86300e Lots Of Probs Plz Help!
 

OK I HAVE A 300E , JUST BOUGHT IT ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO I GO TAKE IT IN TO GET BACK BRAKE PADS CHANGED AND ROTATE THE TIRES AND THEY END UP SAYING I HAVE 5,000 WORTH OF CRAP AND ITS NOT EVEN WORTH FIXING? ,.... THAT IS REALLY wow caps lol , anyways that is making me really pissed off b/c i 'm loving the inside and outside is in perfect condition. It makes a rattle when the engine is going and the guy said its the camshaft?? it this possible and alot a hissing noise all around the car and he said its probably the fuel pump? is that aslo possible or hard to fix , the cam shaft would be a huge amount of many and labor. if it there is something wrong with it i'm probably screwed right? , also , i can't start the car when its sitting more than 1 hour i have to pump it alittle gas 3 to 4 times to get it going it almost stalls anyway that can be fixed or is that normal, once its going and its like 30 mins before i restart it i dont even need to touch the gas it starts perfect but if its sitting for 1 hour or 2 it will have to be pumped and makes a hugly noise anyone have any idea's? , thx-
johnp and also if you leave a AIM or icq # so we can talk 1to1 that would help alot two thx. :( :)

Johnp:
Welcome to Mercedesshop!
The noise from the valvetrain, I would venture to guess, is one or several hydraulic compensators. These are sort of like hydraulic lifters for an overhead cam engine. How many miles on the engine?
The starting concern could be worn or hardened valve stem seals, and or bad/worn/incorrect spark plugs. Use only the correct/recommended spark plugs in this engine, recommending the Bosch Super spark plugs. The hydraulic compensators and valve stem seals could be combined into one operation and some money could be saved, some work would be a duplication, such as removing the valve cover and removing the racker arm brackets.
On the fuel pump, they can get noisy with age, but I've known people to put up with the noise for thousands of miles and it'll still keep the pressure up. I think you could wait on that if you'd rather work on the engine noise and starting problem first.
Gilly

Well John, welcome to the club of Mercedes fixers.....
Did you have the car inspected before buying it..... NO? first mistake. Too late now.
How much mileage on the car?Your symptoms could mean a number of things. Fuel pump? badly needs a tune-up? fuel filter?
These Mercedes can run for life if well maintained. Give us more details.
jackD

ty for the welcome i feel right @ home, anyways the car has 141,000 miles , so its got alot but the guy said that he put in about 5,000 worth of stuff on it , he said that the head cam or something blew out and they had to replace a new one. So the engine (cam head or wutever) is in good shape i hope :) , anways there is also a small tranny leak , which worries me the most , i hear it is common , and all ihave to do is refill it once in a while , but its a mess on the garage floor and makes me nervous on how the car was manged and its condition. i'm new @ this stuff and willing to learn , so do you guys really think the rattlening noise could be the camshaft , i was thinking the fan/raditor or something it is a constent noise even in park.

aslo any ideas on the cold starting, its really pissing me off and it doesn't feel right to pump the gass everytime i leave the car for 1hour and everyone thinks ohhh look @ that peace of junk that hardly even starts if you know what i mean , hehe , well thx for the help open and ready to learn :)

John:
I still think either simply spark plugs or maybe valve stem seals on the poor starting problem. The valve stem seals aren't that big of a deal to do, probably not a good first time project for you to do yourself though.
Since the motor may have been apart recently, they may have goofed up and left out a part. It's possible. There's a little spacer that goes on top of the valve stem, they may have lost one.
It could be the cam, it would be pretty rare though for a 103 motor (which is what type of motor you have). i'm guessing what was wrong with it previously was a blown head gasket, this is fairly common. I'd get the straight story on what was done, this will aid in diagnosis. The noise that the engine makes, is it a constant "tick tick tick tick" that get faster with engine rpm?
The transmission leak that seems most common on this car is the front pump seal, it would be leaking from between the engine and transmission through a weep hole in the bell housing. It gets expensive to replace since the transmission has to be removed to fix it.
i'd start with the basics first, see if the spark plugs are worn out to fix the starting problem, also try to find out when the fuel and air filters were replaced, also when the oil change was last done, just the basics first. Are you sure the garage you took it to is familiar with Mercedes?
Gilly

2nd opinion
 

Having bought my '86 300E last October, I am learning as I go too. As gillybenztech mentioned, Are you sure the garage you took it to is familiar with Mercedes? You might take it somewhere else for a 2nd opinion. Could save money in the long run.

You techs out there, could the difference in starting be from the fuel accumulator? I know mine starts easily when cold, but I have to pump the gas when starting warm.

Good luck with your car. I know you'll enjoy it out on the road...

--Craig

Hi John,
The hissing sound you are hearing might be an opened vacuum line. That might be the cause of your starting problem.

Chupr: I thought of a vacuum hiss too. I would think even if the mechanic was unfamiliar with MB that he/she would still be able to tell the diff between a fuel pump and a vacuum leak, most fuel injected engines with a high pressure pump will eventually have a noisy pump, and this sound is very similar between the different manufacturers . That was my thought process anyways.
Gilly

You say you're not sure where the hiss or other noises are coming from. Do yourself a favor and buy an automotive stethoscope - they are cheap and really good. start the car and start probing around with the stethoscope - when you come close to the noise it will jump out at you. If you want to know if it is the lifters - take off the oil filler cap from the valve cover and put the stethoscope near the opening - if the ticking is coming from there - you will hear it. I kick myself for all the times I guessed at what or where the noises came from instead of using this excellent inexpensive troubleshooting tool. Find out where the noises are coming from and we can zero in on the cause.

Take a deep breath and relax...

You're among friends here, and we will try to help you one step at a time.

Your model W124 and M103 engine combo is one of the most solid packages MB has ever produced. Small parts in these cars can contribute to major running problems, and a handful of suspect parts can create all sorts of havoc that will cause a neophyte Benz owner to throw up his hands in despair!

So fear not! Here at MercedesShop, we can help!:)

Let's fix your car one problem at a time...

This is a long shot, but check the 90 degree vacuum hose that runs from the valve cover (opposite the #4 spark plug wire) to the intake manifold. It is a L shaped hose about 4" long, right on top of the engine, easy to get to. I've had 2 of them crack and that will cause a big vacuum leak and a hissing noise under the hood. Confirm the ends are on tight and check for cracks on the underside. The crack often cannot be seen by just looking at it from the top.

I wouldn't worry about changing the sparkplug wires unless they are badly damaged or show too much resistance.MB uses some darn good wires, the wires on my 4.5 appear to be original (still have the cylinder #'s on them), are about 30 years old and look like crap, but resistance is correct and there is no arcing.

Your noise that was diagnosed as the cam, could also be the belt tensioner going south. Does is sound like a rattle?

wow, so many reply's i'm loving it. First off Thank you all so much for your advice and i will keep it all in mind. Like i said i'm really new @ cars in genral and dont really know that much about the enigine ect. My uncle is coming to town in a month or two and he knows alot being a proud owner of a 190e 87, so hopefully we can diag. the noise problems. The guy really scared use saying the camshaft blah blah could break down and there goes your car. made me picture me on the side of the road with a towtruck
:( i guess i can't really do any of this on my own right now and i really really want to . i want to check the spark plugs and vaccum lines / wires and what not. but i dont even know how to check the spark plugs thats how noob i am :) well , ill try to read up on cars online and ask my uncle questions and read him the stuff you guys posted. i thank you for all your help , and if i have any more questions ill sure will ask them. i will keep you in touch on what we are doing to this bad boy 300e thank you all :)

The noise that the engine makes, is it a constant "tick tick tick tick" that get faster with engine rpm?


i think gillybenztech said this , yes i just tried it out and it is when i put the petal to the metal it makes a faster ticking noise. the hissing is all around the car front back sides ect.

i just hope nothing to seriouse happends to it , the guy said that the alinegment or something for the steerning wheel / shock for the wheel whatever that is off. i havn't noticed anything execpt the steering wheel when going pefectly straight is not. for example the mercedes-benz symbol the top spike is not @ 12 o'clock it is more like 10 . its just sorta annoying ;/ but i hope nothing seriously wrong witht he steerning by the way , Gillybenztech , you are from madison? do you happen to work for
Brooklin, or Brookline motors in madison wi?? if so thats where the guy i bought my car from went ALL THE TIME to get stuff done. maybe you know him or my car :) thx.

John:
As it says at the bottom of all of my posts, I work in Madison. I know of the place you mention, Brooklyn Motor Works in Brooklyn, WI. I hear they do alot of high end restoration work for people all over the country. I live very close to Brooklyn, WI.

As has been posted before, we should probably have a plan of attack on your problems. Set your priorities and tackle them one at a time. It's OK to lay out all your problems at once to us, but don't expect all the problems to get fixed in short order, it will take time, and we have the time for you, don't worry we're not going anywhere.

On the noise which has been described as either a fuel pump or a vacuum leak, try to pin down the location. The fuel pump is located under the car near the right rear wheel, would you say it is possibly loudest near that area, or does it seem to be from the engine itself?

The ticking noise needs to be diagnosed, i wouldn't agree that it's a bad camshaft unless it were inspected and found to be galled or otherwice severely worn, and this is uncommon unless there is a problem with the oiling tube above the camshaft, but again unless it were inspected (valve cover removed at least) you wouldn't know this. Speculation will only get you so far, eventually someone is going to have to start diagnosing the problems.
Gilly