Warning OM617 dowel pins now supplied with incorrect length - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Stretch · #1 03-10-2011, 05:04 AM

G'day All,

I thought I'd post the following:-

I've recently bought (from the dealer) 2 new dowel pins for the balancer on my OM617 and they are too long.

Front side

Backside(!)

You can see from the pictures above that the dowels are located all the way into their housing in the balancer but that they stick out by about 4mm on the front.

I'm quite sure that if you fit these too-long-for-the-job pins you'll end up with trouble. See:-

harmonic balancer spun again 1982 300CD

Apparently these pins are also used on many other vehicles:-

000007008244 Dowel for harmonic balancer, Large Engine Application List

I'm probably going to cut mine down to fit - but I've also asked the dealer just about this in case there is something I've missed...

10fords · #2 03-10-2011, 09:06 AM

Had the same problem. The dealer swore that they were the right ones after ordering them twice just in case there was a mistake. Seems that quite a few others have had problems after replacing a balancer too. Maybe Mercedes is secretly trying to kill off the remaining OM617's so you will have to buy a new one!

Stretch · #3 03-10-2011, 10:44 AM

Update:-

Dealer said to just shorten them... hmmmm...

10fords · #4 03-10-2011, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army

Update:-

Dealer said to just shorten them... hmmmm...

Would be kinda nice if they gave you that info BEFORE you purchased and installed them

Stretch · #5 03-11-2011, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10fords

Would be kinda nice if they gave you that info BEFORE you purchased and installed them

Indeed - luckily we live in the age of customer service.

Stretch · #6 03-11-2011, 01:28 PM

Well here are some pictures of my solution.

My weapon of choice was my trusty multi tool drill thing:-

I removed about 4mm from the dowels - here they are fitted

As far as I am concerned the most important thing is to ensure that the dowels sit below the surface of the balancer - and that they no longer protrude.

If you have the time and you want a proper job get a machine shop to neatly mill away the extra metal from any dowels that are too long - as you may be able to see mine are not very neatly done.

SirNik84 · #7 03-11-2011, 01:45 PM

Dieselkraut23 will chime in with the whole story, but needless to say he had this problem... those DEALER pins killed his crank once and balancer twice... the last time landed his car in my back yard. I don't think hes gotten it fixed since. someone at the dealership needs to get their act together. I'm kind of glad to see its not just a US problem... at least we're all getting a raw deal!

Dieselkraut23 · #8 03-11-2011, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirNik84

Dieselkraut23 will chime in with the whole story, but needless to say he had this problem... those DEALER pins killed his crank once and balancer twice... the last time landed his car in my back yard. I don't think hes gotten it fixed since. someone at the dealership needs to get their act together. I'm kind of glad to see its not just a US problem... at least we're all getting a raw deal!

Yeah there was another thread with someone that had the problem and yes i confirmed 3 other people had the same problem.

Im trying to contact the factory hehe.

winmutt · #9 03-11-2011, 05:07 PM

This should be a sticky or something!

Stretch · #10 03-15-2011, 04:57 AM

I forgot to say.

I hope this problem is temporary - if you read this and you have recently bought dowel pins that were the correct length - please let us know!

And whilst this is on DD if you run a petrol engined Mercedes and you've got the same trouble it would be good to hear from you. Thanks.

Brentdh187 · #11 04-09-2011, 12:18 PM

I called the Mercedes of Maplewood Minnesota and ordered them. Took 3 days and $17 later but as far as I could tell they where the same size.

Stretch · #12 04-09-2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brentdh187

I called the Mercedes of Maplewood Minnesota and ordered them. Took 3 days and $17 later but as far as I could tell they where the same size.

Well good to know - thanks for posting - let us know how you get on fitting them.

SpecialDelivery · #13 11-18-2012, 02:17 PM

very interesting....I'm doing a head, manifolds and chain on mine and am considering doing the front main while I'm at it... any thoughts on what brand of seal is best?

Stretch · #14 11-19-2012, 03:31 AM

I'm not sure about brands (I fitted Elring I think) but the DIY in the wiki says you need to look at the condition of the spacer positioned behind the seal - they can be a bit difficult to remove but an uneven surface on this spacer apparently enhances seal failure.