Leaky V8s -- not the 3 valve ones

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C240Sport97

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SL400, VW California Coast and 911 GT3
I have been looking at SL 500s, ones with the old style V8 -- i.e. not the current 3 valve twin spark V8.

3 of the 3 I have seen (96, 97 and 98) have each had oil leaks near the top of 'V' of the front of the engine, just below the round plastic bit where a wire goes in -- I know it's not a very technical description but it's the best I can do :)

Is that the head gasket? If so, is it expensive to fix? If not, what is it? How much will it cost to fix? What is causing the oil to leak like that? Is this a common fault of this engine?

Questions, questions, questions ...

Thanks in advance for your answers.
 
v8.jpg


the blue line - arrowed is roughly where the head gasket is - right under the 3" diameter cam sensor thing on the end of a 119 engine (like in the SL)

oil at the bottom of the V can be anything - the sensors are known for leaking (mine do - slight weep) - so can you give us a picture of the leak?
 
edit...

camsensorleak.JPG


the yellow line is the head gasket - the thing in the top corner is the cam sensor on my car - yes it leaks. they all do.. :rolleyes:

the oil you see in the bottom left is from the other sensor leak that has run down that far...
 
it's the cam sensor that's leaking ..

Would get a pic if I had a digital camera ;)

thanks mucho.


guydewdney said:
edit...

camsensorleak.JPG


the yellow line is the head gasket - the thing in the top corner is the cam sensor on my car - yes it leaks. they all do.. :rolleyes:

the oil you see in the bottom left is from the other sensor leak that has run down that far...
 

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