Anyone know or does anyone have a diagram of how to correctly place and locate the spark plug / high tension wires under the plastic cover over the valve head? The other week I was nose'n around in the engine area and noticed the black plastic cover over the wires was lifted up a bit in the front. Naturally, I took the cover off and saw the snakes nest underneath the cover and figured I certainly could improve upon their location and get the plastic cover to fit better. You guessed it - I made it worse. Surely there is a proper layout for these wires. It's beyond me to figure it out. The car is a 1988 190E 2.6L with 240,000 miles (5 Speed).

BTW: my (original/silver) oil filler cap was misting the valve cover so I replaced it with a new MB one for around $8.00 (at the dealer: Brandywine in West Chester, PA) It is a very nice black filler cap that looks very good on the black valve cover and it helps distract your eye from the ill fitting black plastic spark plug wire cover.

If there's a method for routing those wires. I'd like to know it. I can get them pretty good, but not as flat as I'd like. It was a hit and miss operation to get it as good as I did.

Does anyone have a problem getting the oil cap off? I find mine stuck so tightly every time I need to remove it that I have to use a pair of channel locks to get it off. Every time.

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Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

Is it the correct cap? Check with dealer.

Routing the plug wires down the guide strips is an exercise in futility. There is no doc in the manuals or the CD-Rom. I think it falls under common sense.

Route the ending cyls(#6, #5,etc) along the top edge of the strip and the lower numbered cyls along the bottom edge of the strip.

I went thru this recently when repalcing dist. cap/rotor. I spent more time wrestling with rerouting the plug wires in the guide strip than the rest of the project. Stay with it...you'll eventually get it done.

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Mike Murrell
1991 300-SEL - Model 126
M103 - SOHC
"Fräulein"

The oil cap I got at the dealer (provided my VIN) is ridiculously tight too. Goes on easily, though.

When the dealer replaced my plug wires, he taped them to the cover strip. I've always wondered why most other car makers go to pains to keep wires separated while European car makers bundle them.

Sixto
91 300SE
81 300SD