I just bought a beautiful 300 E, 89, and I love it. I have a mechanic check it out and said it had a small oil leak on the cylider head gasket, and on the timing cover gasket. the leaks are not bad, yet, other than that, the car checked out perfect except for it needs a new alternator and a rear shock is leaking slightly. we are a little nervous about the oil leaks, but 2 other mechanics at mercedes dealers said they wouldn't fix them until they got to the point where they were dripping. Any advise from any of you?

i have enjoyed reading many of your posts and would love some feed back.
oh yeah, the car has 86,000 original miles and was owned by 1 woman.
thanks


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proud owner of 300E

Enjoy your new car. Keep us posted on how things are going..

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Jeff Lawrence
1987 300e
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

mermaid,

I have had a timing cover leak on my 300E for about 80K miles. It doesn't even leave any drops on the garage floor. This leak is not uncommon with these engines and has caused no trouble whatsoever. I wash the engine occasionally anyway.

As long as the leak is slight enough to not drip underneath the car, forget about it and enjoy.

Good luck,


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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Good solid cars! Just keep up with the oil changes and maintenance. Keep an eye on the AC system.
J.H.
86 300E

mermaid:
My mechanic told me that oil leaks in the areas you describe are pretty routine on the in line 6 engines. By the way, you list your address as Orange. Is that the city of Orange in Orange County, CA? Enjoy your car!

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

Two items; 1.Check the radiator neck at the top hose fitting. This was a design flaw and they break. If it has not been replaced, it will need it some day. I would suggest you be in control of this.
2. Keep the transmission serviced. If you don't know when it was last done, do it.
It is a good car, enjoy. Ed

mermaid:

The leaks you describe are common...My '87 300E had the same. I had all the leaks fixed when I had approx. 160K miles. You have a long way to go!
Just keep the engine clean and pay attention to your leaks. Unless you begin to notice oil pooling on the engine panel, just keep driving her

for Jeff,

thanks for your input on the web, and yes I live in beautiful old town orange.
mermaid

Mermaid:
In addition to the other tips above, You might check the thermostat elbow on the cooling system to make sure it is aluminum rather than plastic - I don't know what year they switched to Aluminum, but it is a recommended retrofit. Also, My tech tells me that the most important thing with these cars is to do all the maintenance on time, every time, with the factory recommended parts. In other words, brake line flushes every spring (good to have an anual brake inspection anyway), cooling system flushes every other year with approved coolant (apparently there are lubricants in the "approved" lubricants that keep the water pump happy).
I have had my car about a year, and the best advise I can give is to find a good tech you trust, follow his/her advise, and stay on top of the maintenance - neglected maintenance will bite HARD. Also, to keep it looking great, Follow Lee's Detailing FAQ's under the do-it-yourself heading at the left side of the page. I just thought my car was clean when I got it - after Dr. Lee's treatment, the car looked better than any 300E I have ever seen! Good luck, and the people on this forum are GREAT about answering any question that can be dreamed up about these cars.

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver