M104 Small Oil Leaks

[Guyton Buzz]

Decided that a quart a week, regardless of miles driven, was too much. I switched jobs, and the 300 Cabrio daily driver went from 600 miles a week to 250; but oil consumption (no blue smoke) stayed the same, using 20W50.

Plastic engine cover came off easily. VC gasket was somewhat pliable, unlike others that I did in the past that could stand in the corner by themselves. The six ring gaskets that surround the spark plug wells were stiff and almost brittle, one plug well had some oil in it. Noticed aluminum in the threads of the bolts removed. A past owner had snugged up the VC bolts too tightly, and stripped out slightly. My luck held as the bolt holes are deeper than the bolts used, so I was able to swap out a few and get VC back down.

I was pleased with the condition below the valve cover of this multi-owner car. Did not have burned on sludge, gunk, etc. I own a Land Rover, I know what sludge can look like.

Lessons learned - do not over torque VC cover bolts, they will strip out or simply snap. A little sealant on the "half moon" rear seals works well, I used the red anerobic sealer from NAPA, thinly.

The 40 mm O ring on the oil level warning switch (side of oil pan) was flat on both sides when removed and snapped when flexed. Oil had been leaking around this point.

New Mann air filter and oil filter (they come with O ring for filter and crush washer for oil drain plug).

Of course it was at this point that I noticed some of the drops on the oil pan were green, and seem to be coming from the water pump area. The WP sounds pretty noisy when listened to with a stick. On a previous W124 I recall it was a full day to replace that O ring from WP to block.

And the torsion bar moved when I grabbed. Bracket on right side is snapped in two. $10 with shipping from the "Rock". Had been making a clunk on turns, although I suspect with 190K there will be more to it.

Murphy's Law section 345.6AFG (a) states that "Any service done shall reveal more extensive repairs needed." It never ends.