Great service in KC!

[ukrmh88]

I have only been a member of this group for a few months, but have posted here on some issues with my 87 560SL, with great success. Long story short: I bought the car in VA in May, drove home to KC with no trouble, and wanted to get a few things tweaked on this 135K mile car with no rust and an all-original body. I had dents removed, seats redyed, and the car detailed. Plus, I bought new tires for it. The final thing was the timing chain issue. The car was a one-owner VA car, but the previous owner did not remember if she had the chain replaced or not. Knowing what I do about these chains, and the instant destruction they can cause, I wanted to get it changed if it had not yet been done. I took the car to German Imports in NKC today to have the chain looked at, fully expecting to have to pay for a new chain and related items. They had told me a couple of weeks ago when I first splke with them that it would cost around $900 if it needed replacement. "Kenny" took the r. valve cover off and inspected the chain, tensioner, and used a probe with a small camera to look down towards the bottom near the crank. He was looking for evidence of any wear on plastic parts. His analysis: the chain was near perfect with little stretch, the tensioner was fine, and the plastic parts showed little wear or deterioration. The plastic cam oilers were also in like-new condition. He surmised that the chain and related parts were all replaced at around 100K. He could have told me it needed a new chain and I would not have been the wiser, but he was very honest and upstanding. No, he is not my brother-in-law nor anyone I knew before 2 weeks ago when I first talked with him, just an honest guy. He charged me $158 for 1.5 hrs labor and a new v.c. gasket. He also adjusted and cleaned the fuel distributor while he was in there, and this was included in the $158. The car runs like new, and my confidence level in the car has soared. My paranoia about the chain is gone, and my wife and I can now drive this with confidence. We hope to have this car for years to come. Hats off to Kenny and German Imports of North Kansas City!
Bob

[Roncallo]

Originally Posted by ukrmh88

I have only been a member of this group for a few months, but have posted here on some issues with my 87 560SL, with great success. Long story short: I bought the car in VA in May, drove home to KC with no trouble, and wanted to get a few things tweaked on this 135K mile car with no rust and an all-original body. I had dents removed, seats redyed, and the car detailed. Plus, I bought new tires for it. The final thing was the timing chain issue. The car was a one-owner VA car, but the previous owner did not remember if she had the chain replaced or not. Knowing what I do about these chains, and the instant destruction they can cause, I wanted to get it changed if it had not yet been done. I took the car to German Imports in NKC today to have the chain looked at, fully expecting to have to pay for a new chain and related items. They had told me a couple of weeks ago when I first splke with them that it would cost around $900 if it needed replacement. "Kenny" took the r. valve cover off and inspected the chain, tensioner, and used a probe with a small camera to look down towards the bottom near the crank. He was looking for evidence of any wear on plastic parts. His analysis: the chain was near perfect with little stretch, the tensioner was fine, and the plastic parts showed little wear or deterioration. The plastic cam oilers were also in like-new condition. He surmised that the chain and related parts were all replaced at around 100K. He could have told me it needed a new chain and I would not have been the wiser, but he was very honest and upstanding. No, he is not my brother-in-law nor anyone I knew before 2 weeks ago when I first talked with him, just an honest guy. He charged me $158 for 1.5 hrs labor and a new v.c. gasket. He also adjusted and cleaned the fuel distributor while he was in there, and this was included in the $158. The car runs like new, and my confidence level in the car has soared. My paranoia about the chain is gone, and my wife and I can now drive this with confidence. We hope to have this car for years to come. Hats off to Kenny and German Imports of North Kansas City!
Bob

There was a time when technicians used to work this way. Today few even know how.

[mbboy]

Originally Posted by Roncallo

There was a time when technicians used to work this way. Today few even know how.

May be, but I'd like to know how his tech could have stated with impunity that the chain wasn't stretched without taking the valve covers off, rotating the engine, and examining the cam shaft timing marks? Moreover, i'd like to know how he could have determined that the tensioner was fine without removing it and following the immersion procedure MB recommends for checking the tensioner?

He may have deduced these things from seeing that the chain guides weren't worn, but i'm not sure whether such deductions are totally reliable.

[280sleuro]

Boy, talk about bursting a guys confidence bubble after a great inspection on his timing chain. It sounds as though the mechanic was very conscientious in his inspection. Removing one valve cover to help align the timing mark and then check for any slack in the chain is a common check. Plus his visual inspection based on his knowledge of experience would also indicate high confidence. I believe Bob is correct in having his confidence level soar... enjoy the ride.
Jim

[Roncallo]

Originally Posted by mbboy

May be, but I'd like to know how his tech could have stated with impunity that the chain wasn't stretched without taking the valve covers off, rotating the engine, and examining the cam shaft timing marks? Moreover, i'd like to know how he could have determined that the tensioner was fine without removing it and following the immersion procedure MB recommends for checking the tensioner?

He may have deduced these things from seeing that the chain guides weren't worn, but i'm not sure whether such deductions are totally reliable.

How do you know he didn't. He obviously pulled the covers to use the borescope. I willing to bet he rotated the engine to the marks without the customer even knowing what he was doing. There is no reason to check a tensioner unless you have a reason to suspect it having a problem.

[deanyel]

It sounded like a prudent and cost effective chain inspection to me. But mbboy has certainly nailed the dealership mindset.

[mbboy]

Originally Posted by deanyel

It sounded like a prudent and cost effective chain inspection to me. But mbboy has certainly nailed the dealership \mindset.

I was just going by what the O.P. wrote, implying that he had watched the inspection: 'Kenny took the r. valve cover off and inspected the chain, tensioner, and used a probe with a small camera to look down towards the bottom near the crank." Nothing at all about rotating the engine.

I was recalling what several techs had told me when I wanted them to see if my chain was stretched. To do it right, they had to remove both covers the fan, and the fan shroud, so they could rotate the engine and examine the timing marks, which I ultimately learned how to do myself. So I just don't know if I'd trust the relatively cursory inspection this tech did, especially of the tensioner. I agree, however, that there's no reason to question the tensioner if there's no chain rattle.

Another thing that bothered me is that the chain guides don't really wear: they get brittle, turn brown, and break off. But maybe "wear" was just a generality.

Still another thing that bothered me was that his Indy quoted him $900 to replace the chain. As most people here know, you can buy a chain for app. $100 and replace it in a couple of hours. Assuming they doubled the price of the chain, at $100/hr for labor, that still comes to $400 -- not $900. And if they had included changing the guides it would have been at least twice as much. So, I doubt if the guides were included.

I dunno. Maybe his tech could intuit that everything was honkey dorey , and i've become anal over the years after reading so many stories about chains failing. Odds are that he'll be fine, though.