oil leak question '93 190E

[mikeohart]

Greetings fellow MB owners,

I've always searched for topics on this forum and have yet to post, so thanks to everyone in the past and future for all their help. I've got a simple problem, which has been posted before, but a picture is worth a thousand words so I wanted to make my first post.

'93 190E 2.3 134K (head gasket and valve job at around 98K) leaks a little oil from the valve cover. Not enough to drip on pavement but enough to make the engine/undercover dirty. Don't need to add on 3-5K change interval. If oil is collecting in the ringed area in the picture, is it a simple valve cover gasket replace ?

The last time I did that was on my '75 Camaro @ age 17 ! Do you think it's a gasket only, or could it be worse ?

Thanks in advance !
mike

A new valve cover gasket should stop the leak.

It costs only a couple of dollars.

The bulk of the work involves removing and refitting the stuff (air filter housing, transmission dipstick bracket, etc) that is in the way before you can open up the valve cover.

Removal of the old gasket, cleaning out the old bits/pieces and fitting the new one should take about 10 minutes.

My 2 cents...

Good luck.

[CEC]

A valve cover gasket will solve your problem. It is an easy job but you have to be careful torqueing the bolts back down or you will be doing this all over again as it will leak. The cover bolts only have to be torqued to 11lbf/ft (15Nm). There is a sequence also. I don't know if I can describe it for you but the first bolt is the one on the right side at the front of the engine. Bolt 2 is the first one one the left side of engine. Then 3 is the next one on left side. 4 is the last one on right side and then bolt 5 is the last one on left side on cover. The left and right are as you are looking at the block. So starting at the front of the block it is right, left, left, right, left. If you really want to do it right gradually tighten them down. So first 3Nm, then 6Nm, 12Nm and finally 15Nms. One final thing. For the really anal you should undue the bolts in the same order listed above for tightening. Good luck.

Chuck
1985 230TE 5spd

[mikeohart]

Thanks for the quick responses...
mike

[mikeohart]

Hey folks, follow up to this original question...

Finally got around to doing this on Saturday ($12 gasket from fast lane, thank you). Got it all the way down to pull the cover off and had about 1 hour to make my tee time. Made the command decision to stop, reassemble and try later, for the following reasons:

1) the gasket on there is rock hard so I knew clean up would be longer than 5 minutes, and I didn't have the time

2) from the exterior of the valve cover, the oil breather hose didn't want to come apart from any direction, which made moving the cover difficult

My question relates to 2), is this hose detached from the inside, after you get the cover turned over? My 201 CD skips this part.

Things are kinda compact in there (W201), so I must admit this was an easier job on my '75 camaro 350.

thanks a million
(or at least $180 as I'm sure this would be a 2-hr mitchell gouge)

mike

[Duke2.6]

The PCV hose on my 2.6 is held to the nipple with a spring clamp and slips right off without even squeezing the clamp. The hose can "weld" to the nipple, so squeezing and pulling the spring clamp back then lightly twisting the hose should break it loose.

Once all the bolts are out tap lightly around the periphery of the cam cover with a rubber hammer to break the gasket loose from the head.

I have to say that swapping the valve cover gasket is as easy as on vintage Chevy Small Block, and there are few 103 jobs that are as easy as their equivalent on a vintage Chevy small block.

I used 100 in-lb torque and starting from the center bolts worked out on either side to 50 lb-in and then to 100 with a second pass. I also wiped the bottom of the gasket and head matting surface with a rag wetted with silicone spray lube. (I do this on all engine gaskets, except head gaskets.) The silicone film will prevent the gasket from "welding" to the head, and it can be reused if you have to pull the cover off until it gets too hard from heat and age.

Duke