Hi,

Thanks to this forum and Pindelski's web site. I did the valve lash adjustment on my 83 SD. The valves are all tight. Exhaust valves are around .25mm, intake valves are around .05mm and some are less. The CAM lobes have no visible wear. The chain stretch is around 0 to 2 degree. I think there will be some in-accuracy when measureing the chain stretch by the CAM and crank damper marks.

Well, most importantly, it runs much smoother and less vibration, less noise after the adjustment.

By the way, I have to grind down one of the bent wrenches which I bought from **************. The bottom nut is thinner than the thickness of the wrench.

__________________
Shane83SD

Way to go Shane! I recently bought the wrenches from ************** and found they worked perfectly , no tweaking was neccessary. I like them because they're longer than the Hazet factory wrenches , this keeps your hands (and knuckles) out of the way.

__________________
Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

Dear Kyle and Shane:

I've heard that some people who bought ************** wrenches had to scrape the silver paint off these wrenches because they were easily peeled off when wrenching. Of course, it's bad if these paint chips get into the engine.

Is it true?

Thanks.

Eric

Hi Eric , I've only used mine once so I haven't noticed yet. I suppose though it will come off eventually , now I'll have to wire brush the business ends at least .

__________________
Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

I don't remember; how much are the ************** wrenches?

I'm getting to the point where it's time for a valve adjustment, and don't have a wrench set yet...although I'm half-tempted (and stubborn enough ) to just try it with normal wrenches first...

Thanks!

Dear The Warden:

They are about $43 a pair ($6 S/H). I did valve adjustments on a W116 300SD, a W126 300SD and a W123 240D using regular
14 mm open end wrenches. It took me from 30 minutes to 45 minutes (all valves were tight)

I do think that using the bent wrenches will cut the time in half. I may consider buying these bent wrenches in the future.

Eric

Regarding the wrenches from **************, it works fine after I grind it down a bit to get it fully seated for the bottom nut. I have no other issues with the tool. Other than the grinding part, I consider it money well spent. The intake valves are harder to adjust to spec, so a good tool will help.

I also found there is no need for the 3rd holding wrench.

__________________
Shane83SD

Shane ,Curious about the vibration.Was this prior to valve adjustment? Also more noticeable after reaching operating temp?

OK, This statement :

"I also found there is no need for the 3rd holding wrench."

Really gets me HOT.

Why would such a seemingly simple statement upset me , you might ask.... ?

Because what actually happened was that you were lucky enough that on YOUR car THIS time you did not need the third wrench.

Why would it be important to distinguish this difference in print ?

Because it may give someone new to setting their own valves the idea that it is only us old inept guys which require the third wrench... as compared to the probabibility that most cars at one time or another in their long service period will need it to adjust the valves..

So why would even that be necessary to bring up ?

Because way too many times a person is IN the middle of adjusting their valves before they find they need the lower wrench.... and it may be on the weekend or evening and the MB dealer is not open and the car needs to be running again on Monday or the next day... so the person has to set what he can and button the engine back up and then go find the wrench and do all the stuff to get to and from the valves again another day... a waste of time and energy and spirit.

saying " I also found there is no need for the 3rd holding wrench." could put some people to some totally unnecessary aggravation.

My first valve setting on my wagon needed the third wrench on three valves...

Warden,
I've gotten by using only one of the two "bent" wrenches. I found the bottom (bigger?) one to be very helpful but in my case I was able to get a straight wrench on in the upper position just fine.

As to the third wrench Leather has a good point. We tend to generalize our own experiences to all the cars and that's probably not always good advice. Having said that though, those of us who tend to do things under the economy program (which is probably most of us) generally take an ongoing risk that our effort to save a buck or two can on occasion have its consequences. Newbies be advised!

LRG

__________________
LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

I could not pass up responding to leathermang sharing with us what makes him HOT. After reading the the post I have to agree with leathermang's conclusion that the "third wrench" can be extremely useful.

This tool is intended to help make the procedure of adjusting the gap repeatable, from valve to valve. The tool is used when it comes time to turn the lower or upper adjusting nuts to change their position on the threaded section of the valve stem, after they are loosened. The problem is that you can loosen the bottom nut and the top acorn nut without the "third wrench" just fine. However, once the top nut is loose you have to be able to move it's, and the bottom nut's, position relative to the starting position on the valve stem with some degree of precision to adjust the gap or you get unanticipated changes in the gap dimension.

Without the "third wrench" this is a process that can be at the mercy of the coefficient of friction between the bottom nut (and, or the top nut) threads and the valve stem threads, as well as other forces on the valve. You can tell when you need the "third wrench" when you are struggling to relate turning the lower nut, then holding it and bringing the upper nut down to be locked by the lower nut and the wrench movement seems non-linear in its relationship to the gap change.

While it is not a problem every time, it is usually a pain in the rear with at least one or two valves per session. I usually just put the "third wrench" in position at the start and leave it because I have the wrench. The design kind of keeps it out of the way, so it is not a problem. Not having it is a problem. Sometimes a little one and sometimes a bigger one. The point of this tool, like many other tools, is to make the task progression smooth and consistent, to maximize the reliability of the job and reduce the time needed. For some working on cars, time is money, and so is repeatable reliability.

So, the statement may not get me HOT like leathermang, but it is inaccurate to suggest the "third wrench" is useless. It actually serves its purpose quite well. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

LRG, your statement "those of us who tend to do things under the economy program " made it sound like I was a spendthrift on this item...
Lets review what has already been shown in a previous thread...
1. I bought two $7 Sears wrenches and bent them myself.
2. I spent a couple of hours trying to make the lower wrench myself.... before giving up... and buying it...
3. I don't know how to spell probability when I am hot.

Bending Valve Adjustment Wrenchs

Leather,
Absolutely no offense intended in my comment. The fact of the matter is that none of us who own these older, high mileage cars could really be accused of being a spendthrift (except maybe by PEH). OK, I admit it. Maybe I am a spendthrift. I recklessly and foolishly change my filters every 30,000 miles, whether they need it or not. There, I've said it. I feel better.
LRG

__________________
LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

Wow, don't mean to cause such an uproar regarding the 3rd wrench. It is merely a personal statement.

I did encounter the problem which the large nut turn with the bottom nut. As I remembered, all I did was to use a small channel lock on the large nut and a wrench on the thin bottom nut to work them loose between them. Simple and easy. That is why I said I found no need for the 3rd wrench.

I appologize if my statement offend someone.

__________________
Shane83SD

I was not offended myself... I just did not want new people ( to doing their own valve adjusting ) to get caught unawares of the potential problem....
For many people , even with the 'correct' and bought wrenches, getting the three nuts to give the proper clearance is not easy. The bought lower wrench has the added help of a little ' table' under it to hold it at the angle needed.... whereas with channel lock plus the two wrenches three hands are very helpful.
My main point is to be wary of placing oneself in a position where their tools will not suffice for their needs... with no way to correct the situation short of having to reassemble the engine and wait for ordered tools to arrive . ( Many dealers do not have these IN STOCK all the time ) I had to wait a week for the dealer to get the lower one.
Anyway , a little drama increases readership of some threads...