560 SEC that needs a cam
 

There's a 560 SEC for sale in my area for a good price(I guess). But the ad says it "runs good, but will need a cam soon", whatever that means.
Is putting a cam in one of these very tough for someone that has a fair amount of self-mechanicing experience? They want $2900 for the car, and I wouldn't want it for my main transportation right away, so could take my time getting it fixed.

Rick If I'm not mistaken the left (driver side) cam on that engine likes to go bad. Improper oil lubrication is the cause and the cam gets grooves in it... I've seen a few that needed replacing, they aren't pretty...

Ahhh, that explains alot. Thanks! Now I have to decide if the car is worth the cost and trouble of replacing the cam.

I've removed several cam shafts on VW's no problem. What makes the Mercedes 560 cam so much harder to replace??

I don't think its hard, I don't think the cam is expensive, and I'd probably buy the car if its otherwise in good condition.

Fastlane lists the cam for $279. Suppose I should do the chain(s) while in there. But even for another $500 or so on top of the cost of the car, sounds reasonable.
Now if I can convince the boss(wife) that I NEED this car!:p

The only risk with replacing the cam is pulling the threads on the cam bearing mounting bolts. These bolts go through the head, into the engine block. If you remove the threads with the mounting bolts, the only way to fix it is to remove the head and heli coil the block. Turns a relatively easy job into tearing the whole top end of the engine.

Thanks! That's the kind of inside story I was looking for. That definately makes me have second thots. Seems every time I get what looks like a fairly simple project, it turns into one of those "one thing leads to another" projects. Don't need any more of those right now. I have a '71 super beetle that has become one of those sitting in my backyard right now.:(

Hey Rick, let me know how this goes, I need some helpful tips:), I'm trying to convince mine I need a E500 even though to her it looks exactly like the E420 I already have, yeah, it has flared fenders and is porsche built but to her it's eight years old, has four seats not even five and looks exactly like the car I have now.

hello rick

i am doing just this right now. my 420 lunched a rocker arm that gaulded the cam. now what is probably the sticking point for some will be removing the rocker arms. there is a special tool to compress the valve/spring. this tool goes for about 275+- $$. you will also need the ball stud height checking tool about 80 bucks . this tool you can't go without. there is no other way to check for the proper clearance. so for 350$ you've got it made. now i did talk to phil on the tools and he had me check a few others on the price and his was right. so i kinda left the car for six months or so sit. but now i'm back to it.

anyway, there is a guy by the name of samstag sales. i found him on ebay. look for samstag in seller search. i got both pieces for just under 200$.

i purchased the cam for 233$ a ball stud, rocker arm and a vlv cover gasket for 271$ from http://www.***********************
as for difficulty the hardest thing i'm finding was taking the damn air clearner off. 5 or 6 clips, 1 wing nut and 2 bolted studs. i guess they don't want the air cleaner walking off. the vlv cover comes off with 4 bolts. with the vlv compressing tool about a minute to get the rocker times 8 for each cyl. and then factor in at least one beer. you'll also need either a helper to bang the starter to rotate the cam to the proper position. lobe away from the rocker. or you can get a hand switch so you don't have to share the beer.

once all the rockers are gone look at the cam gear and chain. this is important. mark the exact locating of the chain on the gear i also would suggest using either wire ties or nylon ties this will help to secure the location. next is taking the bolted cam gear off. first you will need either another special tool to hold over one of the lobes so you can unbolt the cam. i would use either a larger open end wrench with leather around the cam or a rubber strap wrench. no need to spend the big bucks here. now the next thing is to remove the oil tube. no big thing but they are plastic i believe so for another 10 -15 bucks buy a new set. now all that is needed is to remove the 5 bearing towers. you should mic out the bearing i.d. for tolerance with the new cam. if they are close good enough leave them. the reverse to put them back together. there are other issues do i replace the upper rail while i'm there you need to answer those questions. but if the car is absolutely clean otherwise ???

my 420 was absolutely perfect. this problem happened about 4 days after i bought it so i was stuck with it. i only paid 5500$ but now i'm glad cause the cherry is off the tree and i don't see this car any harder than some of my others that i've worked on. though maybe a bit more expensive. i've been taking fotos of the job so i might be able to send some photos later this week.

good luck. and don't discount those knocked off cd's. they do help.:D