ARRGH! After winding in a new timing chain on my '97 C280, 104.941 motor, I managed to loose the intake end down the hole. I could still see the chain piled up down there, so I fished for it with a piece of wire and was working it back out when it slipped off the wire and disappeared all together. I had no choice but to wind it out the exhaust side.

Now, how to get the new chain back around the crank sprocket??? I taped a small fridge magnet to a piece of fiberglass packing tape and dangled it down the hole until it stuck to the crank sprocket and then cranked it around to where I could see it on the other side and fished it out. Attached a piece of wire to the tape and pulled it back through to the opposite side and then attached the chain to the wire and wound it back through.

I patted myself on the back too soon.

I got the head back on and torqued down today and began setting up the cams and crank. But there was no way I could get the exhaust sprocket on. The chain was too short!! But it was the same 126 links as the original.

I looked at the MB WIS picture and I think I might have threaded the chain around a lower guide pin rather than between the pin and the crank sprocket. Check the attached. Look at the inset, the suspect pin is just to the right of the crank sprocket. Adding to my suspicion is that the chain sometimes suddenly slides over the crank sprocket when applying tension to the chain.

Anybody have experience with this?

Attached Files

Mercedes pic.zip (72.2 KB, 110 views)

Good Luck with it.

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

You'll have to take the front cover off to get the chain.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

Solution:

Removed chain from engine by just cranking it through. Dropped magnet on string to crank sprocket and cranked 360 deg. Fished out string and connected to chain. Fed chain to sprocket and cranked through until equal lengths were showing at the mating surface of the top and bottom front cover. Chain now connects over cam sprockets, so something was wonky down in the hole. Not sure what was causing the problem, but I think that the chain was mis-aligned on the bottom sprocket preventing it from engaging the sprocket properly and appearing to be too short. I don't think that the chain was threaded improperly as previously suspected.

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Prost!