i just bought a 75 230 sedan.4cyl a/t. it runs good, but has a lot of top end ticking,i suspect it hasnt had the valves adjusted in a long time. ive done valve adjustments before(mostly motorcycle)i have the owners man. so have the specs- dosent say hot or cold,so i guess it would be a cold adjustment. does any one have any advice for me? any pitfalls to watch out for? this is my first benz. thanks, bob

Always cold..the "ball studs" that adjusts the valves are interference fit & can allow excessive noise due to wear..

Set the intakes to 0.01mm(0.004") and the exhaust twice that amount.

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Inspect all the cam lobes and rockers carefully for wear. I put a wrench on the crank and bring each lobe straight up, inspect it and the rocker, and do the adjustment. Also, the ball studs can be very difficult to move because the metal is soft and rounds easily. Best tool is a ground-down 17mm (I think) crowfoot. If you can't move it, remove the rocker and put a socket on the ball stud.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

thanks for the advice, i started this am,and found just what you said- couldnt really get a regular 17mm wrench in it, and the one or 2 i could get on, didnt want to turn. will get a set of crows feet today. if they wont turn the adjusters either, how do you remove the rockers? thanks, bob

You need a valve spring compressor that hooks under the cam and then has a piece that slips under the rocker and allows you to compress the spring. I got mine from AST (Assenmacher Specialty Tools), but I have also heard that KD makes one that will work. They are used on just about all MB OHC engines. You also need to be sure that the piston is not near TDC or the valve won't go down far enough to remove the rocker.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

thanks for the help- i'll let you know how it comes out.-bob