400E R/R cam seal procedure?
 

Hey techs...

On my 92 400E, Alldata calls for a special tool and a shop made tool to R/R front camshafts. Can this be done without the tools? Is it an easy procedure once you remove caps & rotors?

Thanks much...Peter

I have the same question. Does anyone know what the job entales to R&R the Crank seals on a 92 400e?

I did it without the special tools. Just make sure you don't lose your timing!!!! Mark the gears and the camshaft so you know how it goes back together! Also note that as soon as you get the chain off one of the camshafts, the other will spin and most likely jump timing! So be sure to mark them all! I only marked the cam I was removing, and low and behold, the other one jumped timing. Which meant I had to use a dial indicator to get it back. yucky. Try to avoid that. Other than that goof, it was a straight-forward procedure. Just follow the procedure and you'll be okay.

Would someone please post the proceedure here. Thanks!

tkplay:

You don't have to mess with the timing chain or sprockets to change the cam seals. I replaced mine along with resealing the front head covers, because I couldn't tell whether the leak was coming from the cam seals or the head covers, where metal meets metal. The dealer's tech said that 119's are notorious for leaking at the front head covers.

If you are leaking in that area, even if you can get the cam seals out without removing and resealing the front covers (it looks like you can), if you're in that far and you already have the valve covers off, it makes sense to consider pulling the front covers and resealing them.

Once the front covers were off, the cam seals are easy to get out (no tool required). The cam seals fit over each exhaust cam. You will have to take off the rotors and caps to get to them. Looking at my picture that I took of the front cover, it looks like the seals actually came off with the front cover and can easily be pushed right out (I took the picture in 2001 before I had a digital camera).

You can probably get the new seals in without the tool, but I ordered the tool from the dealer and it wasn't very expensive if I recall. The most expensive part of the job was the MB factory orange sealant (part # 002 989 00 20 10). That cost me about $55 back in 2001. Some have argued that you can use a cheaper sealant, but just to be safe, I went with the factory stuff (8 years afterwards there were still no leaks).