Posted last week about getting my timing chain replaced at 125,000 miles. Well, I'm scheduled to get it replaced tomorrow. I wanna take time out to thank you all for your advice. I have to drive 90 miles to get it changed. Hopefully, I will make it there ok. I will post when I get back tomorrow. By the way, what changes can I expect to see in performance etc?. Is this just a preventive maintenance fix?. Will my mpg. increase? If it wasn't for this website I probably would have kept driving this machine without not even knowing the damage I was doing.The previous owner really took great care of this car the last 22 years, but he somehow omitted the timing chain. I went through the service records that he gave me and here is just some of the items that he replaced:
replaced injectors @ 116,00 miles
new water pump @100k,
new michelin tires @ 114,000k
replaced all drive belts @ 100k
R134 conversion @ 106k
new motor mounts@ 100k
Every oil change was documented for the entire 20 plus years. The owner had 4 benzes and a 3 car garage so he sold the "oldest" benz.
Thanks in advance.

The previous owner probably didn't want to spend the money to replace the timing chain. You probably won't see a discernable difference in performance or gas mileage, but you won't have to worry about the engine self-destructing because the old timing chain failed. Hopefully you're having new upper and lower timing chain guides installed too.

__________________
Fred Hoelzle

And the tensioner, don't forget to replace the tensioner.

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1988 W126 420 SE

beware of fundamentalists!

I do plan on replacing both guides,rails, and tensioner. I will post when I get back.

the diff you will feel is a more responsive engine off the line.a stretched chain means retarded valve timing which translates to an engine that doesn't feel powerful until you reach 2500-3000 rpms.

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David S Poole
European Performance
Dallas, TX
4696880422

"Fortune favors the prepared mind"
1987 Mercedes Benz 420SEL
1988 Mercedes Benz 300TE (With new evaporator)
2000 Mercedes Benz C280
http://www.w108.org/gallery/albums/A...1159.thumb.jpg

When I replaced mine, I did not replace the cam sprockets. I wish I had, not so much for reliability but because I could not get the timing where I wanted.