im thinking of buying a 87 560sec with a brabus pkg. on it.everything seems to work fine except for the fact that the car is puffing black smoke (enough to leave a stain on the driveway after a few minutes). the owner tells me that a mechanic overtightened the fuel distributer ,and that it has to be replaced.
what damage could it do?clog the cats?
is it a cheap fix?
what else could it be?
the car has 270 000 kilometers
thanks in advance

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1992 500E silver
1990 300ce AMG
1993 500e smoke silver-sold
1992 500e sold pearl black-sold
1966 mustang converible 289
1969 camaro x11
1991 ZR-1
1972 corvette roadster
2000 dodge cummins 4x4 sold
1994 e320 sold
1987 560sec Brabus
1987 300E (my first benz)

Running rich can clog the CATs it did on my BMW. It can also cause a lot of carbon build up but that can be cleaned out with some open road. Check for oil leaks. And as everyone always says invest in a mechanics opionon.

I had a similar problem with a 1986 560 SL. My indie shop finally narrowed it down to the EHA valve. Along the way it ate up the spark plugs, oxygen sensor, and left a lot of carbon in the engine and exhaust system. I'm still dealing with that. If it is the fuel distributor, you can add several hundred dollars to the cost of the above parts.

Have it checked out by a good mechanic. Its cheap insurance.

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M. Sandler

1986 560SEC: 150,000 miles, runs great, but I've got to sell it (too many cars for one man)
1987 560SL: 122,000 miles, used to run poorly, now (thanks to forum), runs great!
1997 GMC Jimmy: Turned out to be a turkey.
1989 T-Bird Super Coupe: 150,000 miles, still runs great. Ford got it right.