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I had a problem with my E420 where it was losing roughly the same amount of coolant and I couldn't figure out where it was going. It turned out that the plastic nipple on the recovery tank (for the small hose) was cracked and leaking, but the coolant would seep under the tank and I didn't see it.
I finally noticed it once when I opened the hood right after a drive and specifically looked for leaks. I run a 20% to 30% ratio of coolant to water so it tends to evaporate quickly in the engine compartment. It was such a tiny leak that the coolant was mostly evaporating before it hit the ground, so there was no puddle to see under the car. Another common place for leaks is the tiny elbow on top of the radiator for the hose running to the recovery tank. If this leaks, you may not notice it after the car has sat a few hours after running.
As for pulling the intake off, you are looking at replacing all the petrified rubber hoses from the aft passenger side valve cover to the ETA. Also, the ETA cable has the same crappy insulation that the wiring harness has, so you will likely disturb that in the process if you can even manage to get the upper intake manifold off without removing the ETA. You would still have to lift the ETA cable up vertically to get the upper intake manifold off. You can see the ETA cable in the picture snaking its way out of the intake manifold to the aft passenger side where it plugs in.
Like the other guys said, I would look elsewhere first. I wouldn't want to remove the intake manifold on this car if it wasn't absolutely necessary.
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1993 400E, 256,000 miles (totaled)
1994 E420, 200,000+ miles
1995 E420, 201,000 miles
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