hi,,what would you do in my situation?my 87 260E has 54000 miles on it.car is like new.it runs great but smokes and uses alot of oil.should i change the valve seals with head on the car or take it off and have it rebuilt and head gasket.i have an extra car on the road so downtime is no problem.thanx for all replys

If the smoke is continuous, you probably need rings as well. Leaky valves usually only smoke at start-up (unless they're noisy) due to oil migration down the valve shaft when the engine is off.

The smoke has a blue-ish tint, correct?

You should pick up a vacuum gauge and see what sort of vacuum your engine is pulling at idle.

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A.S.E Tech A1,A6,A7,A8 & MVAC 609 + EPA 608

Unless stated otherwise, any question I ask is about my greymarket 1985 380SEL.

no blow by,i have a vac gauge and ill see what its pulling when the car is back,,my friend borrowed it.it runs real nice and smooth and powerful.

I think it is worth trying the valve seals. It is still a good car.

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Ed
1960 220 SE Coupe (Ponton)
1999 E320 Wagon
2007 E350

yeah its a real nice one,we put 4000 miles since i got it.it really smokes a big puff after i put oil in.when driving you see smoke at red lights or a puff when i gas it to go.vacuum is at 14.5 at idle

Yeh it'll be the valve seals. Get those done first before removing the entire head because at that point you "might as well" get the head rebuilt with new valve guides/seals/ head gasket etc..which will be $300-$500 worth of parts + labor at machine shop...or $15 for the valve stem seal kit.

I believe my valve guide replacement on my 87 260E was a success (search my name for the thread). I have not noticed any smoke upon acceleration when the engine is cold.

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

I'll bet that they're all worn, but that there are one or two that are shot. A quick check of the spark plugs will tell you if that is the case.

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-tp


1990 300SE "Corinne"- 145k daily driver - street modified differential - PARTING OUT OR SELLING SOON - PORTLAND OR. AREA - PM ME FOR DETAILS
1988 560SEL "Gunther"- 190K passes anything except a gas station
1997 S420 - 265k just bought it with a rebuilt trans. Lovely condition

Definitely worth the money IMO. Sounds cool. Have any pics you can share?

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1981 300TD
2005 C55
2004 E500
1999 ML430
1992 400E
1998 C43
2001 SL500
1988 300SEL
1986 190E 16V
1991 190E 2.6

Low K cars - ones that are only run on Sundays to go to church or doing the Saturday shopping run have a history of dried out valve seals.

Bottom end usually has many many miles on it before the rings need doing.

I did my seals on the 2.6 and put up a writeup on it way back in 2002. Hope it might help a bit...

M103 Valve Stem Seals Done!

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D.H.

04 ML500
02 E430

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Vacuum should be 18-22 at idle. 14.5 is pretty low.

Have you done a compression test?

Valve seals really only stop oil in the heads from leaking into the combustion chamber, and would have to be pretty bad to smoke so much. If it smokes a ton on start-up, but alot less once it's warmed up, it probably is the seals.

Do yourself a favor and google "Reading a vacuum gauge" and follow the test procedures in there.

__________________
A.S.E Tech A1,A6,A7,A8 & MVAC 609 + EPA 608

Unless stated otherwise, any question I ask is about my greymarket 1985 380SEL.