I took my 2003 240 to the dealer (still under warranty) for leaking valve cover gaskets. When I got the car back I noticed that they used a type of silicon sealent to make new gaskets. My question is. Is this a Mercedes benz accepted way of fixing leaks instead of putting new gaskets on? Or is this a shortcut money saving deal for the dealer?

Thanks for any help anyone.

Also apparently they dropped the whole engine cover/ air cleaner assembly on the car and floor, chipping the bumper paint in three places, breaking the first part of the cover (wing?, batman wing? whatever) and breaking the drivers side mounting clip off the air cleaner cover. If I did not open the hood at the dealer I would have never known about it. This is Mercedes?

 

Hi,
Suspect you are NOT impressed by your MB dealer. How did they respond when you pointed out the problem??

RTV (Room Temp Vulcanising) Silicon type sealers are used by auto manufacturers worldwide for this purpose especially where the "valve" covers are made from aluminium/plastic. If they are made from sheet metal then a "cork" type composite is used.
Question is what was there originally? Suspect RTV but might depend on model/age etc.

With respect to the air cleaner breakage this may not adversely effect the operation of the vehicle (dependent upon what has brolen off etc.) but as a CUSTOMER you don't expect this sort of service so (nicely) demand either that they replace the parts and make good your paintwork or at least waive the charge for the job.

Depends on how you feel and whether you are a car "fanatic" or just use it as a "get you about" tool.

Stuart

 

The valve cover gaskets on my 79 SLC are rubber as is the tranny pan gasket. Usually Silicon is used on low spots such as in the head to engine seal. I would think the dealer should use a proper gasket and not a complete silicon one. OK for low spots but an entire gasket??? I would be wary of this application. As far as the damage goes, did you not it at the time you picked up the car and what was the response of the dealer?

 

79 was long before RTV "technology" was introduced so cork/composites would have been used as OE.

A 2005 C Class would be a different proposition altogether. Different manufacturers use different technology. Without examining my own Mercedes I'm not sure what they actually use on different engine types.

Mating surfaces shouldn't have "low" spots. If there are they will be prone to leakage. Beauty of RTV is that within defined parameters the gasket is made to suit the application and if it needs to be thicker in a particular place to "fill" a mark or low spot it is effective at so doing.

Hope this helps.

Stuart

 

Ive had some less than "excellent" experiences with the local MB dealer, so I sent a brief and polite email to the Service Manager asking to speak with him. Without getting rude, I explained the problems I found to him (low oil and dirty air filter even though they said it was changed and grease prints on exterior and interior of car, several lights out even though they said the performed full inspection). He was very responsive, re-did the work and detailed my car all with a firm apology and free loaner.

In a big store there is always a risk of employee errors. Treat the managers like professionals and hopefully they will act as professionals. Afterwards, I followed up with a thank-you and told him I would continue to use them for service (at least for warranty).

 

01/12/07 the car was in the shop for a week, they did replace the whole air cleaner assembly, plus the valve that sits to the left of the air cleaner near the front of the engine, It was ticking loudly and that was the original reason that the car was brought in for warranty work, of course they told me that it was normal for it to tick so loudy, and I pointed out to them that my wife's 2002 240 does not make that noise.

Also they repaired the bumper that was scratched, it does appear that a tech attemped to pull the whole air cleaner assembly off at one time and it slipped out of his hands scratching the bumper and breaking as it hit the ground. On picking up the car the service manager stated that it did not have to be the mechanic who caused the damage, I told him I did not care who did it, the fact is I would have drove off not realizing it had not been broken had I not looked under the hood at the dealer and no one told me that there had been an accident involving my vehicle, and that was why I was pissed.

Also I did contact MB USA, about the silicon make a gasket, they stated t hat this was the effective repair for leaking valve covers, as it is better then replacing the original gaskets with another gasket.