ok, now I'm pissed

[tenright]

When I bought this car the previous owner claiming to be a "benz mechanic" said he replaced the cam....well I found my oil leak..it's comming from the rear !#@$$%! cam cap, and being thrown around by the flywheel, eventually making it's way down the transmission bell and basically gets on everything. Starter, back of the oil pan, drips on the crossover pipe....etc.

So what I am asking is what is the best way to attack this issue, or do I just have to face it and tear down the top half of the engine and redo the cam....



T

 

[Jerryl]

When I bought this car the previous owner claiming to be a "benz mechanic" said he replaced the cam....well I found my oil leak..it's comming from the rear !#@$$%! cam cap, and being thrown around by the flywheel, eventually making it's way down the transmission bell and basically gets on everything........

So what I am asking is what is the best way to attack this issue, or do I just have to face it and tear down the top half of the engine and redo the cam....

First off, Sorry to hear.
Secondly ........ did you see some reports on Mecedes Benz quality lately?
Lastly, only one way to do it; Do it right! (I know you will but we are all in denial at one time or another :tongue: )

Drop the tranny, tip the motor back to create some room to move the "dead blow hammer", and, replace the plug. Be carefull the cam does not slide back and "jam" the lifters. I'd remove the front cover/spring to make sure.

On a side note, IMHO; Depending on the rear cam plug depth installation, it is possible to have the lifters "not offset enough" and aid in the infamous lobe wiping syndrome.

 

[tenright]

Hey Jerryl...I'm about 99.9 percent convinced it is comming from there but I just put in some dye about 5 minutes ago to make absolutely sure. I got to thinking about the fact that it is dripping from the starter, and all the threds I have seen say that is the intake where block, heads, etc meet.

One thing I did notice is I don't see a cap at all on the end of the cam. I see the caps on either side, just above the cam...but I don't see one on the cam. I thought it was supposed to be flush with the block???? It's a little wierd to me because I really am not sure what I am looking at. The spot I am speaking of is not flush at all with the block like the books say....On mine it looks like a tiny little volcano (best way I can describe it), with 2 screws that appear to be comming from inside the block. Either that or the are allen key'd because they have no heads on them. The center of this tiny "volcano lookin thing" sould be where the cam is and following that logic should also have an end cap flush with the end of the volcano lookin thing lol.....I so wish I could get a repair manual for this car...


T

 

[tenright]

Results of the dye are in....seems although the cam cap area is wet, or should I say looks wet, there is no evidence of dye. the only place I see the dye is on the very back corners of the heads. Looks just like it's leaking from the heads, but at closer inspection I can see a very thin line of dye between the heads and the block ending at the back corner. I would say it looks like the notorious intake leak......gonna retorque it and if that fails I guess I will pull it and seal it up right...




T

 

[Jerryl]

Glad to hear it was something simple.

 

[buickpower]

triple check valve cover

 

[VadersV6]

Are you absolutely sure its the color of oil and not a dark red? I was convinced I had the same issue, but my tranny cooler lines had been rubbing against each other for 19 years. It apparantly had been leaking since I got the car, but not that much. Eventually they wore through enough to start spraying huge amounts of fluid everywhere. After replacing the lines, my starter, frame, suspension, etc are all dry.

 

[tenright]

Are you absolutely sure its the color of oil and not a dark red?

Actually I did a very wise thing, I added dye to the oil and with the help of a blacklight the leak was definately comming from the back corners of the head gaskets. And if you really look closely you can see it glowing along the head and block seam. It is leaking from the intake manifold and running along the block head seam, and then dripping off the corner onto the starter. At first glance it looks like the head gasket is leaking, but like I said if you really look at it you see it is comming from the intake manifold.

Glad to hear it was something simple.

simple lol thats the understatement of the decade. I keep going out to the garage and staring at that pristine engine and want to cry because I don't want to tear it all apart again....You could eat off it, I don't even get my hands dirty when I work on it. Everything is perfect...18 vac at idle, BLM's are 128 exactly with 42lbs fuel I mean it is perfect...except for this freakin leak.....Oh well if it aint one thing it's another....


T

 

[conn84gn]

If you replace the intake gasket,
DON'T use the rubber ends,use Hi temp RTV to make the gasket.
The procedures on the turbo regal web site.
I just replaced my cam and used the danm rubber gaskets.
Guess what,I have the same leak you have!
Thought I would save time and look a little better
In the long run more time and money

 

[tenright]

I feel your pain....



T