Valve Cover Oil Leak

[Iowaner]

As I come across more older Mercedes for sale I have found the valve cover seems to leak on a lot of older models on the top? Usually I see this around the seal area but I've noticed fresh oil on top of the valve cover.

Is this is a known common leaking spot?

[mbbuff]

Welcome to the newest forum on the block. I saw some of your other posts, but didn't find what kind of Benz and engine you have? I have a 37 year old 280C (W114 chassis, M110 engine), and a 43 year old 250S (W108 chassis, M108 engine), (see pix in Registry) and the valve covers are one of the few things I have not had leak over the years. As far as I know, for the most part if they're taken descent care of, they're not big leakers.

[marko]

Was it around the carb area or where exactly was the leak at?

[kau]

I've had valve covers leak on almost every single older vehicle I've owned. That gasket just does not last that long.

[Austin]

Originally Posted by kau

I've had valve covers leak on almost every single older vehicle I've owned. That gasket just does not last that long.

I've had the same issue with all my late model cars as well. I had a Oldsmobile that got to the point were you couldn't run it without it leaking.

[benzaholic]

Common on top of the valve cover would be the breather tube that runs from the valve cover to the air filter housing. That rubber hose can get brittle and/or gunked up, causing some oil to leak.
The inline six cylinder engines (in particular, the M103 family from the late 80s) has problems maintaining a good seal around the head, but it's usually just that oil slowly leaks out. They generally don't get oil/water mixing, compression issues, or anything dangerous like that.
Anything you can mention about the particular models you've seen this on would also help.