I just replaced my head gasket as some of you have probably gathered.. I followed the torque specs, stages, and sequence to the letter. However, on the passenger side of the block there is an oil slick that wasent there before, which would lead me to believe there is a leak.... i dont get it.. The head was resurfaced, and i know that i followed everything properly.. Is there a possibility that the head needs to be retightened after it has been driven a few miles? Any ideas would help me out a lot... Thanks everyone..

I haven't been down this road yet, but I would ask what brand of head gasket did you use?

Dealer supplied?

How about the stretch bolts. Were they within spec and if not, were they replaced?

__________________
Mike Murrell
1991 300-SEL - Model 126
M103 - SOHC
"Fräulein"

Front? rear? middle?

__________________
J.H.
'86 300E

I used Ehrling Brand Head Gasket,, and the head bolts were all brand new,,,, the oil seems to be seeping from the front of the engine.. any ideas??

I'll bet it's the upper timing cover seal (u-shaped seal). This is a common weak point and it's tricky to seal properly, and it is disturbed during any head gasket replacement.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

That is why I was getting at by asking you where it was coming from. At least you don't have to take the head apart again. What sealer did you use for the upper timing cover seal?

__________________
J.H.
'86 300E

I used the stuff that Mercedes gave me.... the gasket i used for the upper timing chain cover was brand new,, and i was very careful to seat things properly,,,, is it possible that some how i didnt torque the head down enough?

Under the upper timing cover there is a long u shaped seal , when installing the upper cover you need to be careful and install it slowly, I use a feelr gauge (thin) and a light to make sure it did not get sucked in when installing the cover. On the 119 motor you can use a old microfiche card it works really good. The same can be done on the 104 motor.

__________________
euro 287
Mercedes Technician 7 Years (retired to Hyundai)
2000 Dodge Durango
98 Mazda truck

Evan - how bout the little dab of sealant in the corners of the "u" gasket at the front cover. Did you install the sealant?

__________________
Jim

Evan,

You need to listen to all these good folk. It is not your head bolts. If the leak is at the front they are all telling you the same thing. Unless the head gasket was damaged the cover seal is going to be the problem.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

I never applied sealant to the U shaped Gasket,,, only to the front cover which encloses the timing chain.. so this is probably the problem,, i guess its an hour fix at most,, and tips on doing this properly? im open to any ideas

It is located on the right upper corner of this screen under "search". I found this:
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ic/ic100345.htm

BTW, after 5 people tell you the same thing, it is NOT "probably the problem", IT IS the problem. Are you really open to ideas?

__________________
J.H.
'86 300E

There is a specific procedure for sealing the upper timing cover, and Hidalgo's link covers it.

When I replaced mine, I found the mechanic previously added sealant to the u-shaped seal. That's probably why it needed to be re-repaired with only 61,000 miles. I believe the seal needs to move (or float) in that joint. I lubed the top of the seal with a thin coating of silicone grease to help with installation since I don't believe in installing any seal dry. I have no leaks.

Use Loctite 5900 or 5999 (MB 002 989 73 20 10) to seal the vertical surfaces and a pea-sized dab at each corner.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

I have done a number of articles for "Import Car". They are listed on my website.

This one JH noted has not been there till recently because the pictures they condensed are about useless. They did fine in the magazine and my brother has restored their content in the article as recently added to our site: http://www.continentalimports.com/ser_ic100345.html

Those pictures tell a story the babcox ones don't. I might point out that three of the pictures are from Jim Ellington. Two have a blue rag in them, I would never use a blue rag (bg).

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

This oil leak is worse than i thought, im going to need to get this solved this weekend!! im just trying to figure out just at which point of that U gasket that its leaking from,, I saw how the gasket sealed and couldnt imagine that that small U Gasket could leak as much as 1 quart of oil a day.. My local mercedes mechanic said that when i got the head machined, i should have had the top of the timing chain cover machined the same amount,,, is this factual?