It began weeping then failed, I nearly ran out of oil before I realized what's going on and ordered in a new gasket .

? What causes these to fail ? .

Any tips or suggestions, links to what steps to take or avoid will be greatly appreciated .

TIA,

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

because the car is old and it had time to vibrate loose, the gasket hardened. its a normal thing. think of the leverage the filter housing exerts on the block pedestal as it goes through normal cyclic vibrations.

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85 300d 0m603, 717, he341, 50mm external W/G with open dump, intake manifold as well as intercooled. need to figure out a different trans before i throw more fuel at it. the 717 trans and 8" ceramic clutch are already pissed with stock elements.

reassemble using grey rtv on both sides giving an hour for gasket tac before you assemble.

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85 300d 0m603, 717, he341, 50mm external W/G with open dump, intake manifold as well as intercooled. need to figure out a different trans before i throw more fuel at it. the 717 trans and 8" ceramic clutch are already pissed with stock elements.

Warning I did not spell check or check for typos.

The origonal block to oil filter gasket is just a paper gasket. They can srink and even fall apart over time. But, that is not the only plase it can leak. To the rear bottom if the Oil Filter housing is a bolted on plate that has where your Oil Pressure Gauge attaches and if you have a Turbl there is a banjo bolt and to crush washers.

The Plate has another paper gasket and the banjo bolt can be tightend too much and crack the plate and cause a leak. Some people have had the Turbo Oil Feed line crack.

The other issues are the the block can warp with heat and time and it is even possible or rust to eat under the gasket.

I like silicon sealant but this is not an area for that. Use a thin rubbercement type gasket sealer/adhesive like Gasgacinch. Essentially a high temp rubber cement.

The real mercedes replacment gasket has a thin sheet of Metal inside with a smooth rubbery coating on one side and a waffled/grid on the other side. Seems really well engineered for the job.

The other companies seem to sell some thick paper laminant. But, I have never actually seen one. People have used them with no issues.

When I did the job about 6 years ago I used the real Mercedes Gaskets.

What I found I could not do was use a Torque Wrench on all of the allen head bolts. I sub in some normal Hex head bolts and was able to fit a beam type Torque Wrench in to do the Torque. Others have said removing the Steering Box gives you lots of room.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Thanx Fellas .

The gasket is only a few years old and the allen headed bolts are all tight .

It's definitely the gasket not any cracks, evdry thing around it is clean and dry, it's weeping right from the bottom .

(you can make fun of me later when it stlil leaks and I find a crack)

No way I'd use any sort of RTV nor even Permatex "The Right Stuff" ~ I'll dig in my garage and see if I still have a can of Gasgachinch ~ I'm familiar with it as I was taught to make my own gaskets in the 1960's but this one looks too important plus it's only $1.25 @ Pelican Parts so I ordered it and will will-call it Monday, hopefully I'll be able to get it then .

No way am I going to dismount the steering box, not even if I wasn't crippled ! .

I guess I'll have to undo the oil cooler hoses ? no chance I can simply un bolt the oil filter canister and ever so carefully slip in a nw gasket and be good to go ? .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

The OE metal gasket is only available from one source now. Kent has a video on this subject on his YouTube channel, and sells the correct gasket with wrench for the hard to reach bolts. I bought it, but have not had the chance to install it on my OM616, it died before I had the opportunity to install it. I will be using it on my OM617 build, but it looks to be good quality. Do a Google Search for it.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

And here's a nice little DIY how to from our very own Squig :

https://forum.w116.org/mechanicals/replacing-oil-filter-housing-gasket-on-300sd-(om617)/

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

"FWIW- I had great success with the less than $5 Victor Reinz Gasket. The secret is the clean the mating surface until no bumps can be found, install it dry with no sealant and torque down the housing or an even pattern."

Sounds good to me, I'll give it a go next week .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

If you use that wrench you won't be torquing it to a specific spec.

I removed the Oil Filter Housing using Allen wrenches and an Allen Socket. I don't remember if I needed to cut one leg of an Allen Wrench short as the Mercedes S tool is.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

One if the things I like about Gasgacinch is that it it thin enough that it actually absorbs into the gasket paper. If you are willing to take the time you can apply a coat and let it dry and apply more coats with periods of drying in between and you end up with kind of a rubberized papper gasket.

Unforunatly the local chain auto part stores don't sell it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Removal of the steering gear allows for access to get a torque wrench in and tighten to spec.
Use MB gasket without sealer.
Great time to also change the steering bushing.
I did this twice.
Second time with the gear out made it a breeze.

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1983 300CD Turbodiesel

'Desert Rose' had a valvecover oil leak with the Victor Reinz gasket from the last valve adjustment.
So I got a MB gasket from the dealer and also need some Gasgacinch.

At first I couldn't find it at the various local auto part stores.
Search results showed the Gasgacinch with the fancier "Edelbrock 9300 Gasgacinch" labeling being stocked at the local San Carlos PepBoys.

It was located in the high performance section at the front of the store.
They don't stock it at the back of the store where all the other sealants are located.
It was pricier at $10.99 for 4 ounces but I did have a "$10 off $30 purchase" coupon which helped.

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78 W116 300SD 'Desert Rose' new as of 01/26/2014
79 W116 300SD 'Stormcloud' RIP 04/11/2022

We have a Pepboys locally. However, just before I posted here I ordered some on eBay $15 which included the shipping cost for 8oz but not the edlebrock one which I have never used. The one with the pic of the Girl I made by Some company called Porter here in So. El Monte CA.


When I went to NAPA online they sold the Edlebrock version at about the same as you paid.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

True, but looks like it would be handy when the everything is together.

Unrelated question, is Mercedes S like some taboo on this forum? I see that if I type it out, it's blocked out like a curse word.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

Porter Mfg. also makes the Gasgacinch for Edelbrock.
Same product as the one with the girl ...just with the Edelbrock brand on the label in place of the girl.

Online puchase is always available and many times is less costly.
Just was letting others know if you can't find Gasgacinch in the chemical aisle of your favorite local
auto parts store, then look for the Edelbrock version in the performance aisle.

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78 W116 300SD 'Desert Rose' new as of 01/26/2014
79 W116 300SD 'Stormcloud' RIP 04/11/2022