Just bought my 1st MB...190E 2.6L
 

hello everybody i am a forum VW owner turned MB. I am a semi-capable mechanic but this car is a whole new world. i bought the car knowing of an oil leak; apon further inspection i cant find it.i had my mechanic give the car a compression check when he inspected it and all was fine. oil seems to be comming from front drivers side of engine. i will be changing the valve cover gasket tomorow has anyone gone through this before? i searched the threads all i found were rear seals and faulty head gaskets being common.

M103 engines have the possibility od 2 different leaks at that point. Upper front cover & the head gasket. Hopefully yours is the upper front cover profile gasket.

Welcome and enjoy your new car.

I would start by replacing the valve cover gasket. It took me perhaps 20 minutes to do.

The valve cover is like an upside down bowl on a counter - there is no groove for the cover to snuggle into, so the gasket is truly the one thing that keeps the oil in place. I can't believe they did that - just having an open deck with a lid. :rolleyes:

In my case, my old was was so hardened that it was possible to hold it horizontally from one end. :eek: The new one, meanwhile, was shipped in a 5" x 7" ziplok baggie.

The only caution is to ensure that the circular piece at the back end of the engine is seated properly. Just make sure that piece is grooved before you zip it back together.