$793 fuel leak on E300 - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

R Leo · #16 02-12-2004, 11:24 AM

Stealerships are just like law firms...it's all about billable hours.

Rick Miley · #17 02-12-2004, 11:25 AM

Well, I really didn't intend to turn this into a dealer-bashing thread. We've been down that road before and it doesn't get us anywhere.

The part numbers are there for anyone with a leaking E300. I plan to take the intake manifold off this weekend and find out exactly what is leaking, order the parts, and put it back together next week.

michakaveli · #18 02-12-2004, 01:20 PM

Rick...

On my E300 last winter I had a similar issue with fuel leaking on th eground and the top of my injections pump being a little wet, resulted in the crush washers which are made of copper needing replacement. This cost me about $389 at my local indy which I thought was pricey, but I trust their work. Haven't had a leak since...

Rick Miley · #19 02-12-2004, 09:00 PM

I think it is fixed. In the image below you can see the electronic shutoff device on the side of the injection pump. On top of it are two of the plastic fuel lines and you can see that they have a sort of snap ring connector. Well, with about 5 minutes of poking around, I found that the line on the bottom of this device was unsnapped. One of the lines on the fuel pump at the lower right of the picture was also unsnapped. I'll drive it to work tomorrow and report on whether snapping the connectors shut fixed the problem.

Rick Miley · #20 02-12-2004, 09:01 PM

Now, time for some dealer bashing. The photo below is their idea of a leaking valve cover. Sure looks like a leaking CCV breather tube to me.

Robert W. Roe · #21 02-12-2004, 10:40 PM

Nice pictures.

I'm smelling fuel in the SD, and I'm wondering what might have gone bad because the car sat for several months.

Some dealersships are ok, others are not.

I had one service writer at an Acura dealership that took really good care of me, charging me the "better" labor rate ($36/hour vs $48 for people who didn't buy the car there; don't quote me on the exact $$$; this was 10 years ago).

He also was a lot more honest than the other service writer, who tried to talk my wife into spending $900 to fix a leaking rear main seal.
I figured, what is leaking?
I saw no big drips, and you can buy a lot of oil and/or ATF for $900...

LightMan · #22 02-12-2004, 10:42 PM

my ccv tube leaked in a simlar fashion, although not nearly as badly. Mine was replaced under warranty and no probs since.

Hope the fuel hose clicks solved the problem. Did you get the intake off?

michakaveli · #23 02-12-2004, 10:43 PM

Rick...

Do you have anymore pictures of the engine with the plastic valve cover cover off that you can post?

Rick Miley · #24 02-13-2004, 09:07 AM

LightMan, I did not get the intake manifold off because I don't have the right size Torx bit. Nor could I take the fuel filter off because it is mounted with those silly six point (inverse torx?) bolts. Everything was done by squeezing my hand in between the manifold and washer bottle.

Michakaveli, I only took the one picture, but it should be no problem to remove that cover and snap some more this weekend. It is a very intersting design. Hey, wait a minute. Yours is the same! Just remove the 8 bolts and the plastic cover lifts right off. It shouldn't take you 5 minutes!

LightMan · #25 02-13-2004, 10:35 AM

Rick I thought you got those 6 point/security torx bits for the jetta's maf??

Mich - always asking for pics! Nooots!

Rick Miley · #26 02-13-2004, 06:36 PM

80 miles today and no leaks. However, I will continue to monitor the situation.

michakaveli · #27 02-13-2004, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rick Miley
Michakaveli, I only took the one picture, but it should be no problem to remove that cover and snap some more this weekend. It is a very intersting design. Hey, wait a minute. Yours is the same! Just remove the 8 bolts and the plastic cover lifts right off. It shouldn't take you 5 minutes!

The crossover pipe from the intake doesn't allow me to take it off like on yours Rick.

84300DT · #28 02-13-2004, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rick Miley
80 miles today and no leaks. However, I will continue to monitor the situation.

awsome rick - fuel leaks are the worst.
soo, you have spent exactly 0$ sofar on the problems since you left the dealer?

DR.DIESEL · #29 02-13-2004, 08:57 PM

Our policy at our shop is to look at peoples brakes every time the
car is in the shop. If the pad warning light comes on shortly after
the car is at the dealer, we get accused of being negligent and
"trying to kill" our customers by shiping their cars with bad brakes.
Sounds like the labor estimates at your shop are way out of line.
MB book time to R&R valve cover including injection lines is 2.5hrs.
I never replace "just" the o-rings since the plastic flanges on those fuel feed lines like to break off stranding you. The new lines are only around 10 to 20 bucks a piece.

Dr.D

Rick Miley · #30 02-24-2004, 08:45 PM

Here's an update on the situation - I had spent $0 until yesterday. I refilled the fuel tank over the weekend and the leak reappeared. The brake wear indicator also showed up yesterday, so I guess they really were that close. So I called Phil and ordered all the fuel lines plus the necessary brake parts. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but the parts prices were significantly less than those quoted from the dealer. The fuel lines, brake pads, rotors, sensors, plus a few filters and a few miscellaneous parts for my 240D all came in at about $340.

FYI, my uncle's 99 E300 is also in the shop with a fuel leak. Haven't heard the final outcome on his yet.