GAH ! - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jarod · #1 12-22-2022, 09:58 AM

I swapped my entire pump out with a less worn out one from a junkyard motor, I'm now thinking of rebuilding the old one and trading it back after seeing horrors of them failing.

I'd certainly want to use a quality bearing, Is any reasonably top tier brand good, or would SKF be the only one? I feel like timken and some others are similarly held in high regard and may be easier to source locally?

I've got no issues ordering some SKF bearings, just curious on the consensus of quality vs ease of acquiring.

vwnate1 · #2 12-22-2022, 12:52 PM

No ;

I have not heard from my Mechanic, I hope to go by today and give him a nudge, maybe I'll ask if he wants me to take it elsewhere, I'm sure Rich will do a bang up job if I top it up to his place .

The bearings, you local bearing house will be able to look at them and tell you if more balls bearings are available, I have done this with various non Mercedes rear wheel bearings and always got better results than stock as O.E.M. (apart from Mercedes) tend to be specced to a price not the best possible .

C., I'm curious ~ did your original bearings have play or any noise when you spun them ? .

-IF- it turns out to be the vacuum pump's bearings that failed let this be a warning to you ~ I'd heard of many who's pumps failed after 250,000 mile so I knew I was risking disaster .

I'm religious about 3,000 mile HOT oil and filter changes so if it failed, my fault 1,000 % .

ykobayashi · #3 12-22-2022, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

C., I'm curious ~ did your original bearings have play or any nice when you spun them ? .
.

I miss having a bearing house nearby. There has been a lot of consolidation in that industry. It’s like the number of machine tool and welding suppliers has shrunk at the same time.

Yes they had a bit of end play. I had to take them out of the pump to feel it. In the pump they felt good but when I got them out in my fingers the inner race would have a little wobble it from wear. You know how on a really good annular you can hold the inner race in your finger tips and the only degree of freedom the outer race has is rolling rotation. Something like an ABEC 5 or CN 3 just doesn’t have any side to side rattle. My worn OEM bearings had a little side to side wobble in them. Kind of like if you wiggle a wheel with the car jacked up and you get some side to side play. Basically they were worn or they shipped with loose tolerances.

Not sure what you mean by “nice”. I’d say the old ones were good to continue using but they definitely had seen some wear and tear. My cars had lower miles than yours. By 400k I’d say yes, pull them out and inspect them.

I’m sure it has a lot to do with how the car was maintained. My cars were abused by the multiple POs.

As for brands, I chose SKF because that’s what was in there as OEM. There are other good brands like Timken, NSK, NMB or GMB and others. Just don’t get cheapie no name ones from India or China that are made for toys. I got a really good deal on some Italian made SKF that came in a four pack. It was perfect because I have two cars.

I’m still not sure I got it all right as far as the bearing specs go. My bearings are good quality but they aren’t the same as the SKF OEM I pulled out. Will I regret changing them out? I don’t know. I hope not.

Bringing the originals into a bearing house sounds like a smart way to go. They may be able to make sense of the specs on the original part.

vwnate1 · #4 12-26-2022, 05:05 PM

My guy called today and says a connecting rod let go and broke the cylinder block .

Now I have to see what's what with the engine Rich offered .

Stand by .

JHZR2 · #5 12-26-2022, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

My guy called today and says a connecting rod let go and broke the cylinder block .

Now I have to see what's what with the engine Rich offered .

Stand by .

So, what’s the typical root cause of this? A bad bearing that then beats the rod mounting points into oblivion until it breaks? I can’t imagine it broke the rod.

ROLLGUY · #6 12-26-2022, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHZR2

So, what’s the typical root cause of this? A bad bearing that then beats the rod mounting points into oblivion until it breaks? I can’t imagine it broke the rod.

These engines are so robust, that they usually give you early warning of impending doom. A rod knock almost always is the first indication of a problem. If an oil cooler hose fails, all the oil will get pumped out in short order, but even then, an engine can be repaired if shut down soon enough. A rod through the block is very rare with one of these engines.

ykobayashi · #7 12-23-2022, 04:01 PM

Oh yeah, no noise. No grinding. Just a little loose.

vwnate1 · #8 12-23-2022, 07:03 PM

I went by the shop today and the owner said he'd begun to look at it but was (of course) interrupted .

He says he'll have a situation report by early next week .

I asked him if he wanted me to take it elsewhere, he said no so we'll see .

Shern · #9 12-26-2022, 05:32 PM

Oof.

RIP.

Good luck Nate.

vwnate1 · #10 12-26-2022, 05:34 PM

I'll need it .

IMO this battered old relic is well deserving of the $ to fix it .

Sugar Bear · #11 12-26-2022, 07:02 PM

Arrrgh...sorry Nate. Any chance of using a 300 engine or do you want to stay 4cyl?

Good luck!!!

jdulle · #12 01-08-2023, 12:05 PM

Glad you are working on keeping it alive. All my cars are 25+ years old and are hanging in there. I think it's worth it but some days I think about how easy it would be to drive a 2013 civic and not care about it too much.

vwnate1 · #13 01-08-2023, 09:00 PM

We do have a 2016 Honda Civic with 23,000 miles but I hate the damn thing .

To me there's no question of fixing it, only who does the job as I can't anymore .

Today the rain gave us a pass so I hit the bricks and installed a rebuilt engine to my 1969 VW Bug, now I can't stand up straight and nearly fell on my face getting a cold drink .

I can hardly wait to drive it again .

t walgamuth · #14 01-09-2023, 06:56 PM

getting older is tough.

vwnate1 · #15 01-10-2023, 04:36 PM

Yes, this old age stuff is for the birds ~ I now have the time but really limited physical ability .

I just replaced the engine in my '59 VW Beetle, I had the long block on a cart and tried to lift it ~ no way Jose !

.

I remember being able to move a fully dressed VW engine from the cart to the bench, those days are long gone .

My crippled brother insisted he help me take it off the engine stand after I'd finished dressing it, he broke his leg a couple years back and they screwed up the surgery so he now has about 3/4" shorter right leg and limps and gimps far worse than I do, I was worried we'd drop the damn thing but no ~ we got it off the tail gate of my truck and onto the trolly jack sans problem, last Sunday the rain stopped so I spent the day installing it into the car and hooking up wires and things, I had it running and did the 60 second break in before sunset .

This will prolly be the last time I do an engine pull on a Bug .

Time marches on .

I'm getting good progress reports on my new OM616 engine, turns out it will have a .010" / .010" crankshaft, I forget what size bore .