1985 380sl
I have a leak from the bolt that holds the housing in place. I noticed filter kits come with 2 replacement washers - one for the oil pan plug and another smaller one. is that for the filter housing bolt? I don't see how to remove the bolt from the filter housing to try putting a washer there, does it come out?
my other alternative is to buy a new filter housing, not something I commonly see people on this site doing.

on a 450sl the bolt does come out and the small washer goes there.

Your filter kit should come with three sealing washers: a large copper seal, a small copper seal and a small steel seal. The large seal is for early V8's and those with aluminum sub pans (like your SL I believe) that used a large drain plug. The small copper washer is used to seal the small drain plug used on steel sub pans. The steel washer is for use between the filter bolt head and the filter housing. You should be able to push the bolt out from the bottom of the filter housing with moderate pressure but be sure to protect the bolt threads from damage and be sure to remove the existing steel washer that will either be firmly attached to the head of the bolt or embedded in the filter housing. Also, be sure to reinstall the spring and spring retainer on the bolt inside the filter housing. Mark

I don't see how to push the bolt out from the bottom. the bolt has aournd 1" of play where I can slide it back and forth but it seems to firmly hit against something that will not let me release it fully. I cant get the the spring or spring release because that sits all the way inside the housing and my hand is too big to fit in there. Can't even see any spring release it is so deep inside the housing. there must be a release, I just can't find it