I am sorry but I don’t have access to my garage or files right now. The sealant for the rear corner of the timing cover is critical, but I can’t just run downstairs and grab it, I think it was a Locktite part but I think it had a BMW part number. Did I leave that out of the video? Get a head gasket set, but ensure you have a an original Mercedes head gasket. I think I bought a head gasket set but then also bought a separate Mercedes head gasket, in fact when I do these jobs I usually buy two, just in case. The three bolts that hold the timing gear on the front of the exhaust cam are supposed to be one time use too. I bought a complete set of head bolts, but you can reuse the originals if they have not stretched beyond a limit that you will find in the workshop manual. I could have reused mine but I put in new ones since I had them. You’ll want seals for the exhaust manifolds to the down pipes (if things go well you can leave the exhaust manifolds on the heads, I was unable to do that however). Make sure your head gasket set includes the timing cover seals, and make sure they don’t roll when you install them. Make sure you have the cam cover gasket too. I also bought the two large diameter rubber pieces that attach the upper and lower intake manifolds, and it’s useful to have some vacuum line because you’ll almost certainly find one that’s brittle and will break. A tool set to remove the water pump pulley is very helpful. You’ll need coolant and distilled water. It’s a good time to replace the serpentine belt since you’ll have it off and they’re pretty cheap. Plastic razor blades are useful for cleaning the head, and I also bought a precision straight edge so I could check for warp age. Went through a lot of paper towels too and a some masking tape as well, plus ziplock bags…..! It would also be good to procure the small bolts and nuts used to remove the parts that secure the timing chain guides (I talk about that in the video) and of course the timing chain upper guides. I had to stop several times when I was doing the job to order more parts. Good luck!

First I had an oil leak at the right rear of the head, which was putting some oil on the exhaust and causing some smoke. That wasn't bad enough to make me want change the head gasket, but then I got a pretty bad coolant leak from just forward of the oil leak. I did a coolant pressure test to find the leak and it was immediately apparent (a big leak). I never had any oil in the coolant, however the C36 is a little different beast. The rear coolant passage and oil supply passage in the head are adjacent to each other, and since the oil pressure is generally higher than the coolant pressure when the engine is running, a head leak there would cause your symptoms, even without external leakage.

Thank you for taking the time to reply - that is very helpful - I was hoping it would be the oil cooler but I’m thinking it’s the head gasket .

@@davidcroker5660If the car has an oil cooler, then a leak there would certainly do this and it's probably easier to fix than the head gasket. I'm just not familiar with the C36 variant of the engine.

Sounds like a great father / son bonding experience. 94 C124 should be almost the same as the car in the video (I have two of them as well, one has had head gasket replaced, the other has not). Just take your time and do exactly as the procedure says. I recall that I had a hard time getting the head lined up properly; the intake and exhaust manifolds get in the way of seeing the alignment. I think I finally used a flashlight looking down the bolt holes with a head bolt to help. Good luck and have fun!

No, never removed the intake manifold from the cylinder head. Just removed the upper intake manifold from the lower manifold.

Carl, it does not apply to the V6, it's only for the M104 straight six.

You are welcome. It takes a little longer to post, but it's always worth it.

Thank you for the kind words.

John, I'm sorry to hear that but I would think you'd be able to find a Mercedes specialist in your area willing to tackle the job. It's really not that bad for a DIYer; you do certainly need to use an engine lift to pickup and reset the head due to the weight though. I used large pillows on the fenders and front crossmember so I could lean on them while doing the work and it wasn't too bad on my back (I'm 65 years old by the way). Gary

You're welcome and thank you for the nice comment.

Thanks for watching!

Good point. I'll see if we can add something to the video description to cover that.

@coolhandluke7760 Recently came up to my hands the workshop manuals ASRA/WIS for all the models since the 60’s If you need some info, docs, tools needed, images, even the estimated time of the operations, let me know, Im glad to share it

Btw my m104 2.8 also had a head gasket, timing chain tensor and valve cover gasket replace and runs well at 358k km

Very Cool. Doug Demuro did a review of a 2002 SL500 Silver Arrow last year and referred to it as "the last old school Mercedes Benz" and an excellent example of the early 2000s shift to a more mainstream sales approach.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Have you looked at fuses? Without pulling out the fuse box diagram, I'll comment that Mercedes usually fuses the lights separately so one fuse failure doesn't drop both headlights (Typically fuses high and low beams separately too).

Thanks for the feedback. We view this as a real gem on the channel. Please share it to friends and family that you feel would benefit from the information.

I understand that the stock head gasket has been updated many times and it's the one you should use when you do this repair; I would expect that the new one's life would be longer than the original one. I don't have any experience with the C36 engine, but I would expect the issues would be similar since I'm pretty sure the block is the same casting so the oil passages would be in the same place.

What state are you in?

The workshop manual just says “The cylinder head gasket is not watertight until the engine has reached operating temperature, in other words, until a swelling operation has taken place. For this reason, the cooling system must not be pressure tested until after the engine has reached operating temperature”. I filled it normally and warmed it with the cap on. I refrained from doing a coolant pressure test, which I would normally have done before starting the engine.

I don't have a good answer for this one. I follow this intermittently on the forums, and I periodically see folks tapping into supplies of these. It seems that some small amount are sometimes available, but it varies by year and yesterday's situation may differ from tomorrows. The internet forums are your best friend for this one.

@@garyedwards6398 thanks for your answer. I am on the hunt in the forums and everywhere even went to Stuttgart without success. if my key deteriorates further I might have to trash my mint SL ..

@@siegfriedbarfuss9379 You might give the Classic Center a call.

@@garyedwards6398 thank you. Yes I did and talked to someone very friendly named Chuck - he told me what to tell the dealer and I did. But the dealer did not confirm availability - this is going back and forth for almost a year now .. tried multiple dealers also in Germany ..

Phil, Thanks for the feedback. We do have videos up on prepping for photography and concours, but I don't believe either touched on paint correction or really current coatings. That's a great idea for a video on its own, thanks!

Sorry about the double post. Results were about the same. Sincerely for sure.

Glad you enjoyed it

Thanks for the feedback, we've had similar comments on this video and will try harder with future videos. You may want to look at our General Concours Judging Tips video that does include detailed photos albeit across a wider range of Mercedes cars.

@@MBCAPeachTube I enjoyed the video very much and thank you greatly for taking the time to record and post it.

Thanks for the feedback, we've had similar comments on this video and will try harder with future videos. You may want to look at our General Concours Judging Tips video that does include detailed photos albeit across a wider range of Mercedes cars.

Did you have any photos of your car? I just bought a 1996 SL 320, with some Lorinser d-93s I never saw the whole kit on the car before!

I recommend that you first determine the source of the oil leak. With the engine cold, run your hand down the right rear of the bottom of the head and behind the head (below the joint with the block). If this area is wet, clean it off, drive the car (let it cool) then see if it comes back in that area. Look carefully to ensure it's not the cam cover leaking, since that repair is very straightforward. Right rear low below the head is head gasket. Right rear high above the head gasket is probably cam cover. Right front at the level of the head gasket is typically from the front timing cover; not as easy as the cam cover but much easier than the head gasket. If it's the head gasket and no coolant is leaking, you can defer repair until the oil usage becomes excessive. Your coolant temperature sounds low, it will normally sit with the needle somewhere on the 80, but at really cold ambient temperatures I've seen them lower than normal. At anything above about 60 degrees F, you should see a normal coolant temperature with the needle on the 80.

@@garyedwards6398 Thank you very much for the speedy reply. I will keep you updated on my headgasket journey

​@@garyedwards6398 So update on my oil leak. Took it to my local Mercedes specialist and the following was replaced and fixed: 1. Oil filter gaskets and seals 2. Oil cooler gaskets and seals 3. Front upper timing chest cover 4. Rocker cover gaskets and seals 5. Also on the receipt a Aux Drive Belt was fitted, not entirely sure what that is. All in cost me £700 and finally no oil is leaking/dripping on my driveway! Still surprised, when i purchased the car i was told the headgasket is leaking slightly and would need to be fixed at some point. That would of set me back £1500. Sometimes the problem isn't worse than you initially think. Thanks for all your help and advice sir, Now i'll be on the hunt for a panoramic roof or Monoblocks, which is better? ;)

@@As_129sl I am glad it was less severe than you were fearing. As far as mono-blocks versus panoramic roof, I guess it just depends on your individual likes and dislikes. I have monoblock ones and monoblock twos, but I only have them on sport version cars where they are correct for the car. My preference on the non-sport cars is the 8 hole stock wheels as on the car pictured in the video. Pano roof is great and I wish I had one, but quite expensive. All roofs will fit on all years of cars but the side window seals are different on the cars that have the window drop feature, so be aware of that.

I picked up a 1993 S320 last year with an oil leak at around 160k on the original head gasket, and 16 months later and it hasn't gotten any worse. I switched from 10W30 to 15w50 (I live in a subtropical climate) and keep it at 6.5-7L instead of 7.5L. I only have to top it up once every couple of months even with doing mostly highway miles. I did a few mods to keep the operating temperature slightly lower - W123 300D thermostat - 1kohm resistor on the fan thermostat - to prevent the engine getting TOO hot in traffic with the air con going.

Good ear, I believe he does hail from South Africa.