My (BRABUS) SL55 K8 Ol Leak!

[BRABUS R230]

My (BRABUS) SL55 K8 Oil Leak!

Hi All I am so sad , I took my pride and joy out for a drive at the weekend as it has been parked up for a while during the bad weather, anyway all was well until I hit the motorway, I kicked down at around 50 MPH and as i looked through my rear view mirror all i could see was a cloud of grey smoke, I pulled over at the next exit and looked under the bonnet, I noticed smoke with an oily smell emitting from the engine bay!
today I took it to my local garage and the put it up on the ramp, removed the under-tray and it was loaded with engine oil, now the hunt for the leak, after a short drive with the under-tray still removed, it was back up on the ramp, it seems to be coming from the rear end of BOTH rocker covers, called my warranty company and was told I was not covered.
I called my main MB dealer in London, they quoted me around £1000.00 and said it was around 8 hours to replace the two rocker cover (valve cover) gaskets and apply the necessary sealant, I then called MB in Portsmouth and they quoted me £350 and they said it was around 4 hours, I then called another MB dealer in London and they quoted around £700.00 and said it was around 6 hours, what a difference, I think I may take it to Portsmouth as the oil does not leak out under low revs or 50 mph cruising!

 

[television]

So sorry to here this,,I have never heard of this on that engine

 

[BRABUS R230]

So sorry to here this,,I have never heard of this on that engine

My MB main dealer said that it was very rare for this type of leak!

 

[television]

Both rockers seems odd,,why both when they are nothing to do with each other

 

[johno2004]

Any reason why you were not covered on the warranty, was it classed as wear n tear.

 

[BRABUS R230]

what else could it be?

Both rockers seems odd,,why both when they are nothing to do with each other

I know its quite strange but when you look underneath the engine with the tray removed you can see where the oil has run down onto the exhaust down pipe, it was the machinic that concluded that it was the rocker cover gaskets leaking oil. we cant think of what else it could be!

 

[television]

I know its quite strange but when you look underneath the engine with the tray removed you can see where the oil has run down onto the exhaust down pipe, it was the machinic that concluded that it was the rocker cover gaskets leaking oil. we cant think of what else it could be!

I would think that it is only one,, and they are quite easy to change,, I would remove the bonnet, wash the rear of the engine down and see which one it is,,it cannot be both

 

[andy@pcd-ltd]

It is not actually the rocker covers themself that leaks its the little covers on top of the rocker covers.

Just had a look at the book time and its 3.4 hours to remove and install the covers and reseal them. The gaskets themself are about £25 and the sealant is about £15.

So god knows where the dealer has got those prices from also i have seen this oil leak quite a bit on these engines.

I would probably charge about £250 for this type of repair

 

[television]

I think that they quote silly prices Willow when they have not got a clue

Brabus is not very far from you

 

[andy@pcd-ltd]

I think as soon as you mention either AMG or brabus they just double the price and add a bit more on as they think they have a bottomless pit of cash.

Yeah i saw it said london on his profile

 

[television]

Cliff,, Willow is a first class engineer

 

[alanuk400]

Can you not go back to the dealer who abused your car and get them to do something.
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=60296

Alan

 

[BRABUS R230]

It is not actually the rocker covers themself that leaks its the little covers on top of the rocker covers.

Just had a look at the book time and its 3.4 hours to remove and install the covers and reseal them. The gaskets themself are about £25 and the sealant is about £15.

So god knows where the dealer has got those prices from also i have seen this oil leak quite a bit on these engines.

I would probably charge about £250 for this type of repair

Hi Willow, I see that you come with a recomendation from Television, thats goes a long way!
Tell me are there any other possible items that may be needed to carry out this repair also could it be done While-U-Wait!

 

[mikestrivens]

Any reason why you were not covered on the warranty, was it classed as wear n tear.

Most warranties don't cover oil leaks. It is amazing what they can exclude and a good lesson for the unwary. I had this problem with my S600. It turned out to be the crank seal. A £6 part but the whole of the front had to be removed to get to it. I was fortunate, the dealer picked up the tab when I pointed out the warranty he sold me didn't cover oil leaks.

 

[television]

And willow,, cliff is one on the nicest men that you could ever meet

 

[andy@pcd-ltd]

Hi

There isnt usually any other parts tht usually need replacing as it is just the gasket and sealant that needs replacing.

Its not usually a job that is done while you wait as it is nearly 4 hours work and sometimes takes longer due to having to clean all the old sealant off.

 

[BRABUS R230]

Any reason why you were not covered on the warranty, was it classed as wear n tear.

No they said that if the engine or gearbox had to come out in order to fix an oil leak then it would be covered!

 

[BRABUS R230]

Hi

There isnt usually any other parts tht usually need replacing as it is just the gasket and sealant that needs replacing.

Its not usually a job that is done while you wait as it is nearly 4 hours work and sometimes takes longer due to having to clean all the old sealant off.

OK I understand, but would it be ready in a day?

 

[andy@pcd-ltd]

If it was started first thing in the morning it would be ready by mid afternoon

 

[BRABUS R230]

If it was started first thing in the morning it would be ready by mid afternoon

how much notice would you need?