oil pan gasket ?

[kpb]

While under the 72 280SE 4.5 today looking for tranny leaks, I see a bit of motor oil as well. I have a replacement upper oil pan gasket but it appears to be a MAJOR pita to get to all the little (10mm?) retaining bolts. Is this as hard as it looks? Further, when I bought the pan gasket there was no lower gasket in the box. Safe to assume I should do both if I undertake this bit of refurbishment? Thanx...

[psfred]

I thought the upper pan didn't have a gasket, was just fitted directly to the block with some RTV sealant.

The lower pan should have a gasket.

There are LOTS Of little screws....

Peter

[kpb]

My parts connection sold me a gasket which seems to correspond with the outline of the upper pan! It is a very thin paper-ish piece, not the usual MB rubber.

[Tomguy]

upper gasket (30 screws):


lower ("sump") gasket (20 screws):


Replacing both requires loosening and tightening of 50 screws, and therefore more patience than I have to fix a minor drip (if mine did leak)!

[300SDog]

Based on Tom's pictures, replacement looks incredibly labor intensive to me..... gotta be massive pain torquing millions of allens correctly - crosswise from all four corners, working your way around and getting lost where you left off.

You just cant tighten those bolts in linear fashion, you understand, but have gotta attempt to replicate cylinder head style torquing sequence to seat the gaskets correctly. And if you do it right, that will mean at least twice around the circuit.

---

Last edited by 300SDog; 05-04-2004 at 12:54 AM.

[cth350]

I have seen plenty of front and rear seal leaks, not to mention fuel pump gaskets (on the carb'd motors). Then there's the chain tensioner leak, the valve cover leak (that's a time honored tradition), and the oil filter casing leak (at either end). -CTH

[kpb]

Hey dog, my "mechanic" did not push me to buy this, I simply went a little crazy back in Dec. 03 when I bought the '72 108 and started buying stuff online which I assumed would need replacement and I had spotted a bit of lube under the car. Now it seems most of it is tranny fluid, hope it's not front seal. I put mechanic in quotes since noone but me has worked on the car since I bought it. Moreover, y'all online folks are my only reliable resource!

I've got the valve cover gaskets in hand and I know this is one spot for leaking since the dribble on my exhaust after a bit of rest has been creating some interesting smoke patterns until it burns off Will poke around to see if cth350's suggestions are other troublesome areas.

[nachi11744]

Hello CTH,
Oh, so the chain tensioner is supposed to leak! And I have been agonising about the oil slick on the right side of the head. I do not have the oil filter leak, the vc gasket leak BUT the fuel pump spacer(bakelite with o-rings) leaks when pushing high revs on the highway.

[donlawson84]

Anyone have a part number for that upper 30 screw gasket in the picture?

[Mike D]

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/permatex-ultra-black-maximum-oil-resistance-rtv-silicone-gasket-maker-4/

[Tomguy]

Oil Pan Gasket 1160140822 - Victor Reinz - Mercedes-Benz - 116-014-08-22 | Pelican Parts

I would still suggest coating both sides with black or blue RTV like Mike linked, and letting it cure a bit (not fully) before re-attaching the pan. Because you don't want to do this job twice. I am fairly confident you also would need to lift the engine off the mounts/subframe to be able to do this job.

[donlawson84]

Thanks, just noticed the upper pan gasket was for the 4.5. having a hard time finding part number for my m130 (1971 250 base)

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by donlawson84

Thanks, just noticed the upper pan gasket was for the 4.5. having a hard time finding part number for my m130 (1971 250 base)

I know the M130 in my '72 250 didn't come from the factory with an upper pan gasket. I never checked whether there's one available for servicing.

Happy Motoring, Mark