Oil leak around the oil pan gasket?

[jmerc6]

I just finished replacing the head gasket, water pump, and all the new gaskets that go along with the job on my '90 300CE. I also replaced the camshaft position sensor because of an oil leak. This morning when I peeked underneath I noticed a few drops of oil hanging on the oil pan. Does the oil pan gasket go bad? If I replace it, is there anything I need to pay special attention to?

[Ferdman]

Inspect your engine closely for the actual leak source. I would suspect the leak is actually coming from the valve cover gasket, timing chain cover, etc. and not the oil pan gasket.

[Ron in SC]

It could also be the front crankshaft seal. I had a leak I thought was oil pan gasket leaking. My buddy who owns independent MB shop looked at it and said he thought it was front crankshaft seal. I replaced seal last week.

[jmerc6]

I drove the car for about 80 miles and checked carefully around the top timing cover. I saw a small trickle of oil on the edge beneath the distributor. I didn't replace the o-ring around the distributor. Could there be a leak about the distributor?