E320 head gasket oil leak

[Bernie Cook]

Hi
Today I viewed a 320E with a mind to purchase it.

The latest service invoice stated in the outstanding work section that:
- there is a small oil leak from the head gasket.

Can anyone tell me if this is the start of a major oil leak, why this has happened and what are the consequencies if nothing is done to remedy the problem.

The engine compartment is clean but not too clean as if it has just been valeted for selling purposes. I did not crawl over the engine but I could not see any evidence of a leak. It was the invoice which drew my attention to the problem.

Cheers

 

[pluggers]

I had a head gasket replaced on mine about 2 years ago for an identical problem(4 cylinder car),Apparantly its common place,It was done under warranty but i think it was about £300 and he did it in about 7 hours,The work was carried out from an indy garage local to me.I doubt it would be much more £££ for a 6cyl engine.As a thought it was attemped before the replacement to tighten up the head bolts first to see if that would stop the leak or at least slow it down.Might be worth a try??

 

[Sp!ke]

Whats the mileage on the car? if its getting close to 130k then that's around the average time that they tend to go.

That said, it could go on weeping for ages without actually failing?

Head gasket replacement cost... looks at somewhere between £600 and £1000 for a proper job at an independent.

 

[jgevers]

Hi,

Common fault. The oil leak at the o/s/f corner of the engine won't get better, only worse. It does not seem to do any damage (only to your drive if you have monoblocks) and the vehicle can grow old with it. However, it is better to get it fixed. While you are at it, might as well change the chain & tensioner.

Just a word of caution, if you get a garage to do it that has never done one, please tell them to take the chain tensioner apart before re-assembly. I have seen a few broken chains and camshafts because mechanics have not realised that the tensioner does not retract without taking it apart. The chain then runs to tight and breaks.

regards,

Job

 

[Vlad]

If you decide that the rest of the car is excellent and you decide to purchase, just make sure you get a price reduction for the head gasket work that will eventually need doing.

As and when you get the work done, I would recommend that you take it to an independent who has a knowledge of doing this job.

The replacement gasket has a re-design which last a lot longer than the original.

Good luck

 

[Bernie Cook]

Thanks guys for your responses. The car has done just under 80,000 documented miles.

 

[Vlad]

Hmmm.....thats early for a head gasket.

On the report did it say where on the engine its leaking from?

The only reason I ask, is that on the M104 engine the head gasket tends to show up as a leak from the rear offside right at the back of the head.

They do however, also leak oil from the front offside just above the alternator, however, this is normally down to the front timing cover gasket leaking rather than the head gasket....can be hard to determine, but odds on its the timing cover gasket which is a much cheaper job to replace....cost me £75 on my C280.

My C280 by the way, had a bad leak from the front timing cover gasket and this was on a 28000 mile car, albeit it was 9 years old (sheltered life) when I purchased it.

It is tricky to get the timing cover gaskets to seal properly and they do tend to weap a bit even when they have been replaced.

If it's the head gasket, you can also check in the expansion tank for a nasty brown oily mess and another check is the radiator top hose. When started from cold, the top hose should be soft and squishy....if its already under pressure from a cold start, your head gasket has blown.

Keep us posted....I'll be interested to see the outcome on this.

At 88000 you should have a lovely motor that has many many more years and miles to absorb before it dies...lovely car and great engine!

 

[Bernie Cook]

Thanks for responding Vlad,
I did not see any report, just the previous service invoice which showed work outstanding. The oil leak was under this heading.

I did not notice any brown gunge in the expansion tank but, I do remember squeezing the top radiator hose when the engine was cold. It was soft.

I'm trying to get the vendor to put the car into a Mercedes dealership to get the problems sorted out.