Head Gasket help on a 190 E 2.6 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

DIYBenzer · #1 11-01-2002, 03:53 PM

I have a post up about my 1990 190 E 2.6 not starting. One day of troubleshooting and this is what I have found. Oil in my overflow tank and Zero Compression in the #3 cylinder.

190 E 2.6 won't start

Has anyone ever had a head gasket go out that caused a sudden engine stop? I mean my Benz just died and wouldn't restart. I would have never thought head gasket, but I went over the ignition, gas deliver and relays (OVP and MAS) And they all checked out.

I am pretty sure this is the head gasket. I have the gasket kit and have lined up a machine shop to do the valves. What am I looking at as a do it yourself job, difficulty wise?

Is there any special tools needed to do this job or make it easier? My torque wrench is terrible. Anyone have any recommendations on a decent European torque wrench. Also do I need a special Head bolt socket and that tool I've seen for the serpentine belt (holding tool that keep the clutch from rotating)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

engatwork · #2 11-01-2002, 05:16 PM

I guess a blown head gasket could keep it from running but it would have to be severely blown. I would have figured it would have at least run - kinda scratching my head on this one. I'm sitting here wondering if there may be a head "warpage" issue. The story will be told when you get the head off. It is a diyer job as long as you take your time and "mark" wire/vacuum hose connectors and such. Study the books/manuals and take your time pulling those slide rail pins and such. Put the engine at #1 at TDC prior to taking everything apart. It is my experience it just makes it a little easer during reassembly.

DIYBenzer · #3 11-01-2002, 05:43 PM

Does the intake manafold have to come off like the CD shows. I saw a post w/ images that showed the IM undisturbed. The cd shows it being hoisted with the IM connected. Below is the picture I saw.

engatwork · #4 11-01-2002, 06:20 PM

I found it easier to pull the intake manifold out of the way on the E320. I did not have to worry about the fuel distributor.

DIYBenzer · #5 11-01-2002, 09:45 PM

Benzmac stated that it could be a broken valve spring. This would explain the sudden stop. But why would the oil show up in the coolant tank. I'll pull the valve cover off in the morning and report the findings.

engatwork · #6 11-02-2002, 06:46 AM

Broken valve spring, in my opinion, will not make oil show up in the coolant. A bad head gasket will make oil show up in the coolant though.

#7 11-02-2002, 10:32 AM

Been there, done that!

I thoght the head gasket had blown on my 103 engine. I still thought so after pulling the head and taking it to the shop. Luckily the shop I took it to was capable of welding up an aluminum head.

The problem turned out to be corrosion between the water jacket and the combustion chamber. He welded it up, did a valve job, checked the straightness. I put it back on about 55,000 miles ago and the engine has been flawless since except for ignition problems which have nothing to do with the guts of the engine.

Note! engatworks cylinder head job was on a 320 which has an M104 engine instead. On that engine, it is indeed easiest to disconnect everything from the intake manifold and remove it with the head.

On the M103, however, I found it much easier to leave the manifold in place and pull only the head. You will have to get to a few manifold bolts from underneath, but with a few extensions it is absolutely no problem. I think this method is superior because you don't risk breaking all the old brittle electrical and vacuum connections.

It really does sound as if you have a situation like mine. I would recommend that you move the car into place where you plan on doing the work and draining the oil and cooling system as soon as possible.

When mine blew, it was only a couple of days before I had to go to Europe for a 3 week business trip. It sat there, unbeknownst to me, with water in the oil. When I started it back up a number of weeks later, the oil already had looked like chocolate milk. I ran the engine only a minute or so and drained the oil and changed the filter. I then ran it down the road and back and changed it again. After that, I ran it to the office and back and drained it hot and overnight. The next oil and filter change was only about 1,000 miles later which put me back on my normal schedule and it was finally clean. The rust in the cylinders did no harm at all, but it sure did worry me.

The engine now goes 3,300 miles between oil changes and the oil barely goes down on the stick in that time.

So, pull the head and take it to a machine shop that can pressure test it and weld it up if necessary.

If you have never done this on an M103, and it sounds like you haven't, keep posting your questions here and we will get you through it.

There are several little tricks you will need to know such as how to seal the upper timing cover, beware of the small valve lifter cups and how to deal with the ratcheting timing chain tensioner without breaking something.

Once you start taking it apart, post here often and let us know how it is going.

Good luck,

DIYBenzer · #8 11-02-2002, 11:24 AM

Thanks Larry and to everone else helping in advance. I'm going to pull the head, weather permitting on Monday.

Will a 3/8 torque wrench get me through this job? I haven’t gone through all the torques yet, 70 Nm/ 51.85ft/lbs on the head bolts seem to be the highest.

Second question is I don't have an impact extractor, to take out the slide rail pin. Any thing else I can use to get it out.

Third I've seen a special head bolt tool. What size is it? Does craftsman make anything similar? Due to shipping time, I would rather pick it up if I could.

Thanks
Neil

#9 11-02-2002, 12:59 PM

The guide rail pins can be pulled using a bolt and a socket or large nut. You put the bolt through a washer, then a socket or nut larger than the pin, thread the bolt into the pin and tighten down to extract the pin. You may have to experiment with bolt lengths, etc.

I bought the special star tool for the head bolts. The gas engines are 10MM and the diesels are 12MM, but I don't know what this is called. I bought the Benz tools. A friend of mine bought a set of them made by Lisle. They were inexpensive and worked well for him. I don't think Craftsman can supply this tool.

I would really want to have a good wrench for this job due to the way you torque these heads. You torque them to the value in the book following the pattern. Then you turn them all 1/4 turn following the pattern, and then, I think another 1/4 turn following the pattern. If you don't have a book, I will look it up for you. You basically stretch the daylights out of the head bolts. If the engine has never been apart, the head bolts should be in good shape. After a few stretches, they need to be measured for length before reuse.

BTW Don't overlook checking the valve springs as suggested earlier in the thread. You can do this quickly by just pulling the valve cover. If you do find a broken spring, don't expect to simply replace the spring and everything be finished. There will probably be other damage as a result. But, you should check them.

Good luck,

Ziad · #10 11-06-2002, 12:11 AM

you'll need a few special tools to complete this job. pulling the head shouldnt take "you" more than a few hours. But do this...determine if your # 3 valves are bent, if so, you have jumped time and need to replace your chain, tensioner and rails.

Torque specs come with the head gasket. you will need 14 new stretch blots for the head. have a friend help you lower the head onto the block.....that is do not tear the new headgasket with the sharp edges. replace your timing chain cover and seal while you are there.

#11 11-06-2002, 07:01 AM

You don't need to replace the bolts unless they are over length. I don't have a factory manual to offer the exact length, but it should not be difficult to come up with here on the site.

If you pull the head ONLY, without the intake manifold attached, it was next to nothing, you will not need a helper to lower it in place. I think the previous poster was thinking of an iron head engine.

These engines have a ratcheting timing chain tensioner and give very few timing chain problems. They probably have the most reliable timing chain and associated components of ANY MB engine to date.

The previous poster is, of course, correct about looking for bent valves, but if there is one or more bent, I would suspect a broken valve spring as the cause, rather than a timing chain problem. It will be obvious when start taking it apart.

When you start back together with it, let us know and we will coach you on how to get the upper timing cover in place such that it does not leak.

Good luck,

DIYBenzer · #12 11-14-2002, 09:14 AM

Oh my blood pressure!!! I’m finally getting around to pulling the head off today. I just got my 300e back out of the sick bed with a new water pump. Now it's got a chirping sound coming from the belt tensioner. I'm kicking myself for not changing it.

Is it just me or do others here find that they severely start talking to themselves or have an on slot of temporary turrets syndrome while working on their Benz. Soon as my hood goes up on my Benz’s, the windows of my neighbors house slowing slide shut. I really do like fixing my own cars, it’s just when that socket wrench gets that awful feeling just before a bolt head snaps off or it just won’t budge. Drives me a tad crazy.

I just want to get this post back up for all you willing to help me through this head gasket. I'll post back around lunch 12:00est to let you know my whereabouts and progress. Wish me luck.

Jim Anderson · #13 11-14-2002, 11:02 AM

When you take the head bolts off, use the installation bolt torque tightning sequence in reverse. It may help prevent warpage.

DIYBenzer · #14 11-14-2002, 01:51 PM

I got the valve cover off and didn't see any broken springs. What's weird is that the head bolts are M12 and my special socket that took a week to get here is M10. Do some 2.6 eng. have M12 head bolts. I was able to pick up a set of metric internal star sockets. So far so good.

DIYBenzer · #15 11-14-2002, 03:32 PM

Need a little help. Does the engine have to be TDC on the # 1 cylinder when taking the head off. I've got the front cover off, and the pin out. I was getting ready to pull the chain cam off when I got a little worried about the position of the engine.

How do I get the engine TDC by myself (working alone). And I don't have one of those TDC whistles. Any tricks out there.