I have the car in for maintenance(92'300SD W140),it needs small items,motor mount,steering damper...anyway,I have a great independent that works on it,and he tells me that there is a very small leak(external) on the front of the engine,from the headgasket,oil,just enough to create a spot on the block,not enough to leak down,yet.Car has a 50k miles on new engine after usual rod bend...updated block,parts,so,it should not be a issue,right now,however,my mechanic told me to look into selling it,before it gets worse(honest guy),because he will not attemt to tight it,affraid that a bolt will break and it is allready settled...also,car just changed the climate,from south TX to Chicago in the middle of the winter...is it possible that the 70F temp difference ,overnight,started that leak?

I would not worry about a small external leak.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Thats a common spot on 603's they all seem to weep around the timing chain cavity. NFW would I pull the head to fix that, unless it gets a lot worse. If its leaking just enough to make the seam dirty, thats not a leak, wait for it to drip then fix it. Chances are it will never get that bad.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

If it were my car, I'd try to tighten the 2 bolts that surround the oil passage on that side of the head, about 1/16 turn each. The bolts are torque-to-yield type, very unlikely they will break... but if they do, you need to pull the head and change the gasket. I wouldn't pull the head until the leak gets worse. Shame you didn't notice the problem before the 50kmi warranty was up.

I would NOT sell the car because of this, though... that's just silly. What brand and viscostiy oil are you using, btw?

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Dave
Boise, ID
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