oil leak

[billscott]

I have a 1994 E320 Sport Coupe. It is leaking oil and I have been told that this is not uncommon for Mercedes. The car has 113K miles on it. I have a mechanic who will replace the head gasket
(the cause of the leak) and I would like to know, what would be considered as reasonable money-wise to have the job done.
Thanks, Bill Scott

[G-Benz]

Where is the oil leaking from?

There are several places for the oil to leak, and the expense can run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars!

For your car (the M104 engine configuration) most likely, it's the upper timing chain cover seal that's causing the leak (near the FRONT of the engine). This is a tricky, but far cheaper fix than the head gasket (which incl. labor, runs about $1500 on average).

For M104 engines, the sign of an impending head gasket failure is an oil leak near the rear of the cylinder head. Do not confuse this with a valve cover gasket leak, which occurs in the same area.

Failure can occur as early as 70K on past 150K. I am close to 139K and I have not had any symptoms (oil leak, overheating, or otherwise) that indicate it's going to fail anytime soon.

The oil pan will also leak at that mileage.

Bottom line, is check the source of the leak first...you could save yourself a lot of money!