Mach4 is correct. The crimping side is to crimp ONE stud at a time. The side with the dimple is to press the face plate in. I normally use a vise to press the face plate in, undo it then use the tool to press it in as it is very tight.

I think using the dimple side would still work if you tighten it enough. What needs to happen is to flatten the 2 studs and it is very unlikely for the master link to come off.

No that's absolutely wrong! You can't tighten the tool enough to put a noticeable crimp in the end. I know because I thought I was going to break the crimper trying to add enough pressure to deform it.

Because there is so little lateral stress on the link, the tight press fit coupled with some visually unnoticeable deformation is probably enough to keep it on - actually it is because you've demonstrated it. :)

I'd suggest you re-crimp the link next time you do a valve adjust...maybe sooner.

I don't know if it's my imagination, but the car idles with noticeably less "clatter" and runs noticeably smoother. I don't think it's in my head, as I attribute this to the change in timing due to a zero-stretch chain compared to the old stretched one.

Anyway it's done...probably for the life of the engine. And I drive a bit more relaxed now knowing that I don't have a ticking time bomb under the hood ready to strand me at a most I opportune time. OK I've still got the vacuum pump, but I'll live with that one for now.

Now you have me wondering. The car belongs to a family member of a friend of mine, and he drives it every day. When I get the crimper back, I will examine it (I am sure I will find exactly what you are describing). I guess my original post about your arrows was because it looked like the crimper side of the die was not long enough to crimp both parts. As Bob (ah-kay) pointed out, it is done one at a time. That now makes sense, and I think I should fix it on the car before something bad happens......Rich

Mach4, it sounds like instructions were not included with the crimper? I wonder if instructions were included with the crimper when Rollguy bought it?

No instructions were with it when I bought it new.....Rich

May not be a bad idea to get one from the manufacturer.:eek:

When I was struggling with figuring out how it works, I did a cursory search on line and found nothing useful. It's one of those things that once you understand how it works, it's intuitively obvious, but without the big picture it's as clear as mud.

In fact the following picture from the DieselGiant site with the how to change the timing chain comes after he has "crimped" the link, allegedly showing what it looks like after crimping (How to Replace Your Timing Chain)

http://dieselgiant.com/P1010101.JPG

Sorry, that link is not crimped!

It appears that I am not the only one to have not figured that out!

Which raises an interesting point. What's all the hoopla about not using a removable master link on a diesel chain? If the link apparently stays in place without any appreciable crimp, wouldn't it be infinitely more likely to stay in place with a link securely fastened in place, albeit removable.

Let me hasten to add I'm not advocating this, but it's an interesting question to be sure. And the chain on my 380SLs engine had a dual timing chain with a master link.

Kinda makes ya wonder...

Here are some pictures that show what is going on.

This picture shows what I'm calling the "pressing face", which is designed to press the link onto the rest of the chain. It's a very tight fit, in fact I actually relieved the link just a bit with a micro-rat tail file to make it easier to get on. The link fits into the recess and is held in place by a magnet (the silver insert at the top).

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1405910811

Here is the crimping die face. It's designed to do one chain half at a time. In fact, if you look closely you can see the slight mark left by the crimping process.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1405910811

And here's an extra link in crimping position to illustrate how the crimp is applied to the link.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1405910615

And finally, here is an image that shows the two sides of the die in the press. It just sits on a pin and can be rotated 90 degrees to put the appropriate face into position for use.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1405911262

Hopefully this will be helpful for others along the way to avoid the confusion and angst I experienced trying to get my chain properly crimped.

This is one of the best threads I have read in a long time. Thanks everyone.

And very enlightening to me as well!

The PeachParts forum was so helpful to me as I was doing my engine swap and learning about 'Benzes for the first time. It's nice to contribute back and be a part in growing the knowledge base and developing relationships.

agreed.

thanx so much