Ok. I have finally found the problem of the lack of power and quite possibly the terrible fuel mileage. The camshaft timing is off by a decent amount. When I bought the car, the guys mechanic had just installed a new timing chain and said the camshaft timing was fine. But my dad and I just looked at it and noticed the exhaust side was off by 2 teeth and the intake side was off by 1 tooth. So my question is, what is involved in trying to adjust it with the least removal of parts. Any ideas? Would appreciate any help!

Thanks alot!

I am trying to figure out how he managed that..... You checked it by setting the cranshaft pulley at TDC. And the marks on the camshaft sprockets are off by that much?

I don't know if there is enough slack with the tensioner removed to correct his mistake without taking it farther apart?

Loosen the tensioner and undo the four bolts holding the sprockets to the cams. (Careful, don't drop them in the motor like one of the other posters did) Undo the top chain guide and see if you can get the chain off one of the sprockets.

OR

take it back to the mechanic and make him fix it right.

Tinker

Ya i set it the crank pulley to TDC and it was out by that much. I found it hard to believe but it was true. As for bringing it back, its kinda too late because I didnt own it when he did it.


Thanks for the instructions. Ill try it out on saturday and let you know. Thanks a lot for the info.

Don't just remove the tensioner! Start by removing the cap nut on the tensioner (8MM allen) & spring from the tensioner first. Then you can "back it out". IF the tensioner has a 27MM nut on the end of the tensioner(should be a 8MM allen) you will need get the modified tensioner as THAT(old style tensioner) will allow the chain to jump.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Well , we got the timing done pretty quick. All we did was remove the guide rail and then kept tension on the timing chain and just turned the camshaft to where it should have been. Quite a quick job once you have the necessary stuff off.

Do you have the updated chain tensioner? You should be good to go if you do. If not, think about updating if you start to hear a rattle at startup.

The million dollar question is...............does it run better?

Tinker

Not sure if it is updated or not but it runs a heck of a lot better. I havent gteched it yet, but im sure its really close to what stock was. Has to be. So far no sounds. Engine runs a heck of a lot smoother too.

Thulkkonen,

You might want to make sure that

A. your tensioner is the latest one (do a search, there are three versions)
B. It is installed properly.

If something is wrong with either A or B, the chain could easily jump to the position you described. The last time I took mine apart, I don't think there was enough slack in the chain to do what you described (i.e. just removing the top guard and moving the camshaft).

Then again, I could be off the mark. I'm the silly bastard that dropped the washer down the chain box...

cheers,
dan r.

Should i bother check that again or should I just wait and see if that jumps to do anything about it? Any ideas? Whats the cost on the new tensioners?

Guess you didn't read this post on what the tensioner should look like!

""Don't just remove the tensioner! Start by removing the cap nut on the tensioner (8MM allen) & spring from the tensioner first. Then you can "back it out". IF the tensioner has a 27MM nut on the end of the tensioner(should be a 8MM allen) you will need get the modified tensioner as THAT(old style tensioner) will allow the chain to jump.""
__________________

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

thulkkonen,

Not sure how much you know about this tensioner. It was not such a good design by mercedes/cosworth because the original tensioner didn't keep tension on the T-chain unless oil pressure was present (i.e. NOT at startup or shut-down). So now we have the 3rd timing chain design, which rachets to keep pressure on the chain regardless of oil pressure. Click on the 'Fast Lane' link at the top of this page, give Phill (our parts-ninja) a call for the price-I think its a little more than 500 for everything.

No, don't let this go. Figure out if you have the right tensioner and make sure it is installed correctly. These engines are 'interference' engines, meaning that if the cams continue to jump the chain you'll eventually end up with your valves mating with your pistons and giving birth to a huge repair bill. While you're in there getting acquainted with your engine, why not check the valve specs too? They're the other popular cause of head work on these cars-a knowledgable member(JimSmith, i think) of the board had a head-job done on account of the valves being too tight.

welcome to the club/support group


cheers,
dan