Can somebody tell me what the best sealant would be to stop a chronic leak in the valve cover of a 380sl? I recognize that Mercedes doesn't recommend using a sealant, but I've already changed the gasket and torqued it to spec.

Thanks in advance.

Ultra Black is the one to use for oil. Are you sure the valve cover isn't warped,bent,damaged?

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http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...-RESIZED-1.jpg
1991 300E - 212K and rising fast...

very easy to not seat the vc gasket on benzes

old trick is when the gasket is on the valve cover ~~ is to set it on a flat surface, if it wobbles, it's not seated right

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1989 300ce smoke silver / brazil, in a constant state of flux ~~~

what did you torque it too????????????

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I used 2.2 ft. lbs.

Is there a suggested sequence of torquing the bolts. I'm about to do mine on the 1991 300E when it gets back from the total transmission remanufacter it's going through (sigh)
Might there also be a pdf somewhere on replacing the valve cover gasket?I realize it sounds pretty straight forward

Nick

I have the same. I have re-torqued them. I dont know why they only used 4 bolts to hold them down. Six would have been better. I think my leak was less noticeable before I replaced them!

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

The mating surface on the cylinder head needs to be spotless clean as well, even the smallest amount of grit will break the seal. Also torquing to very low torque in a criss-cross motion is a must.

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http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...-RESIZED-1.jpg
1991 300E - 212K and rising fast...