The engine in my Crossfire is sweating quite a bit, the outside of the body is wet with oil...
Am I right in assuming that the gasket under the engine valve cover ( "keyboard" ) needs to be replaced?
Are there any other possible causes?

 

Most likely it is the breather covers that are leaking. These are the small covers on top of the valve covers. They were sealed with silicon when the engines were made.
You can try torquing the large valve cover bolts (11mm E-Torx) to 7 foot pounds/9.5 newton meters. I believe there are 9 on each side.
The smaller T-25 screws should only be tightened to about 1 foot pound/1.35 newton meters. There are 5 small screws that are made of aluminum. Over tightening them will make them break.
I will post a picture of the torque sequence as well as the post I made that shows how to seal them and more.

LINK to Valve Covers , Breather covers and more

 

Thank you.
I see that you have presented this issue in great detail.
But I have a basic question.
The car manufacturer sealed the breather covers with silicone. But are there currently gaskets available for them, or should I seal these elements with silicone as well?

 

I don't believe there are gaskets available for the breather covers. Even searching through Mercedes-Benz sites, everyone reseals them with RTV silicon.
If you decide to reseal the breather covers yourself, my advice is to take your time and make sure that everything is very clean and dry.
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not use a wire brush on the breather covers. They are made of magnesium alloy. Once the coating is gone they will corrode over time.

There are videos available on youtube that show how to reseal only the breather covers. Search for Mercedes M112 breather covers.
Best of luck to you.

 

Thanks for the advice.
I don't plan on doing this repair myself, I've already made an appointment with my mechanic next week.

 

In another post you just had the oil changed. Did you have this issue before the oil change?

 

Definitely re-torque the valve cover bolts along with re-sealing the breather covers

 

Yes.

Ok. Thank you.

Does it have to be a specific sealant/silicone from a specific manufacturer?

I decided that along with replacing the sealing compound under the breather covers, I would also replace the gaskets under the valve covers.
So that I could do it all in one go. What do you think ?
Can you recommend good gasket manufacturers to buy ?

 

The silicone that I showed in my thread has worked well for me, (Permatex Ultra Black Gasket Maker). Mercedes-Benz does sell the original product that was used to seal the breather covers during the manufacturing of the engines.
I believe that it would be easier to do both the valve covers and breather gaskets at one time. The cleaning and preparation for both are easier off the car than on.
I would recommend the original Mercedes-Benz valve cover gaskets. They are readily available from many places including M-B dealers.
Also, if you haven't changed the spark plugs, it is much easier to do with the valve covers removed. That is just my opinion.

Cheers,
John

 

Thank you, John.

 

You're welcome, glad to help.

 

Just a thought, if you are close to needing spark plugs, it is much easier to do when you have the valve covers off.

 

I see. And how do I know if I'm close to changing the spark plugs ?
I don't have that information from the previous owner of the car...

 

I would assume they have never been done, unless it is very high mileage. Most do Plugs and wires around 100K. I would recommend a little sooner.

 

The car starts well, the engine runs smoothly.
That's why I don't know whether to increase the cost of this service repair.
But thanks for the advice. John advised the same.

 

If it's running fine, than I wouldn't spend the money. Unless your car has very high mileage.

 

Just a thought, changing plugs and not wires is asking for trouble.

I put in 12 plugs and wires at 90,000 with my Graphite limited and the difference was very surprising to me.
(I should note that I had intermittent O2 sensor and misfire sensor codes for about six months leading up to new plugs, once I changed plugs and wires, all the codes went away and the car ran better.
I can't say I had any complaints - its just that powering out of a curve was WAY more fun after the change. My current SE is at 73,000 and I'm am strongly considering changing plugs and wires this summer - but its 18F here in DFW today - so the car can SIT.)

 

What do you think about AJUSA gasket replacements?
https://web.tecalliance.net/ajusa/en/parts/cars/part/139/11097800...
https://www.ajusa.online/en/
Is this a good manufacturer in your opinion?

 

Personally, I've never heard of them. There are many 3.2 MB suppliers out there that are known (with a history). Are these .net European suppliers using a re-named generic gasket replacement or a named gasket with a proven history?


.

 

I don't know.
My mechanic, who will be replacing valve cover gaskets and sealing the breathers on the valve covers next week, said that when repairing cars, they recommend gaskets from this company AJUSA.