e220 ce coupe 1996 oil in water

[peter worth]

a local merc garage told me the cylinder head gasket had gone but they were not sure :cry: the car is running fine, no over heating or oil leak yet there is oil in the expansion tank, no water in the oil. :? could it be the oil cooler?

 

[heckflosse]

I've just had my E220 head gasket replaced. Car was running fine except for slight water loss and the occasional bit of white smoke. Apparently it's not uncommon for these engines to need a new gasket around 100,000 miles.
Get a presure test done on the cooling system (i'm suprised the Garage didn't do this), this should give you a better idea.
My work was done at http://www.burtonmotorworkshop.co.uk/ and the bill was £658 including a maintenance service, fuel filter, gearbox and rear axle etc.

 

[NormanB]

That is an absolute bargain!

 

[grober]

There was supposed to be a issue about cylinder head bolts "stretching" on some of those engines see www.honestjohn.co.uk so it might be wise to replace these at the same time as getting the head done.

 

[nickh]

Any reputable dealer would replace the head bolts when changing the head gasket.

You could of course do it all yourself at a cost of around £100..

 

[dieselman]

The most common reason for head gasket failure is lack of changing the anti-freeze. The corrosion inhibitors break down with heat and age.