I found out today that my valve covers are leaking, I was told it can be a 5 hour job to replace the valve covers, is this something that needs to be fixed right away or can it cause major issues in the near future? i will be monitoring to see if the check oil messages comes on the dash but i just recently got an oil change and have had no lights on the dash for the past 4 months since the oil change...

any thoughts appreciated thanks

 

Very common problem. It is something you can do yourself if u have moderate experience.
Most of the time they seep oil. Pop the hood while the car is running and warmed up,and see if u smell or see smoke. also get a flashlight and look for oil. My passenger side leaks alittle. I'm not worried about it because it's very light. I'm going to change plugs in 10k miles and will do it then. 350-400 bucks would be my guess to have them changed.

 

no, this isn't something that you have to do "right away". like the member said above, you can save yourself a lot of money and time by doing it yourself. very easy job with only needing a few tools. 5 hours seem excessive but thats the dealership for you. but you can get by for some time with it just like it is especially your oil level has been steady. most of the time, its a very very slow leak and not one that will cause your "low oil" warning to come on. many owners have done their own valve covers and have used a sealant to prevent it from leaking for a hell of a long time instead of redoing it every 30 to 40k miles.

 

It depends how bad it is. The gaskets are only about 25$and there is a writeup on how to do it. If it was smoking and you have headers I would do it sooner then later.

 

You can try re-torquing the valve cover bolts. Last year when I changed the spark plugs I noticed some seeping/leaking. I torqued all the bolts, you'll need an inch-lbs torque wrench, and cleaned up the oil and it's been dry since. YMMV.

 

thanks for the replies, its just crazy that the parts is like 75 bucks but the labor is 500

 

its not just the gaskets. you need to also separate the ventilation chambers, clean off all the silicone and reseal.

 

That was the only place mine was leaking, didn't even have to take the covers off.

 

I just did both of mine 2 weeks ago along with plugs and some other things. The passenger side is VERY easy to do. I used the DIY section on the forum here. Depending on your level of mechanical acumen, it's really not bad at all. The drivers side is, in my opinion, a bit tougher...with the fuel line in the way, etc. Good luck.

 

It's easy. Remove the air box, engine cover, coil packs, move the metal air line, unbolt the metal fuel line, and remove the valve covers. Might take an hour and a half tops. Get the two gaskets and a tube of black gasket maker. clean the valve covers up, lay your gasket, and use the gasket maker for the breather cover. Put it all back together and done.

 

i see the valve covers were replaced in 2011 as well, are they really that prone to leaking so often?

 

Depends if they did a good job and resealed the chambers or not.

 

if all they did was what mercedes wants you to do is just replace the rubber gasket, you damn right it has to be done again and again, roughly about 40k miles between doing them but if YOU use the sealant, like the black gasket sealant, the above member referenced, then YOU won't have to do them again as long as you own the car!!! think it over. if you take it in to mercedes, they will not use sealant, they will only replace the gasket. so, think it over and don't take too long.

 

Your comments couldn't be further from the truth. The problem with these forums is all the bad information out there. While you may have had a bad experience with a dealer that maybe only replaced the gaskets that is very uncommon as I've seen hundreds done in the dealers and the chambers were always re sealed.

 

i noticed you only mentioned the "chambers"??? what leaks most of the time are the main valve covers. so i like to ask: did mercedes seal the main valve covers?? hell no they didnt and everybody here on the forums know this about mercedes: they do not seal the main valve covers, the chambers, yes they do seal those b/c there is sealant around those from when the car was manufacturered but there is no sealant around the main valve covers and thus i was referencing this fact: mercedes DO NOT seal the main valve covers!!!!! and if/when the op takes it into mercedes to do this job: they will again not use sealant around the valve covers and he will indeed need to do this same job again like its been done already in the recent past due to the fact no sealant was used then.

 

Ok wow. Well good luck if you ever have to remove the valve covers in the future and good luck getting a good clean surface to re seal it after that. That's an independent shop backyard mechanic type thinking and will come back to bite you later. Would you use sealant on your transmission pan or pilot bushing connector?

 

i reference the "chambers" in my statements to the smaller section that i believe is on the passenger's side towards the back part of the valve cover. there is a raised section there that is indeed sealed and if the op decides to do this job, this will be the most difficult part of the job getting all that old sealant off that small, tiny space in that part of the "chamber". but the actual valve covers, mercedes only recommends to use the rubber gasket around those and there is no sealant to be used on that part of the valve covers. this is the part I am talking about using the sealant around and the same part that no dealership will use sealant around b/c its not in their epc/wis etc etc work manual to use sealant. would love to hear from all members, any member, that can tell me that i am wrong here about these valve covers. because if mercedes did use sealant around these valve covers, they would not be leaking and those members that have done this job themselves, were there any sealant around these valve covers????? THANKS!

 

The actual valve covers are not sealed with sealant from the factory or in the workshop you are right about that. I'm saying it's for a reason and should never be sealed this way.

 

there is a post some years ago done by Yachtmaster, a very informative and excellent mbworld member that have provided some great diy pics and information and he has done a great writeup with pics included for said valve covers. to first answer the above: the tranny and the pilot connector do not notoriously leak. so no, you do not use sealant around these areas b/c there is no issue with leaking around these areas that cost $500 from the op statement, to fix?????? just as Yachtmaster tutorial shows, sealant is used (not a very big amount, just a very small amount btw) to avoid going back to the dealership to pay $500 for leaking valve covers. OP, however misinformed i am or stupid i may be, take information here and research my comments with those of others and then dig deeper still and my best hope is that YOU gain some insight into what maybe I or others have done and thru your research from numerous posts and information, YOU can decide whats best for you and how you would like to proceed. another member have also mentioned the sealant for valve covers and i guess we both are "backyard mechanic" and dont know what the hell we are doing but hopefully other members chime in and YOU gain some knowledge about how mercedes do things and how we, as owners, have done things to avoid $500 or $1000 fees to keep our cars from leaking and running strong. Good luck with your decision and sorry to have gotten off on the wrong track here, just wanted to share with YOU what many of us have done to avoid, in this particular case, a $500 bill that you can do for under $50. take care and have a great week!!!

 

I agree with what you are saying about adding some sealant to the seal will make it last longer and I'm all for saving money and making something last longer. What I don't agree with in this situation is adding sealant to the gasket for the reason of future repairs. Cleaning this sealant of isn't an easy chore and having to clean it off of the heads would be a nightmare. 272/273 engines for example when someone decides to remove the leaking camshaft caps and centrifuge cover and just "repair" them by applying sealant and reinstalling rather than replacing them. They will end up leaking again and then the sealant must be cleaned off of an almost impossible area to clean in order to get the new ones to seal properly. We all have our different ways so yes let the OP decide for himself what's best.

 

Mr. Green is correct , don't for the love of all that is mechanical , glue your valve covers on with sealant!

Someone will have to deal with that nightmare down the road and curse you for doing it, plus it's pointless if you just pop new gaskets on and torque them correctly. If you want to be extra OCD about things , retorque the bolts in a few weeks or months after things have had some heat cycles and settled a bit. That should circumvent any future seepage, and won't result in a mechanic out there somewhere sticking pins in a doll that looks like you

 

I believe you mean I am correct. Mr Green suggested to add sealant. I advise against it.

 

Roc man-you're right
Lmao, Sorry Al ! You've got no love from me for team "glue your valve covers on"

There's too many reasons that they might need to come off in the future.
-ticking lifter
-valve stem seals
-weak valve spring
-blown head gasket

The front/rear cover or oil pan? Glue away. Much less likely to need to remove those and if you do, the chances are the engine will be out of the car anyway .

 

yeah im from the chevy family and EVERYTHING gets sealant. and yes, I did use the thinnest line of sealant when I did my valve covers and im not quite sure I would agree with if they need to go back in there for whatever reason?? the thin, very light sealant just provides an "extra" layer of protection against leaking. OP mentioned these covers were done in 2011 and its only been 5 years and leaking again??? I mention Yachtmaster diy and he actually shows you the small, thin line of sealant , I don't quite agree with how "difficult" it will be going back in there to do cams, rockers etc etc... but hey, not to be off topic: I have a 1994 chevy 2wd 6.5 diesel turbo and I have done all the maintenance on this puppy with 475,000 miles and counting without engine rebuild or tranny rebuild also and not a damn leak whatsoever in this old, beat-up truck. ?????? I can't help but to use a few knowledge that's been passed down by my old man on the cars of the future too. but OP, don't use the sealant idea that I have done and so talked about, just be prepared 5 more years from now, to get back in there and replace that gasket again. my best hope for you, you would have sold it and that would be someone's problem from there! best of luck!!! whats up Chris!!