You did have the car in neutral, right? Try this - put a ratchet/socket on the alternator nut and turn it at the same time you turn that power steering pulley. You kind of have to reach way down there with your left hand. Be careful not to bang the fan up.

It just so happens that I adjusted my valves for the first time today. When I rotated the power steering pulley, the belt (new, probably stretched a little) was too loose to turn the engine pulley and I was facing your original problem. But turning the alternator and power steering together got the engine to turn. It was kind of a pain though, and I should adjust up those belts apparently.

I would not try to rotate the engine with the cam - if you mess it up you're screwed.

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Charlie

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'66 VW 1300 96K miles
'97 E300D 239K miles
'85 300D 203K miles (sold Sep 2012)

Maybe first put the valve cover back on, and I would use the old valve cover gasket, and wait on the valves and clean the oil up first. I see lots of kitty litter in your future. Try using Simple Green to clean the driveway. Dowse the engine in a healthy amount of a engine cleaner, and visit your local do-it-yourself car wash, and carefully wash the engine. Or use a power washer. You want the engine as cool as possible, and don't use high pressure. Then re-attempt the vavle adjustment.

I would tighten the p/s belt and see if that turns the belt. I use the p/s pulley to rotate the engine when I adjust the valves.

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Nothing like personal experience to make a point. Anyway, I use a remote bump type starter, looks like a pistol grip complete with trigger with two leads with alligator clips. Hook up to the first and third screws on the box on passenger side, follow lead from battery, you can also use anything to jump those two, it will engage starter. With the remote unit you have control to turn just enough to get the lobes where you want 'em. I have heard not to use the cam itself. Good luck, thanks for the laugh! Sorry, but I did laugh.

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83 SD

84 CD

I've done my share of stupid things, and will continue to do so.

First, you have it exactly right by trying to rotate the engine by turning the nut on the PS pump clockwise as you stand in front of the car. 22mm(?) nut.

Its not unusual (in my experience) for the belt to slip while trying to rotate the engine this way.

If you reach down with your left hand and grasp the balancer wheel (the other big pulley the PS belt drives) and pull it "up" (counterclockwise) while turning the PS pump pulley with a wrench, you should be able to rotate the engine nice and slowly for your valve adjustment.

If you've never adjusted valves before (i.e. never owned an air cooled VW), you're in for a treat Just try to be patient, have a beer, keep your cool and keep adjusting them until the .1 and .35 feeler gauges slip through but the next biggest ones don't. Then rotate the engine and check them all again. Its really a pretty simple job once you get the hang of it and it gets easier if you do it at regular maintainence intervals, but the learning curve can be kind of painful.

Think about how the valve adjusting nuts are moving up and down as you turn them clockwise (down) and counterclockwise (up). Moving the nuts down (clockwise) makes the gap bigger and moving them up (counterclockwise) makes the gap smaller.

As with any job, having the right tools makes all the difference. A pair of thin, bent 14mm wrenches and (in an ideal world) a spring retainer. If the spring rotates while you're trying to tighten them, you'll go nuts trying to get it right.

Don't try to rotate the camshaft directly with a wrench.

That brought back some warm memories. Saturday afternoon.... changing all three quarts oil, adjusting the valves, setting the points, and adjusting the drum brakes on my trusty VW bug.

Lemur - I feel your pain.

I worked as a machininst after HS for a year. Once I left a chuck key in a Bridgeport mill that was at about face level. Needless to say, I never made that mistake again.

Id like to think the more us newbies work on our cars, the more we can sense 'I really shouldnt do this ' and then obey that urge and stop and take a few steps back. But theres only one way to learn...

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Heh, or getting 3 of your buddies to lift the car over the engine when it came time to rebuild? Or better yet explaining to the office even though you are sitting on a mil crate that you ARE buckled up. Ah those were the days.

Bug was the only car that ever got me laid and the only car that would consistently get waves and thumbs up.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I hear you. It's like driving a Ford Model A years ago, everyone knew someone who had one, and they bring back great memories.

I remember going over to a friends apartment once, and with the help of four others, turing his bug sideways in his parking space. I can still remember him yelling out of the front door: Get away from my bug.

I'm married now, but I remember how dudettes used to really dig air cooled VW's.

I also remember having the fan come apart one day, and while I was on the side of the road, a dreadlocked Rastafari looking dude pulled up and said he had a spare generator and fan at home I could have for twenty bucks. I rode a couple of miles up to his house in his VW bus that smelled like a Cheech and Chong movie, gave him the last $20.00 I had, and changed it on the side of the road after he gave me a ride back. Those were the days....

Been there done all that.

One of the things I love about my 123 wagons is the similarity to the old VWs. They were designed to be maintained and repaired, not thrown away.

FWIW, I still have my 1956 Beetle and 1958 Bus. They are both potential show cars, but I never drive either of them. My current employment status does not permit me the luxury of "pleasure cars" but my wife won't let me get rid of them.

If you ever think your diesel MB is slow and the lights aren't bright , try driving a 34 hp 6V "car". Top rated speed when new was 68 mph.

Glad to hear you still have the '56 and the '58 Bus. They have a pretty good following nowadays, though I imagine getting NOS parts and parts not made in Mexico or Brazil is quite a challenge.

I guess I'm waxing nostalgic today because my dad found the rear axle nut removal tool that you hit with a sledgehammer the other day in his garage. I remember buying it to do the rear brakes twenty years ago.

I used to drive a '78 super beetle, but I never attempted to work on it. Honestly, I just kind of ran it into the ground. I left it parked in front of my house for a while and I guess one of the neighbors called the city to tow it away. The car needed so much work, I just let the city keep it. I really wish I hadn't done that.

If you can, do that. Slow down and get on top of the job. You are in an oily mess now and that will have to be cleaned up, both on the ground and in and around the engine. First of all, the way the Benz people want you to pull that engine around is from the front crankshaft pulley/balancer bolt, way deep inside that pulley. But in order to get your cam shaft to the right position doing that is a two person job, because one person has to lay on the ground and turn the1/2 inch ratchet(and it is hard to turn!) and the other person has to watch and locate the cam position.
Secondly, you can bump the engine with the starter from the passenger side fender. There is a little black box right along the inner fender edge with a top about 1/2 inch wide X 2 inch long. Unsnap the top and it is open. In the box are three screws. Using a needle nose pliers, touch the top of the little screw with one point of the pliers and the end big screw with the other. Do it carefully and you can nicely nudge that engine into any cam position you need. To make it easier, you can get a little push button starter switch at any Parts House and very easily wire that too those same screws. It makes it very easy.
Also, from that position you" by pass" the glow plug system and that is where you made your mistake. You energized the glow plugs and sure, it fired up. If you would have read and studied just a little, you certainly would have known to (at the least) disconnect or unplug the glow plug relay at the front of the drivers fender.
Remember that accidents don't just happen. People make accidents when they don't understand the system. Sorry!

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Did I have the car in neutral!? What do you take me for!? Of course I.......Ummm, no. I didn't have it in neutral. So, it's supposed to be in neutral?

I did just run out and try to turn it with the car in neutral. Still no luck. It's dark now, so I think I'll wait until tomorrow to try some of the suggestions from you guys. Thanks for your help.

By the way, I have a t-shirt painted by Jackson Pollock during his "oil phase" for sale if anyone is interested.

Yeah, Yeah, rub it in junqueyardjim. Thanks for the electrical trick suggestion.

And thanks, firemediceric, for that link! And now I know....