Hey Tinker,

Tinker, You've really changed my mind about given it up on this car. You're absolutely right about the performance and how rare of this 16V. I bought this car from an original owner when it has 114K miles in 1995. All and all, it has given me so much fun and pround. I guess we all tend to take the hard time too harsh, and inadvertedly forget the good time that we had.

Anyway, this weekend my goal is to swap out the timing chain and rail and tensioner.

Do you think I can rent the leak down test equipment at an autopart place? I don't have an air compressor.

As you know the timing cover is between the head and the oil pan. How do I go about the head gasket and the oil pan gasket?? I hope I don't destroy the head gasket and the oil pan gasket while removing the timing cover!!!

Thank you for the explaination to the purpose of the leak down test, I really appreciated that.

Hey DaveCt, I've got my courage back and will try to get this car back on the road. Thank you for your interest in the car. Where about are you in Ct? I'm in Danbury. We should get together for a ralley sometimes this Summer.

Alex

hey Alex

I would forget the leak down test if you don't have a compressor or the gauges, Do a compression test and that will tell you if there is a bad problem , they are like 20 bucks at a autozone type of place,

Be real careful you don't wreck the head gasket, the head will have to come off for that fix, and if the head is off and the oil pan dropeed, your more then half way to a full rebuild,
I have been looking for a spent 16v engine for some time now,
I want to rebuild it with some cossworth or JE high compresion pistons , Just don't want to rebuild mine engine yet, to much fun driving her everyday , maybe in a few mo. when the 911 is done,
Good luck and keep us posted!!
Dave

p.s im in woodstock in the woods with long twisty roads
and no cops=no tickets

Gentlemen,

Finally, I got the A/C bracket off, and also the harmonic balancer and crank shaft pulley off. I got the nut to loose by using a 27mm socket, a breaker bar supported by a jack stand then carefulley using the starter to turn the engine over little bitty at a time.

I then removed all of the bolts that I think has to do with the timing cover. But the dame cover is stuck there hard and I mean it. I even using a sliding hammer puller but to no avail.

What is going on guys??? Am I missing some thing here? The dawn thing is stuck there good. This sliding hammer puller is a very good size, I used this to pull axels off of lots of cars.

I also broke the Pulse generator. What is the main function of this Pulse generator do?? Can I still drive the car without it?

Please help...

Alex

Alex,

You DID remove the oil pan and disconnect the oil pickup tube that is attached to the main bearing cap and the front cover??????????

Tinker

Hey Tinker,

Glad to hear from you. No I did Not. So, you're telling me the oil pan and oil pick up must be disconnected!! What a pain, Oh my ... But thank you Tinker, no wonder why the cover didn't budge.

So where do you jack the engine to get some clearance for the oil pan to come out? What do you have to disconnect besides the engine mounts???

Any one know what is the function of the Pulse generator? I broke it while try to disconnect it.

Hey Tinker thanks again.

Alex

Alex,

Are you working on the Enterprise? What the heck is a pulse generator???

You SHOULD use/rent a engine hoist to lift the motor. Read the post from the short cut I previously posted. You get it as high as it will go (until the trans hits the tunnel) and then wedge wood between the motor mounts and frame, as Benzmac suggested, to hold it up. I rented the hoist to get mine up, but used a jack and several pieces of wood on the aluminum oil pan to lower it (quickly). If you raise it by the pan, you rick cracking or damaging the pan $$$$$$$.

I could not get the pickup tube off without removing the pan, but another member got his off without removing the pan. Try as hard as you can to get it off without removing your pan. I would strongly recommend that you replace the pan gasket and use the MB sealant for the chain cover. The head gasket will be fine as it only seals the top of the timing cover. Just be gentle with it.

Tinker

Hey Tinker,

I'm not working the Enterprise but worse than that a 16V. I got the name from the Mercedes book that I used to remove the timing chain cover. The Pulse generator is the black looking sensor about 1.5" sits on the timing chain cover about 2 o'clock if you look at the crank shaft pulley. I think its function is like an RPM sensor every time the harmonic balancer complete a revolution. But the other end of this thing is connected to a plug that looks to me like a diagnostic plug???

I'm going to try see if I can use some jack if not I just rent a hoist like you said. The manual from Mercedes is terrible it nevers mention to remove the oil pan and I thought the reason you guys had to remove the oil pan because you had to fish out the guide rail debris!!!

Thanks again Tinker.

Alex

That pulse thingy is the magnetic sensor that is used for ignition timing. Kind of important. Its cheap, less than $25 from the dealer if I remember correctly. Without it your car won`t run/fire.

Tinker

Hey Tinker,

Finally got the new timing chain installed this past weekend. It was a painful job. I had to use an engine hoist to get some clearance order to remove the oil pan.

I know what you mean about the oil dipstick tube. I cut it with a hex saw so I can remove the oil pan. My question now is what would be bad if the dipstick tube is 4" shorter. Can I just leave it alone 4" short like that?? I didn't want to go thru the pain of replacing it if I can get away with it.

So please anyone... Can I get away with this? I need all your advices.

Alex

Alex,

I don`t know if it would be a problem.

The tube is not expensive, why not just knock it out and replace? If you do replace it, throw the new tube in the freezer and heat that part of the block with a torch before you install it. The tube is fragile and I couldn`t get mine to install at the same level as the old one. Off by an inch.

Tinker

Hey Tinker,

I don't want to replace it not because it would cause me $20 but the pain of getting it out and putting a new one in, and then end up an inch higher, this could cause a problem when checking oil.

I'm just gonna leave it, I don't see that it is going effect the performances of the engine or neither the oil pressure unless someone tell me so. Tinker, thank you for the response. I will let you know in a week or two.

Alex

Amazing thread you guys, please keep us updated...


Dan

Gentlemen,

After endless hours. For ta first time DIYer like me on a 16v. She is back together in one piece, runs, and best of all no leaks!

I've learned so much, sometimes the hard way, but all and all my confidence has shot up big time. Thank to you all, especially TINKER, you stuck with me even when I was ready to throw in that tower.

Although the car now runs and functions but it is really rough, oscillating, and especially a pronounced ticking, or tapping of the valves? I really concern about this loud ticking noise.

For the rough idle and engine searches could be a various things like our famous OVP, Mass flow sensor, idle control valve, vacuum leak,.... Just to name a few. I can work on this later.

What concern me the most right now is the loud ticking and it seems to tick at all engine RPM. I was thinking may be TDC is off mechanically wise. The reason I said this because the chain sliped on me ( never rotate the crank without the tensioner in place) while I was trying to manually rotate the crank shaft. I then try to put the cam sprockets back to TDC in relative to the crank shaft by ways of aligning the sprockets bores opposite each other and measure the valve clearance. The valve clearance are in spec. But, I'm still skeptical about the cam sprockets bores opposite each other this method is too coarse, and easily exceeds the 4-5 degrees spec.

My bigest question to you is what other ways can I put the cam shafts back to truth TDC other than aligning the sprockets bores (holes) opposite each other.

Thank you for your time.
Alex

Alex,

Running rough is not a good sign.

There no real percise way to time those motors unless you want to go crazy with a degree wheel. It's amazing to me that you simply line up the dots on the cams and the crank pulley and off you go.

That said, your timing might be off a bit, but from my understanding there is not much room for error. Pull the valve cover and check the alignment of the cams and crank markers. Is everything still lined up??? You didn't rotate the motor at all with the chain and cams unhooked??? It is possible to damage a valve by doing that if you encountered some resistance and continued. Does it smooth out once off idle? Rotate the motor with the valve cover off and watch the chain. Any high marks or strange shiney wear marks? You crimped the chain correctly? Mine also makes a strange tapping noise occasionally.

If everything lines up, do a leak down or compression check to insure the cylinders are sealing. Check the plugs when they are out. Is one of them wet??

If it passes these tests I would look for vacuum leaks. I read that Benz recommends replacing all sprockets on the higher mileage motors if they show signs of wear. I would bet your are ok, but it is something else to look at.

Just my free $0.02.

Tinker

Hi Tinker,

Remember the ticking noise I was talking about. Turned out the intake cam shaft was off by one gear tooth. No more ticking and the car is very reponsive for a 200K miles, nice and smoth accelleration.

However, because the car had rough idle so I order a OVP and got it today, put this OVP in but didn't help. Engine like to stall out at idle. I then attemped to adjust the idle mixture screw. And sure enough I did screwed it up big time. The dawn car is not even start any more, I'm totally lost. I know, I know, I shouldn't have mess with, but it is too late, I've done it man.

I'm thinking about having it tow to the dealer to have reset and re-adjust. But I hate to have my wallet hanging out like this for the dealer to suck it up.

Would you happen to have a procedure or some trick ways to help me get back to where I was. I don't have an oscillescope to measure duty cycle and sinewave but I have a volt meter!!!

I'm bumming.
Please, I need your two cents.

Alex