Help me NOT to take it to bits!
 

G'day folks - calling all diesel heads!

I'm arsing about with this stoopid petrol engined car I've bought =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/341121-achtung-das-baby-benz-thread.html

To cut a long story short. The head gasket is leaking oil into the coolant. No evidence of it going the other way yet.

So I need to change the head gasket. Gasket bought and is on site.

Two guide rail pins are seriously stuck in the head and won't come out. I've tried many a thing to remove them => heat, penetrating fluid, swearing etc etc.

Now I can get the head most of the way off with these pins in place but the chain will still be stuck.

I noticed on the Russian EPC that this engine has a front cover for the timing chain and so I reckoned OK take that off - now I've learnt that there's an oil pick up tube that needs to be removed first and that's under the crank - so the sump needs to come out. To get the sump out you need to lift the engine...


...I'm now tempted to finish off rebuilding the 5 speed gearbox (parts somewhere in Germany I understand) - take out the engine and gearbox fix that sodding head gasket on the engine out of the car and do loads more work than planned...




This is exactly what happened with my W123 300D - one "logical" step followed the other and before you know it I'm writing DIY articles for you lot!


Bugger bugger bugger...




So diesel heads - what the f*** do you think I should do?

I hope this doesn't sound too stressy - you have to look on the brighter side of life!

Does anyone know if like the W123 a W201 has enough space to pull the engine with gearbox attached all in one go?

Recently converted an auto W201 to a manual 5-speed. Did it with the car on jack stands as I don't have a lift. If I were to do another one, I'd pull the motor and tranny out of the car as one. If you have a lift, maybe its easier to just mess with the tranny under the car? Good luck!

fix the 81. I know it is difficult to pass on projects but you only have so much time.

I'm trying to get down to 3 major areas of concern besides family. something needs to go. nothing new comes in unless something goes.

I bet a slam hammer would pull the pins out if you had a sturdy adapter threaded all the way into them.

You can't always restore everything, plus bear in mind that gassers are fast & loose, and approximate everything.

Fix what you need to, and nothing more. If something cheap and easy can be done at the same time (orings on the fuel injectors, etc.) go ahead and do it-but keep everything else cheap & easy. If something else breaks, then you go on and fix that. Don't be afraid to smear a little RTV on an old gasket and reuse it(within reason).

On a side note, I've been running an experiment on my DD: My electric fan is wired with scotchloks (THE DEVIL IN ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS) and crimp connectors (a close second). I've had one scotchlok start to melt, but it has otherwise been working for the past 6 months. Moral of the story: even mediocre fixes will last much longer than you think.

pfft... it's not a diesel, carry it to the crusher!!!

Tempting - very tempting.

I'm buying Honda after this.

The slide hammer option is out 'cos the threads are nearly stripped. I'll leave the pins in place and work around them if I have to - I just want this car to get me and the children to England and back in two weeks time. I'm not doing restoration work on this one.

All in good time!

No lie, I have fond memories of stopping on the highway with my Dad to refill the radiator with puddle water when his truck kept overheating. Always an adventure when running around with Dad. It was a 7.3L V8 diesel, N/A Ford (A gas saver here in the states :D ) if I remember correctly


PS- Why not get a foxbody with the 4 cylinder? They're so ugly no one will ever mess with it. The engine can be turbocharged and run up to around 400hp "easily" :P

I voted for the tow truck - But only based on having similar situations and not having your mechanical skills or energy.

Decision Point 1. (aka First Mistake)
I once had the turbo blow pieces of metal into my 300D's engine. Towed it to reliable repair shop 150 miles away. Initial diagnosis - turbo trashed, bits of it in cylinders, holes in pistons. Piece of what looked like air cleaner nut in one cylinder (I had had car in quick lube and it seems they had dropped nut into air intake - could not and didn't try to prove it. Car already had some rust. Car was worth $1000 as-is at that time. Decided to buy used low mileage engine, which was rebuilt (valves, liners, injectors, etc) Shop installed it. $8000 in 2001. (have done about 100k km since then)

Decision point 2.
Rust developing around wheel arches and front fenders need replacing. Maaco had just opened and offered their best repaint job plus repair of rust and new fenders for $3000. Went with that. Paint has stood up well.

Decision point 3. (Described in bodywork forum)
Exterior bodywork excellent but while touching up paint noticed some rust on frame parts in rear wheel well. This started the search for rust which is almost complete. Total cost so far close to $3k and that only because I found a low cost shop to do welding. Still a lot of work to do to complete job. I am running out of steam :(

Would I make the same decisions given 20-20 hindsight? No! I bought a 98 E320 while engine was being rebuilt to bring our fleet to 4 cars (for two of us).

I think you may have to take the train. Or rental car?

The Dalai Lama, when asked waht surprised him most about humanity...
"Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present: the result being that he does not live in the present or the future: he lives as if he is never going to die. and then dies having never really lived..."

When the M102 in my W201 was dying...I pulled it out and put a proper OM601 in there. :D Been great since.

Not familiar with your head. My experience is with the OM60X engine. I buggered up the top pin due to inexperience and it was stuck. I drilled a hole at the back of the head and punched it out. The small hole is filled with RTV when I reassembled the engine. Just a suggestion.

Can you rethread the guide pin and try to pull it out?