I contacted Milwaukee Motorwerks in Waukesha, WI about replacement of a leaking steer gear on my Mercedes 1998 SL500 at the beginning of Aug. 2011 There had been a few drops of oil on my garage floor last year and after pulling her out of storage and some driving this spring the oil spot was getting bigger. I don't want oil stains on my garage floor. Brian told me it was over $900 for a rebuilt gear and 3hrs. labor. A net search showed rebuilt gears available for less than half that and when I told Brian he said he found a gear for about $500. First red flag. I noticed the steering drag link had a cut boot and was leaking grease and to replace the link also. After taking her to MMW Brian said it also needed valve cover gaskets. $75 plus 3hrs.because there is a lot of stuff in the way. I told him to proceed as oil stains on my garage floor drive me nuts. An alignment was also done as the car was starting to pull to the right.

When my wife and I drove the 50 mi. from our house to pick up the car around noon on the day promised no one was around and the sign on the front door said out to lunch. 2nd red flag.

I called the cell # and was told they'll be there in an hour. We wait, I pay, I take the car home and notice it drifts to the right and the steering wheel is not centered and there's were greasy hand prints (light tan leather interior) on my steering wheel, door handle, seat belt and black greasy clumps on the carpet.

I removed these with naptha. Ten minute clean up but not very professional. I wash the car (as it sits under trees at the MMW parking area and has sap and tree debris on it) and use Gunk to clean the engine compartment and front underbody. Twice. I take the car out for a spin dry and park it in the garage.

Next day I get under the car to install the plastic engine belly pan and notice an oil puddle under the car! I get out my flashlight and as I'm checking to see where it's coming from my arm bumps the drag link and its loose. The nuts holding it on are only finger tight! I called Brian at MMW and tell him it still goes right and the link could have fallen off on my drive home and is unsafe to drive and its leaking oil worse now. "Can you bring it in?" NO! He sends out a flat bed truck to take it back to MMW that afternoon. He denies his guys left the drag link loose and thinks the alignment shop must have loosened it to make an adjustment. I told him I had been a certified auto mechanic at Cadillac and Buick dealerships in my younger days and that is not what happened. The next day I call and was told the valve covers were resealed the drag link tightened and it should be ready tomorrow. I call to confirm this the next day and was told by Brian the valve covers are still leaking and that the aluminum valve covers might be warped. He'll check to see where they're warped and fix it . I called that evening and am told it will be ready tomorrow.about 10 am. When we get there under the trees I ask Brian to check under the hood for leaks before we leave. I pop open the hood and notice greasy marks again. I want to tell him and I see he's having trouble finding the under hood latch! Another red flag. Under the hood I tell him the air cleaners not on all the way and a breather hose to the valve cover is just sticking up in the air. His comment? "WTF! " Yeah.

He is apologetic and I tell him about the greasy stains again. He says he'll send it to the detailer down the block for a an interior clean up and shampoo. And by the way he has to send it to the alignment shop again. It'll be ready in a couple of hours. My ride (wife) and I go to lunch and come back about two. Brian says the alignment was way off but better now but its still leaking at the valve cover but he'll have it done before he goes home tonight. Wife and I decide to come back later. MMW's waiting area is not comfortable for that long. We come back after Brian calls at 6. He tells me she's done.

We pick her up at 7 and the interior is indeed clean but on the drive home she still drifts to the right and steering wheel is still not centered. The steering does not improve on the ride home so I park it in the garage. I'll call tomorrow. Next day I notice oil puddles again under the car!

I decide to take matters into my own hands. I remove the valve covers (30 min.)

and what I find is the main reason I warn people not to take their European cars to these hacks. The valve/spark cover bolts are very tight and 4 of 16 have stripped out aluminum threads in the engine block! There is a specific torque for all these fasteners. Both valve covers have copious amounts of black silicone sealant on the gaskets. I do not use this stuff as bits of silicone can break away and find their way into engine oil passages and clog them. Some mechanics swear by it, me just at it when trying to carefully clean this crap off for a good seal on new gaskets. The left gasket bottom edge was rolled and the cover was tightened down so hard it cut through the thick rubber gasket at the back bottom corner, where it leaked like a sieve. I found a rubber ring in a crevice on the left fender and put it on my workbench. It actually was the new spark plug hole gasket the mechanic dropped and lost so installed an old gasket in its place. All the left spark plug holes and 2 on other side had oil in them. The reason for proper placement of these rings is to keep oil away from the spark plugs.

I bought new Mercedes OEM gaskets and installed them. Two weeks and the engine area is dry as a bone.

Several times when I called to find out the status of my baby. I would have to leave a message as Brian was not available and was supposed to call back. Half the time he didn't and when I asked him why he said he tried to call. I have voice mail and an answering machine. There were no messages. The last time was two weeks ago about the steering wheel and pull. A mechanic? answered and said there wasn't anything they could do about it. I asked to talk to Brian. He was unavailable but would call me back. It's Labor Day weekend now and he hasn't

called.

I do not recommend these hacks because of their obvious lack of experience working on fine expensive cars, and unprofessional care of the vehicle while in their possession. Do so at your own risk, but do take it to another indy (independent) shop (such as Black Forest) or if your able, do the work yourself. Its really not that hard.

Just a side note: I took it to Black Forest, Milwaukee and they were unable to eliminate the drift (now) to the right or center the steering wheel after two appointments. Front end parts were OK..

Anybody know a good alignment shop?