Hey guys,
I got my s550 to the local garage to fix my s550 (2015) Upper Timing Covers of S550 leaking and I got an estimate of $3580.
My dealer pointed out about the upper timing cover leaking.
Please take a look at the estimate and let me know if the estimate is reasonable and any other work arounds.
Your suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

You should post this in the W222 section. Maybe a moderator will move it for you.

How big of a leak do you have?
​​​​​For $3.5k make sure the work is really needed

That seems like a crazy price if they are just re-sealing the front cylinder head/timing covers on the S550 M278 engine. I don't even think the oil filter housing has to be removed like it does on the M278 in my E550 coupe. The S550 M278 oil filter housing is positioned a little different. Dont know why they are quoting turbo coolant lines and thermostat. I don't think they should have to be removed to only re-seal covers.

Thank you guys for your suggestions. Appreciated!!

Agreed that that work doesn't need to be done, but smart to do it while in there, provided they don't simply "add" hours for each job like it's being done seperately. If they give you a break on the hours to do the thermostat and coolant lines, it would be smart to get that done at the same time. I can't see on your work order how they're pricing out hours by each job.

I'd ask for a more detailed work order showing parts and hours by job.

If you have any diy experience, this is very easy to do and as mentioned, the oil cooler, hoses, thermostat etc should not have to be removed. Only the intake and charge pipes are in the way. If that thermostat is touched, it will also crack. Check out the m157 threads on check valves and tensioners for some idea of what it looks like, only yours is much easier. My only suggestion if you diy is to make sure to either let your car sit for a week if using mb sealant, or use something that dries and is ready in a day. The sealant requires humidity and temperature to set correctly so check the charts and abide, or the leak will re-occur. If you are able to do this all without the dealer, you may want to replace your CPS and Magnets while in there, or add protection in for the wiring harness if theses sensors are at all leaky.

The bolts holding the covers must be replaced, and use a torque wrench set properly for install as the aluminum bolts break super easily. Buy a few extra.

Get the parts from FCP. If you want to replace all of those hoses, its a bigger job but still worth it when DIY. ITs worth replacing them, just not for an unrelated leak.

Lastly, if you have the money, there is nothing wrong with having someone else do it all for you.

When I did my m157 I did re-sealing Cam Covers, Tensioners, Check valves, Turbo coolant lines, Thermostat and all the sensors for just over a grand. This would have been near 5 grand at the dealer. FWIW. It was my first time doing the job and took a good day of labor split over a few days, due to the mb sealant being made of sh*t and never curing...(yeah Ive harped on this in a few recent threads because its another way the manufacturer has failed the public and guarantees problems for future users and mechanics)

We will help you if you need

I had my 15 S63 at the dealer for some warranty work and they noticed that what they called "The front cylinder heads on the drivers side" needs to be resealed and the passengers side will need to be resealed at some time in the not so distant future as well. I assume this is the same as the "Upper Timing Covers"? Trying to find a indy shop in the Seattle area that will know how to do it.

The one I've used in the past was Meister Werks European & Import in Renton. A friend of mine suggested Auto Werkstatt in Kent. I can't remember the shop @superpop uses, but I called them and they sounded reasonable.
One shop I've used that I liked was Sparks in Federal Way, but I don't know if they work on German cars.

I reached out to all those above. One shop not listed above came back at $1600 for both to be replaced and another shop said their guide showed 22 hours worth of labor so hopefully there's some misunderstanding there lol. Thank you for the reply!

Good luck with your search, and please let me know how it turns out for you.

Here's the shop Superpop recommended, I have no experience with them: https://www.germanauto.com/

Are you under warranty? The dealer might be the best choice if you have a warrant. But...if you plan to keep the car past the warranty period then having a good indy is a super smart move, and finding one now can you save you a huge headache in the future.

I just had mine done at Mercedes Benz of Rochester, Minnesota and it cost $1864.50.

The warranty wouldn't cover it of course.

I found a shop in Georgetown that will do the driver's side for just a little over $600. I have an appointment there for next week. I might have them just do both depending on how bad the passenger side is.

Its a lot of work. Also some of the coolant hoses in the front will probably break and have to be replaced. They are hard plastic and 100% if they get touched they will break after 10 years.
I dont think its $3500 lot of work, but $1800, yes sure.

From what others have said, it will probably cost a little more due to plastic hoses breaking during the procedure. Keep us posted on how it goes. I might ask for a referral, based on your experience.

As a reminder, when doing a 550, there is not as much stuff to remove as there is in the m157 to get the cam covers off. Theres a good video on YouTube showing the procedure. IMO, the lower estimate is more reasonable and might even be high, once they get in there, if they dont follow the book.

I will add that another tip is that the surface finish of the mating surface of the cam cover has been updated since we bought these cars and I don’t know what year that changed but make sure that the person you take it to gets a good surface in the cover for the sealant to bite into. The oxidation of the magnesium makes it difficult. Not just clean, but with striations from a red scotchbrite or similar. If they’re using MB sealant, also make sure to observe enough time for the product to dry, which is much quicker this time of season with the humidity (which is the major variable to cure time)

Well, when I thought things couldn't get any worse...they did. The covers are indeed leaking but it seems as the valve cover gasket is also leaking. Of course my extended warranty company won't cover it so that's going to be a huge chunk of change to shell out. Fun.

Its so much labor
At some point you might want to think of just having the engine taken out and resealed. At this age things just start leaking. Its just one of those things.
Turbo lines, valve covers, oil cooler, upper and lower oil pan. And once that is done the rear main seal will start leaking.
At some point they will all start leaking.

From personal experience owning more than a dozen older cars. Some back to the 60s
Everyone says they will keep a car until the wheels fall off, but that is not what happens. Usually the engine and transmissions will last a long time if you do good maintenance (except modern GM V8's or Kia)

What happens long before that is that some hoses leak or break. Not a big deal usually and they can be replaced. If a coolant hose breaks and you keep on driving, then that's something else.

Around the same time, these small nuisance leaks start appearing. Rear main seal, oil cooler, oil pans etc.
Again that does destroy engines because people run on low oil. These leaks get worse and worse and usually the only way to fix them is to remove the engine and do all the gaskets at once.

But by this time the car is 20 years old and not worth a lot, so when the shop comes back with a $8000 bill to replace $500 worth of gaskets, people just say no and junk or sell the car on Facebook.
Someone else still drives it for a while, after which it ends up in a field or garage somewhere. Also seems that the more powerful the engine, the faster the leaks appear.

If its a Ferrari the owner sucks up the $30k in repairs and keeps on driving. For an S class that is now worth $5k, maybe the owner just says no.
It doesn't matter which car it is, they all eventually leak. Rubber gaskets that starts getting old, hard and leaking.

They ended up breaking the cooling lines which sucked. Ended out of there at around $850. Time to start planning out the passenger side valve gasket cover replacement. Thanks everyone for all the help and information!

I just had the timing cover gasket replace in January by my local indy (labor rate of $169/hr), along with repaired leaks of left valve cover, cam adjusters, and oil pan gasket.

The job for the timing cover gasket totaled $3900.12. Labor alone on that job was $3802.50....22.5 hours. Gaskets, sealant, and O-rings were the only parts included in that job.

My indy is an honest mechanic. Everything was done at book rate that my warranty company (Endurance) agreed to pay. It seems the OP's estimate was on the low end, especially with replacement of hoses and bolts as part of the job.