1983 240D-DIY valve adjustment or farm it out?
 

As my name indicates...I'm prity handy...that said, no one ever mentioned taking shop class in high school & all I know under the hood is anything I've already done. If I have very good instruction the first time I'm good and can usually get it with vagueness after that.

Ok, those were the qualifying statements. My 83 240D needs a valve adjustment & I'm wondering if I should even bother trying or just take it to my local foreign car guy(who I've used & is good). B/c it's a mercedes I'm sort of protective of it. I have lots of friends that would say "I can do that for you". I had a boyfriend in high school that changed a flat tire for me b/c it was sprinkling (ah, chivalry) & put the lug nuts on backwards:rolleyes: and caused all kinds of family problems for me(my dad was mad). So, as you can see, I have history with trust issues and proper maintenance. Can I trust that a valve adjustment is a valve adjustment, or is it somehow "special" b/c it's a mercedes? B/c if a friend walked me through it I could probably do it myself next time w/o consulting here;)

AND...if the answer is take it to my mechanic, how much might that run me? $ could be an issue depending on price vs. difficulty of DIY

THANKS!

You might find this link pretty handy, http://dieselgiant.com/valveadjustment.htm .

7.00 for a valve cover gasket, 10 minutes, to pop a few linkage joints off, and take out the 4 13mm nuts holding on the valve cover, and a set of feeler gauges with a pair of 14mm wrenches and a starter bump switch.
then 2 hours getting your wrenches around the injectors, and the lines, to turn the nuts.
if you can get a cheap set of 14mm wrenches bent somewhere, (you'll need a torch, and a vise, and a pair of pliers to bend them yourself) the 2 hours becomes 30 minutes.

DIY
 

Valve adjustment OM615, 616, 617 FYI.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/107729-valve-adjustment-om615-616-617-fyi.html






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Joseph, thanks for that link. I understand a little more now.

I have bent wrenches already & i'm sure I can get my hands on feeler gauges(they are probably around, I just didn't know what they were before so didn't pay attention).

vstech: I'm confused about the start bump switch. is that used somehow in place of turning the engine using the power steering pump bolt(shown in the tutorial link)? Is turning manually just as effective?

Let me see if I have this right: in a nutshell, the valve adjustment is pulling the cover off, sticking a thin piece of metal(feeler gauge) between 2 things & then loosening 2 nuts that are locked together, moving nuts to give clearance where you stuck the feeler gauge, then tightening the nuts again? (replace gasket & cover again too).

Is that pretty much it? I know it sounds elementary but I've never been "inside" an engine before & I really don't know what things look like or what they actually do.

Thanks!

whunter: THANK YOU! I searched & searched for something along those lines! I'm in "fix it for winter" mode now & your getting ready for winter thread has really helped!

More help
 

Fast navigation Do It Yourself Links
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diy-links-parts-category/146034-fast-navigation-do-yourself-links.html

If this is your first time - have a look at this:-

http://www.reluctantmechanic.com/using-tools/thickness_gauge.php

You need to take your time when doing the job - concentrate on the first valve at the front of the engine and see how it goes - that way if you have troubles you leave your engine in a usable state! You can then take it to someone else if you get stuck.

YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE THOUGH.

It is probably best to disconnect the negative battery terminal (-) before turning the engine - and you need a 27mm socket to turn the crank. Do not attempt to turn the engine on other pulleys such as the water pump, power steering, or the camshaft pulley.

If you are just starting out I recommend that you turn the engine by hand and not try to do it with the starter.

The trick is to have the feeler gauge just slipping in the gap, not too loose & not being grabbed.
If you want perfection, you have a gauge 1 thousandth thinner fit nicely & then 1 thousandth too thick not fitting.Then you know its right.
I remember as a kid the first time I set the valves on my farm beater (I was 12 at the time) it took me 4 tries to get some of the gaps right.
Its ok to turn over the motor by hand, make sure the stop leaver on the IP is in the stop position so that it doesnt kick over & cause any injury !!
Good Luck !!!! Let us know how you get on !!!

and remember this.
the feeler gauge goes between the cam lobe and the follower, NOT between the follower and the top of the adjuster nut!
with a 240, if it has the metal fan and no clutch, you can turn the motor over with the fan blade, if your alternator belt is good and tight.
it's not a good idea to use the power steering bolt to turn the motor this many times, a starter bump switch is the simplest way to get the motor where you want it.
unfortunately, most 240's don't have the starter junction block on the fender, so placing the bump switch requires reaching the starter solenoid.
if you have never adjusted the valves or been inside the motor. I HIGHLY recommend getting a 7 dollar starter bump switch or remote starter switch... use it to bump the starter putting the cam into position.
it's not super important where the cam lobe points as long as it's not pointed at the valve@!

What is an IP? and is the stop leaver obvious?

Do you mean clutch as in automatic or manual? I have a manual trans.

I searched for how to hook up starter bump switch. Do you just hook the leads to the starter & that's it?

I have the fast navigation for DIY links bookmarked now!

ok. baby steps... it's really simple.
IP is the fuel distribution pump on the side of the motor with all the metal lines on it that feed the injectors. the stop lever usually has a big red STOP sticker on it, but it'll be the handle on the side of the IP/fuel linkage.

the clutch I am talking about is on the radiator/water pump fan on the front of the motor.
if you can spin the fan with the engine off, you have a fan clutch, if turning the fan spins the motor over (it'll be VERY hard to do this with one hand!) then you do not have a fan clutch!
see! simple.

Hello Pretty Handy,

Welcome to the forum, if you put your location in the "UserCP" information there may be a forum member near you that could help locally. The guys here are very helpful, but there is nothing like haveing someone that has been there done that, looking over your sholder and making suggestions. Best of luck on the project.

If you have a manual trans....

1/ chock both front wheels, both sides of each tyre.

2/ put the car in top gear. IGNITION OFF.

3/ jack ONE rear wheel JUST clear of the ground

now you can turn the rear wheel off the ground, and it will turn the engine, very accurately, very easily, thanks to the rear diff...

it is the old fashioned emergency way to start a car with no hand crank and a dead starter motor, just have the ignition on....

Definately a DIY. Not just so it is done right, but for the experience.

Snug the nuts together before taking the clearance measurement because tightening them can change the clearance.

After finishing, retest all the valves again and keep repeating until you get through all the valves without needing to make any further adjustments.

I recommend turning the engine by hand the first time rather than using a starter bump switch. It'll take longer and be more effort, but you'll feel more in control of the process.

Adjusting my valves was my first time under a valve cover too. Its a really easy job.