 miles remaining on the original warranty. I do have a MB ELW but my service advisor said they sometimes try and weasel out of covering gaskets. He had to order the kit to repair it from MB, its a liquid gasket not a physical gasket.

They've had the car a week, apparently this is a huge job that is engine out. Its mentioned in this video, fast forward to about 2:00:


Certainly doesn't seem like a common issue, but I shudder to think of what it would cost out of warranty...

I'm told the car should be back tomorrow...

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Old 06-05-2024, 10:06 PM
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Looks like another regular maintenance item. In addition to replacing either the rear main seal from plugged oil vapor separators, or replacing the separators (hopefully) before they plug and take the RMS with them.

The M17x is officially out of the running for "MB's Most Reliable Engine" competition.
Old 06-05-2024, 10:40 PM
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Your constant negativity notwithstanding FWIW this dealer has never done this repair on an M176 before (M178 and 77 yes), so this is not a common issue…I also don’t see that anybody in the 222 forum has had this failure.

This was a serious job though. $3,000 in parts and 24 hours of labor, so out of pocket at the dealer this would have been $9,500 or so. They took the whole front end off the car. Here is the breakdown





Reconfirms I wouldn’t own one of these without a warranty. My $3,200 ELW looks pretty darn good.

Last edited by SW20S; 06-05-2024 at 10:42 PM.
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Old 06-06-2024, 12:33 AM
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Thanks for posting this . A long tally of things done to your car . You will have a piece of mind after those repairs as well
Happy Driving
Old 06-06-2024, 09:09 AM
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I'll be interested to see if other people have this issue down the line...

I will say I am big proponent for independent shops, my independent found this issue when he did my spark plugs...but I am happy that the dealer did this job.
Old 06-06-2024, 01:20 PM
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Wow, that's sobering. The repair order mentions the oil separators, is that a regular inspection item on the service list? Do the earlier M278s have separator(s) also? Sounds like might be good preventative maintenance to clean or replace them at some point ...
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Old 06-06-2024, 02:45 PM
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Originally Posted by SW20S
Your constant negativity notwithstanding FWIW this dealer has never done this repair on an M176 before (M178 and 77 yes), so this is not a common issue…I also don’t see that anybody in the 222 forum has had this failure.

This was a serious job though. $3,000 in parts and 24 hours of labor, so out of pocket at the dealer this would have been $9,500 or so. They took the whole front end off the car. Here is the breakdown





Reconfirms I wouldn’t own one of these without a warranty. My $3,200 ELW looks pretty darn good.
That is scary !
It would be interesting for all of us owning such a car how many people had to deal with this !
Apparently it is the first on this forum !
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Old 06-06-2024, 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Tom in Austin
Wow, that's sobering. The repair order mentions the oil separators, is that a regular inspection item on the service list? Do the earlier M278s have separator(s) also? Sounds like might be good preventative maintenance to clean or replace them at some point ...
Thats a really good question. Apparently the clogged separators is what causes the leak because it increases oil pressure. I don't know how easy it is to get to the separators to check them. The separators themselves are cheap.

Originally Posted by tx170754
That is scary !
It would be interesting for all of us owning such a car how many people had to deal with this !
Apparently it is the first on this forum !
Seems to be the first one here yeah.
Old 06-06-2024, 04:48 PM
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I remember when a valve cover gasket was a 1 hour operation.
Old 06-06-2024, 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Mitch Alsup
I remember when a valve cover gasket was a 1 hour operation.
Yeah! The good ol' days
Old 06-06-2024, 04:59 PM
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Originally Posted by SW20S
Yeah! The good ol' days
I also remember the smell of combusted Sunoco 260-----Mmmmmmm
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Old 07-02-2024, 08:00 PM
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Is this really a 24hr job? The drivers side looks alot easier to do vs passanger side, less crap to remove
Old 07-02-2024, 08:04 PM
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Its 24 book hours, doesn't mean it would take a tech 24 actual hours.
Old 07-02-2024, 08:09 PM
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Originally Posted by SW20S
Its 24 book hours, doesn't mean it would take a tech 24 actual hours.
I guess my question is, can this be done with motor still inside car without dropping it
Old 07-02-2024, 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Mojo20032004
I guess my question is, can this be done with motor still inside car without dropping it
Apparently they didn't drop the motor, they disassembled the top and the whole front end to get access. Whatever route you take there is a LOT of disassembly and reassembly.
Old 07-02-2024, 11:09 PM
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Lot of onion to peel doing that job. Many parts that come out that should get replaced with new just cuz it is the right thing to do.
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Old 07-02-2024, 11:25 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnLane
Lot of onion to peel doing that job. Many parts that come out that should get replaced with new just cuz it is the right thing to do.
I digged into it a little, hpfp back side comes out, all fuel lines on that side out, coils, injectors, some green looking coils on the lower side of the valve cover, not sure upfront is the front timing cover connects to the valve cover or it's separate
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Old 07-03-2024, 12:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Mojo20032004
I digged into it a little, hpfp back side comes out, all fuel lines on that side out, coils, injectors, some green looking coils on the lower side of the valve cover, not sure upfront is the front timing cover connects to the valve cover or it's separate
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Best thing to do is buy a workshop manual from the auction site. I've seen them for as low at $20, for a digital download. Then you'll know what's involved. It's a HUGE file so be sure you have room on the hard drive.

I cannot vouch for any seller on the auction site because I have no personal experience. Here's one example: WIS/ASRS/EPC


Old 07-03-2024, 12:24 AM
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Get XENTRY and a membership with Benz Ninja and Peter will help!
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Old 07-03-2024, 12:54 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnLane
Get XENTRY and a membership with Benz Ninja and Peter will help!
Someone should have a manual available that they can share. Over on the w212 side, they always providing pictures and data
Old 07-03-2024, 09:29 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnLane
Lot of onion to peel doing that job. Many parts that come out that should get replaced with new just cuz it is the right thing to do.
Yep, and if you look at the parts list they used for my job they did replace a lot of stuff
Old 07-03-2024, 09:38 AM
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So, after the repair it was still leaking, they took it back, what happened in the end ?
Old 07-03-2024, 09:41 AM
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Originally Posted by tx170754
So, after the repair it was still leaking, they took it back, what happened in the end ?
Its all fixed now, I picked it up Friday and traded it in Saturday. This repair had nothing to do with my decision, this just was the best decision for me given that I'm not going to keep the car more than another year or so and its not worth buying it out for just a few months.

Last edited by SW20S; 07-03-2024 at 09:43 AM.
Old 07-03-2024, 09:52 AM
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It was leaking a lot of oil though, and of course I discovered it 250 miles from home...



Old 07-03-2024, 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by SW20S
Your constant negativity notwithstanding FWIW this dealer has never done this repair on an M176 before (M178 and 77 yes), so this is not a common issue…I also don’t see that anybody in the 222 forum has had this failure.

This was a serious job though. $3,000 in parts and 24 hours of labor, so out of pocket at the dealer this would have been $9,500 or so. They took the whole front end off the car. Here is the breakdown
Reconfirms I wouldn’t own one of these without a warranty. My $3,200 ELW looks pretty darn good.
Your 2020 W560 was on a lease, right? And you bought an ELW from the dealer? So it sounds like your lease term was longer then the manufacturer warranty?? Just trying to put the pieces together. Regardless of the particulars, I'm glad you were under warranty when this went bad.


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