'08 E350 petrol - M272 engine camshaft plug seals

[E55BOF]

I have a leak from at least one of the camshaft plugs on the E350. Is there anything special-to-type about the plug seals, or are they just standard O-rings?

 

[MWCLS]

They're bungs that are easy to replace, i replaced mine on a CLS.

Flat head screw driver gently prise the old bung out ( have a cloth undeneath for any oil runs ).

The bung is made of a hard plastic with a rubber ring attached just pops back in make sure its flush when you crack it back in with your hand.

Iirc around £6.00 from MB. No more oil mess.

 

[E55BOF]

Thank you. I don't mind the oil mess too much, but the whiff of burnt oil and the occasional drift of smoke as a drop reaches the exhaust manifold is somewhat off-putting.

I see there's lots of aftermarket ones on Ebay in the USA, but none here. Dealer it is, then.

 

[E55BOF]

And there's a problem... (numerous expletives deleted).

Mine is a CGI -272.985 engine - and there's a lot more gubbins on the ends of the cams than in the 'how to' video on YouTube. I managed to remove the smaller plug on the nearside, but where the video shows the large plug to be, I have a large smooth flat plate, not a boss with a plug in it. There's so little clearance behind the engine that it looks like an engine-out job to do anything more on the rear face... (yet more expletives).

Just to add to my happiness, I can't change the plugs because I can't get to the plug connectors. I could probably remove them by pulling on the leads, but we all know what that usually results in.

Even if I could remove the connectors, the plugs on the driver's side are very difficult to get at, and some of the coil screws are absolute expletives to get at, at least with my big mitts; and I doubt I'd be able to change all the plugs anyway...(yet more expletives).

On the good side, the air filters look like brand new. Not much consolation, really, though.

Does the engine need to come out, does anyone know? Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

[JamesG66]

I changed the camshaft plug seals on a W203 and I am surprised if there is less clearance on the E-class but stranger things have happened. In the end it didn't make a difference though as the main oil leak was from the crankcase vacuum pump which sits next to the camshaft core plug on the LHS of the engine as you look at it. Access to that is/was very difficult so you have my sympathies.

 

[E55BOF]

Thanks James. Did your previous C350 (which I assume was petrol, not diesel) have the M272 CGI engine?

 

[JamesG66]

I don't think it was the CGI version, but yes a petrol, built Sept 2005. Mine was the 272hp (well 268hp or 272ps) version whereas the CGI appears to have more power.

Having recently swapped out for a 350 diesel (OM642) I am really missing the noise and smoothness of petrol.

 

[E55BOF]

Your '05 was not a CGI.

Yes, the V6 petrol is a nice engine; it suits the car, I think. There doesn't seem to be a lot of knowledge around on the CGI elements of the M272 engine, though. Oh well...

I'll try looking at the rear face of the engine with a borescope camera I have, and see if I can locate the oil drip/seep. I'm very much afraid that I'll be going over to Wayne Gates and emptying my wallet, though, to get it fixed; I'll be very relieved, and surprised, if it doesn't need the engine out to do it.

 

[grober]

Some engine piccies here- not much help unfortunately.
eMercedesBenz - The Unofficial Mercedes-Benz Weblog

 

[E55BOF]

Well, I've been doing some digging on a US MB website, and it rather looks as though the 272 CGI engine has pretty much the same basic cylinder head setup as the 276. The information I have is that the easiest (!) way to get access to change the plugs is by first removing the inlet manifolds...

That won't help with sorting the oil drip, either. I'll leave the plugs for now, until I know what needs to be done to fix the oil drip. If the engine has to come out, the plugs can be done then.