E55 Oil Cooler seal ring/ gasket DIY
#1
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Eastern WV / Central MD
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'05 E55, ‘00 ML55, ‘92 500E
E55 Oil Cooler seal ring/ gasket DIY
I just replaced my three oil cooler seal rings on my 2005 E55 this past weekend and figured I would write up a simple DIY for the process. I did not take any pictures but will try to explain the process I used. I was quoted by a local mercedes Indy shop $180 dollars to replace these three gaskets with parts NOT INCLUDED. It took me about 20 minutes to complete the job and I wasn't rushing through it
Tools needed-
T30 torx bit
46mm socket and a 3in extension
E10 torx socket
Plenty of rags/ paper towels
Brake cleaner or degreaser
Torque Wrench
1/4in drive ratchet or screwdriver
1/2in drive
My 46mm socket was for a 1/2 in drive. I had to purchase a 3/4in to 1/2in adapter to make it work.
Parts needed-
Oil cooler seal rings or kit
Engine Oil (this would be a good time to change your oil if you like)
I went through my parts distributor and got the 3 piece seal ring kit for $15. Mercedes will charge you way more but if you shop around online you may be able to find the kit for less than what the dealership charges. You could alternatively buy each seal ring/ gasket individually. My part number for the 3 piece seal ring kit is
Mercedes # 112 184 02 61 FE KT
How to-
1. Remove engine cover on cool engine
2. Remove the plastic double hose clip connected to a rubber and metal line near the filter assembly
3. Remove oil filter cap and place somewhere clean
4. Take your E10 torx socket and remove the single bolt for the upper oil line going into the cooler
5. Place a rag under the oil line for the oil inside of the line to drain on to
6. Remove the E10 torx bolt from the second lower oil line
7. Place a good bit of rags below this second line as I felt as though way more oil came out than the upper line. I had to place a bunch of rags under the opening and pull the hose out for 1 second at a time to let the oil get soaked up into my rags. After so many pulls, the oil will drain out and then you can fully remove the oil line and move it away from the cooler.
8. Move both oil cooler lines that you just removed from the cooling unit and set them aside so that they are not in the way
9. Take some rags and try to suck up some of the oil that is pooled up near the 46mm bolt inside of the filter assembly
10. Take your 46mm socket and choice of leverage device and place the socket into the filter housing onto the 46mm bolt. Then loosen the 46mm bolt. Be careful as mine was pretty tight and you don't want to lose grip and strike the aluminum oil filter assembly or bust a knuckle
11. once you break the 46mm bolt free, you should be able to then twist the bolt out by hand, it is very important that you don't monkey it and damage the bolt or threads
12. Once you remove the 46mm bolt, the oil filter housing and oil cooler unit should be free, all you have to do is give it a firm grip and carefully break it loose. You will want to lift it out up and right to remove the assembly from the engine bay. Once removed, you can then clean the face of the engine behind the filter/ cooler assembly as well as remove the large seal that's between the filter assembly and engine. BE CAREFUL not to knock any dirt into the open hole that goes to the inside of the engine.
13. Once the oil filter housing and cooler assembly is removed, you can now start the initial cleaning of the unit. Use which ever product you like that will cut the old oil and grime that has accumulated on the assemblies exterior.
14. Now that the exterior of the assembly is clean, you can now take your T30 torx bit and unscrew the four bolts that hold the cooler to the filter assembly
15. Once the two units are separated, you will then see the two seal rings that will be replaced. They are pretty straight forward to replace, pull the old ones out, clean the mating surfaces and make it look good, then take your new seals, place them in and then then reassemble the oil cooler to the oil filter housing. Be careful again when installing the four screws as to not damage the threads and make sure it all lines up properly. It is recommended to torque the bolts to 11nm (8.1ftlb)(97.3inlb)
16. Now the oil cooler and filter assembly should be ready to reinstall
17. You should have the large main seal left if you did not replace it as soon as you took it off when the filter/ cooler assembly was removed. You will want to make sure that you install it before placing the cooler/ filter assembly back on the engine. It's not important which side it faces and the shape of the seal ring will ensure a proper fit. Make sure it's on correctly and as flush as possible.
18. Take your filter/ cooler assembly and place it back onto the engine. There is a little line up tab on the front of the filter housing that will help you guide it back into it's proper place
19. Once the unit is aligned and back into it's proper space, you will now take your 46mm bolt and use care in reinstalling it back into it's threaded home. I highly recommend using a light touch when reinstalling the bolt into it's correct position. Mine didn't have much resistance at all during removal or install and if you meet resistance, I recommend taking it back out and try to guide it back into it's properly aligned place. It should be as smooth as butter going in. Screw it all of the way down by hand and once it's finally reached bottom you will then get your torque wrench and your 46mm socket.
20. Take your 46mm socket and torque wrench, place it onto the bolt and torque the bolt to 70nm(51ftlb)(619.5inlb)
21. Reconnect the lower oil line and install the E10 bolt and then reconnect the upper oil line with E10 bolt to the cooler assembly
22. Reinstall your oil filter and cap back into the filter assembly, reinstall the plastic double hose clamp to it's original position, replace engine over, and clean up.
23. Top your engine oil level off to the correct level to make up for the oil lost during the process.
That should be about it, if I forgot something or need to edit, let me know. I'm tired.
Tools needed-
T30 torx bit
46mm socket and a 3in extension
E10 torx socket
Plenty of rags/ paper towels
Brake cleaner or degreaser
Torque Wrench
1/4in drive ratchet or screwdriver
1/2in drive
My 46mm socket was for a 1/2 in drive. I had to purchase a 3/4in to 1/2in adapter to make it work.
Parts needed-
Oil cooler seal rings or kit
Engine Oil (this would be a good time to change your oil if you like)
I went through my parts distributor and got the 3 piece seal ring kit for $15. Mercedes will charge you way more but if you shop around online you may be able to find the kit for less than what the dealership charges. You could alternatively buy each seal ring/ gasket individually. My part number for the 3 piece seal ring kit is
Mercedes # 112 184 02 61 FE KT
How to-
1. Remove engine cover on cool engine
2. Remove the plastic double hose clip connected to a rubber and metal line near the filter assembly
3. Remove oil filter cap and place somewhere clean
4. Take your E10 torx socket and remove the single bolt for the upper oil line going into the cooler
5. Place a rag under the oil line for the oil inside of the line to drain on to
6. Remove the E10 torx bolt from the second lower oil line
7. Place a good bit of rags below this second line as I felt as though way more oil came out than the upper line. I had to place a bunch of rags under the opening and pull the hose out for 1 second at a time to let the oil get soaked up into my rags. After so many pulls, the oil will drain out and then you can fully remove the oil line and move it away from the cooler.
8. Move both oil cooler lines that you just removed from the cooling unit and set them aside so that they are not in the way
9. Take some rags and try to suck up some of the oil that is pooled up near the 46mm bolt inside of the filter assembly
10. Take your 46mm socket and choice of leverage device and place the socket into the filter housing onto the 46mm bolt. Then loosen the 46mm bolt. Be careful as mine was pretty tight and you don't want to lose grip and strike the aluminum oil filter assembly or bust a knuckle
11. once you break the 46mm bolt free, you should be able to then twist the bolt out by hand, it is very important that you don't monkey it and damage the bolt or threads
12. Once you remove the 46mm bolt, the oil filter housing and oil cooler unit should be free, all you have to do is give it a firm grip and carefully break it loose. You will want to lift it out up and right to remove the assembly from the engine bay. Once removed, you can then clean the face of the engine behind the filter/ cooler assembly as well as remove the large seal that's between the filter assembly and engine. BE CAREFUL not to knock any dirt into the open hole that goes to the inside of the engine.
13. Once the oil filter housing and cooler assembly is removed, you can now start the initial cleaning of the unit. Use which ever product you like that will cut the old oil and grime that has accumulated on the assemblies exterior.
14. Now that the exterior of the assembly is clean, you can now take your T30 torx bit and unscrew the four bolts that hold the cooler to the filter assembly
15. Once the two units are separated, you will then see the two seal rings that will be replaced. They are pretty straight forward to replace, pull the old ones out, clean the mating surfaces and make it look good, then take your new seals, place them in and then then reassemble the oil cooler to the oil filter housing. Be careful again when installing the four screws as to not damage the threads and make sure it all lines up properly. It is recommended to torque the bolts to 11nm (8.1ftlb)(97.3inlb)
16. Now the oil cooler and filter assembly should be ready to reinstall
17. You should have the large main seal left if you did not replace it as soon as you took it off when the filter/ cooler assembly was removed. You will want to make sure that you install it before placing the cooler/ filter assembly back on the engine. It's not important which side it faces and the shape of the seal ring will ensure a proper fit. Make sure it's on correctly and as flush as possible.
18. Take your filter/ cooler assembly and place it back onto the engine. There is a little line up tab on the front of the filter housing that will help you guide it back into it's proper place
19. Once the unit is aligned and back into it's proper space, you will now take your 46mm bolt and use care in reinstalling it back into it's threaded home. I highly recommend using a light touch when reinstalling the bolt into it's correct position. Mine didn't have much resistance at all during removal or install and if you meet resistance, I recommend taking it back out and try to guide it back into it's properly aligned place. It should be as smooth as butter going in. Screw it all of the way down by hand and once it's finally reached bottom you will then get your torque wrench and your 46mm socket.
20. Take your 46mm socket and torque wrench, place it onto the bolt and torque the bolt to 70nm(51ftlb)(619.5inlb)
21. Reconnect the lower oil line and install the E10 bolt and then reconnect the upper oil line with E10 bolt to the cooler assembly
22. Reinstall your oil filter and cap back into the filter assembly, reinstall the plastic double hose clamp to it's original position, replace engine over, and clean up.
23. Top your engine oil level off to the correct level to make up for the oil lost during the process.
That should be about it, if I forgot something or need to edit, let me know. I'm tired.
Last edited by Bean93x; 02-13-2016 at 10:22 PM.
The following users liked this post:
jvakos (12-17-2022)
#5
Very detailed write-up, thank you! Job was pretty much identical on my W210 E55, except I didn't find it necessary to detach the oil lines. Was surprised and a little concerned to find how brittle and stiff the old seals were. Makes me wonder what else is in store over the next couple of years :/
#6
Member
Yeah very strange the 3 seals seem to be the same for a **** ton of models, only problem is any website I’m going to is showing they are not compatible for 2003-2006 e55’s. Can’t even find them on Mercedes parts websites. Weird. Anybody have a link or part numbers that will actually verify they work on our cars if not I’m just gonna go ahead and order
Trending Topics
#8
Junior Member
#9
It should be noted that MB doesn’t sell a kit for this repair. The part number for this mysterious kit is a made up number and the seals are aftermarket and not OEM. Aftermarket seals and gaskets are prone to leak even more.
On a positive note: Nice write up.
On a positive note: Nice write up.
#10
Member
Part numbers for the 3 seals are: 112 184 00 61, 112 184 02 61, and 112 184 03 61. Quick search shows FCP only sells the genuine seal for 112 184 02 61. I assume other two can obtained from the dealer, I can't imagine they'd cost much. Hopefully this helps those who want to piece together their own kit using OEM seals
#11
Part numbers for the 3 seals are: 112 184 00 61, 112 184 02 61, and 112 184 03 61. Quick search shows FCP only sells the genuine seal for 112 184 02 61. I assume other two can obtained from the dealer, I can't imagine they'd cost much. Hopefully this helps those who want to piece together their own kit using OEM seals
#12
Member
Yes their prices are higher than most. Depends where you live and how much it costs to ship things back to them. Would be worth it if you can get regular replacement items (brakes, oil etc) back to them for little to 0 cost. Small items like these seals wouldn't be worth it (for me at least) since shipping would cost more than the seal itself, and they shouldn't be anymore than a few bucks anyway at the dealer
#13
Yes their prices are higher than most. Depends where you live and how much it costs to ship things back to them. Would be worth it if you can get regular replacement items (brakes, oil etc) back to them for little to 0 cost. Small items like these seals wouldn't be worth it (for me at least) since shipping would cost more than the seal itself, and they shouldn't be anymore than a few bucks anyway at the dealer
#14
Senior Member
I’ve just done this job on a W209 CLK55.
Very straightforward, no need to disconnect the oil lines from the oil cooler. On my car I found disconnecting the upper coolant hose gave me a bit more space.
Very straightforward, no need to disconnect the oil lines from the oil cooler. On my car I found disconnecting the upper coolant hose gave me a bit more space.
#16
Senior Member