Hey All,

Thanks VERY much for your help!

I have a 1990 300CE-24 and need to remove the harmonic balancer/ crankshaft pulley. Well, none of the drawings, pics, schematics, etc. that I can see anywhere online match my harmonic balancer on the rig. Please see attached photos.

Mine seems to be one-piece, whereas all the pics and schematics for this year and model show it be two with several bolts joining them together. I don't know how to remove it without accidentally moving the pulley and changing the timing. I'm sure it's tightened to 300+ lbs torque. Also, once the bolt is out, do I still need a puller of some type, or will it simply slide off?

My year is hard to find accurate pics, info., etc. online. I can always find info on the 1986-1989 as well as the newer 1992->, but not the 1990. Please HELP, thanks.

Attached Thumbnails

     

C'mon fellas, all those views and not a single response??? Is it THAT hard of a question? Or am I THAT stupid? (probably). Please write with your experiences with this particular harmonic balancer and the best way to get it off, thanks!!!

I'm gonna assume an impact wrench.

__________________

1990 190E 3.0L

If I'm understanding what you are trying to do, my m103 uses a locking device like KTC-058-62318

that looks to be an m104.....if the chain is still on even if you move the crank it should not upset the timing (you know this)....as long as the motor is tdc even if the chain is not on it is easy enough to reset the bottom end if it moves. not sure about that year but you may have to take the belt pulley off to see the way to remove the balancer.
if you have air tools it would help and verify the thread direction before you have at it

__________________
0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

cw:

1) Removing the dampener and pulley will not/can not affect either the valve timing or the ignition timing.
2) Examine the bell housing for a place to insert a wedge/large screwdriver to lock the ring gear from rotating.
3) Remove center bolt in pulley/dampener.

Inside the bore of the dampener hub there may be internal threads, into which a specific puller would be screwed to remove the hub from the crankshaft. If not, the hub may slide off, though admittedly, a slip fit is not the MB way. In any event, remove the bolt, and see what can be pried off, or falls off. To use the Brit's expression, "Suck it, and see!"

Remove a torque converter bolt, on the bell housing you will see a cover facing towards the transmission, remove the cover and you will see the ring gear and 2 bolts on each spoke that hold the torque converter, remove one of those bolts and replace it with a longer bolt that a socket can fit over snug it down and it will prevent your crank from moving and you will be able to remove the crank bolt.

Wow, great advice, thanks fellas!

FYI, for anyone else who needs help with this, I decided to try the STARTER MOTOR method and it worked like a charm. (see new pic)

Basically, set up a breaker bar on the center bolt with a pipe extension that makes contact with the driver side frame inside the engine compartment. Then simply crank the engine enough to break the bolt free. DO NOT continue cranking, all you need is to break it free. Just a quick turn of the key is all it takes.

Still haven't figured out how to pull the balancer off, as there's not enough room to fit a puller that will grip the exterior of the damper/pulley and there's no holes on the damper pulley to screw into. Hmm. Might try tapping it with a rubber mallet? 2x4 w/hammer?

Also, it looks like the rubber in the damper is definitely cracked and I've read about these things going bad while running - NOT a good thing, so I'll have to get a new one as well.

Funny-ish (not really), I drained the engine oil this morning and forgot just how much these things hold. The standard 5-quart container over-filled and now my garage floor has a nice oily shine to it! (after I wiped up about 1-2 quarts of oil). Good times.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Update, in case anyone ever needs the same . . .

After removing the HB using a puller, I removed what I thought was all of the bolts that hold the front lower cover on. Well, there's all the bolts that are shown in the diagrams and then there's the OTHER 2 bolts that aren't.

So, for clarification, there are a total of SIX bolts that travel through the oil sump pan that need to be removed, not just the four that are positioned in the front.

Thanks again for everyone's help.