Does anyone here have a good answer on how to replace the oil pan gasket on my 1994 C280 without pulling the engine almost completely out of the car? Car is on the rack, Need help now! Thanks for any tips and traps

Just an update. A friend of mine knows a tech that works at MB in Dallas. According to him, there are several steps required to remove this oil pan.

1. Disconnect motor mounts
2. Disconnect 4 bolts on transmission mounting bracket (very important step)
3. Raise the motor about 2 inches
4. Remove bolts on oil pan and drop pan as much as possible
5. Inspect counter-balance weight on crankshaft and make sure that it is in the "up" position. (rotated away from the oil pan. If not, turn crankshaft by hand from bolt on front of motor until it is. Also a very IMPORTANT step!)
6. Remove and clean oil pan, lay down a bead of high temp (preferably Mercedes) RTV sealant on the oil pan, position gasket on pan, lay down second bead of RTV sealant on gasket.
7.. Replace oil pan by reversing all steps being VERY CAREFUL not to get sealant on any other areas when replacing. (let it dry about 10 min before attempting to replace).

It's supposed to be tight but very do-able. I will update further after I have tried all these steps. Wish me luck!

Well, followed all steps up to removing oil pan. Still not enough clearance! @#%$#@! Who the f##k designed this? Any feedback from other C280 owners would be greatly appreciated.

Is it the m104 engine you have in the car if so the engine would need to be raised way more than 2 inches!!
Engine must be Raised as much as possible of course being very careful not to damage anything, the subframe is in the way of getting the sump out because of the shape of the sump as you know that. I'm not very familiar with the 202s so I'm not sure of how much space you have.
I'm not sure why you would have to rotate the crank I've done plenty and never did that. Replacing a sealant has nothing to do where the position of the crankshaft.
Also if you are using a recomended MB sealant you don't need to use gasket. Just use one or the other. Hope that helps.

Well, my buddy at the stealer-ship faxed me the entire procedure from the workshop manual and we got it out. Cleaned the pan and replaced the gasket. Replaced the timing cover, camshaft, and valve cover seals as well. Got everything back together and ran it. Not a drop in the front of the engine. And then..... a new leak at the rear running down on the exhaust side! Aw crap. Doesn't appear to be from the valve cover or the head gasket. I am just about ready to pull it into a burning building. Bought this car from a friend 16 months ago for $4000. It had 69,000 orig miles on it. He had taken it to an indy Mercedes shop at 62,000 and had the head gasket, water pump, wiring harness, timing chain and guide, virtually everything done that could possibly need to be done. He gave me receipts for over $4900 in repairs that were done 6 months before we bought the car. With this repair, I am at an additional $1500 in repairs doing much of it myself. Is it time to call TOD and let it go? When it's running properly this car is awesome but c'mon now. I'm amazed that Mercedes actually put their name on this design.

Yes, it is the M104 engine.

Don't give up. You'll get it right, and you bought it with a lot of very important repair work already accomplished. Just think of the bath your friend took selling it to you for $4k. Keep the faith until you have a car that will give you good service. You're almost there.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

You have to wonder why they designed an engine with so many defects waiting to happen.
Then made many of the repairs so hard to carry out.
A well designed car should have thought put into the maintenance and repair of the car.
It's not just Mercedes, if you've ever tried to change the starter motor on a cressida you'd be cursing Toyota.

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1989 W124 260E