Oil leak from rocker cover on m156 e63

[Malcsmith]

I have a leak from the rocker cover on my 2010 w212 e63.

Can anyone tell me how easy/ difficult it is to fix?anything I should be aware of before I start?

 

[badgx]

Do you have the plastic or metal cover? The plastic ones are reported to crack and also the bolts which hold the covers could corrode snap off, especially if the engine is exposed to moisture from steam cleaning etc.

The metal ones are durable, you can actually reuse the bolts unlike the ones used on the plastic covers.

Changing the gasket is a doddle, would recommend replace the spark plug hole gasket too.

If the covers are at fault, they are expensive. The plastic covers might be on back order?

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[Malcsmith]

Do you have the plastic or metal cover? The plastic ones are reported to crack and also the bolts which hold the covers could corrode snap off, especially if the engine is exposed to moisture from steam cleaning etc.

The metal ones are durable, you can actually reuse the bolts unlike the ones used on the plastic covers.

Changing the gasket is a doddle, would recommend replace the spark plug hole gasket too.

If the covers are at fault, they are expensive. The plastic covers might be on back order?

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That's brilliant - thanks so much!

 

[Malcsmith]

I think it may be leaking from this cover. Anyone know what it is called - and is it easy/difficult to remove?

 

[badgx]

That's your front timing camshaft covers, the seals are about £8 each from MB. They're none sided part, so the left side works with the right side. When you remove, take care the rings on the phasers are seated as you reinstall, the rings sometimes move out of position. You can reuse the existing screws, also place a few towels over the serpentine belt and alternator, about half small cup amount of oil will spill out

 

[Malcsmith]

Cheers fella!

 

[Malcsmith]

I've taken all of the bolts out of the front timing cover (including the one that holds the ground connection) but the cover feels firmly stuck in place. Before I start tapping it with a hide mallet , can anyone confirm that I don't need to remove the rocker cover (arrowed) first?

 

[Malcsmith]

I've taken all of the bolts out of the front timing cover (including the one that holds the ground connection) but the cover feels firmly stuck in place. Before I start tapping it with a hide mallet , can anyone confirm that I don't need to remove the rocker cover (arrowed) first?

I found that there was one additional bolt in the rocker cover that had to come out

 

[badgx]

The top cover should be taken off before removing the front timing cover. Take care when reinstalling, keep an eye not to crush the top rocker cover gasket. If it feels like it could get squashed, try loosen top rocker cover or remove for ease of installation.

I normally remove the rocker cover along with ignition packs, then remove the front timing cover.

Also when reinstalling the front timing cover, there are rings on the phaser, double check they are seated when reinstalling. Sometimes they can move out of their grooves. The split on the ring should be position in different positions, I normally position so the split are 180 degrees.

Let me upload a photo, hopefully will make sense from the pic

 

[badgx]

Not the greatest of the photos, I drawn on a piece of paper, pointing to the rings. The pen shows the split. These rings must be seated in their grooves, whilst reinstalling the front timing cover. Hope explanation makes sense.

 

[Malcsmith]

Many thanks for your reply to my post. I didn't see until after I put the cover back on. What would the signs be if the rings were out of their groove? I took the car for a test drive and everything seems to be ok.

I bottled it and removed the cover again to check everything was lined up OK

It's all back together again now.

 

[badgx]

Well done mate