The shaft which is below the distributor does not turn with the engine. With the distributor in place the rotor does not turn.
Can this shaft be frozen/stuck?
Is it broken?
Is the oil pump shaft broken?
or is there something else wrong?
What would be the steps for diagnosing the problem?

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Britton McIntyre

68 280 SE coupe 'Hairball'
70 280 SL
71 280 SEL - RIP May 2010

On some vehicles the gear that drives that shaft is held on with a split pin which can shear off and leave the shaft unpowered.

If that is not bad the cam chain could be broken which would not be a good thing.

good luck.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The timing chain turns the sprocket of the auxiliary shaft. On the front of the shaft, there is a gear that drives the distributor shaft. It is secured by a woodruff key and a nut on the end of the shaft. Can you fish the distributor shaft out of it's hole and see what's going on? You could also remove the distributor housing from the block to inspect things.

The oil pump has its own shaft.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

Here is what happened. The distributor shaft housing is where the gear, which drives the distributor, is located. There are two small reservoirs of oil, which collect oil from the engine block, to lubricate the top and bottom of the gear shaft. The bottom reservoir was clogged with gunk. The shaft was frozen. I had to drive it out with a mandrel. The gear was stripped plus the gear on the shaft which connects to the timing chain and also drives the injection pump. With the distributor not moving. The injection pump shaft continued to rotate, which shaved a large crescent grove into the other gear.
So, both gears are shot. Mercedes quoted me $1100 for both replacement shafts. Sold as a package not separately. I only need the gear from the IP shaft. I hope there will not be any problems with the IP shaft.
Luckily, my 280sl has the same engine. So I pulled it off. I ordered a gasket and I should have her up and running by tomorrow.
It is a very easy repair job. It takes more of an effort to remove the radiator than the distributor shaft housing.

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Britton McIntyre

68 280 SE coupe 'Hairball'
70 280 SL
71 280 SEL - RIP May 2010

Be aware that the dist. drive dogs are slightly off-set from center, so that the drive dogs fit one way. [ that is to assure one does not have the dist in 180 degrees out of time]...
The problem is one can Force fit the shaft into the dogs off center , and that can break gear drive assembly.

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A Dalton

Could you describe exactly what off center is.

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Britton McIntyre

68 280 SE coupe 'Hairball'
70 280 SL
71 280 SEL - RIP May 2010

Look at the drive assembly on the bottom of the dist shaft...[ the piece with the 2 dogs and the pin that holds it to the shaft]
If you look close , you will notice that those dogs are NOT on the center-line, but rather , they are just off-set from the shafts C/L. That makes it go into the drive one way..BUT, it is so close that one can force it in wrong..and that is when the binding problems start. If the dist is not dropping in easily, don't force it...just turn the rotor 1/2 a turn [ 180 degrees]


Take a look at the dogs in relation to the shafts C/L..you will see it

Part #58
http://www.sls-hh-shop.de/index.php/language/en/cat/c3_Mercedes-Benz-230SL-250SL-280SL-Pagoda--R113-W113-.html#cat_99_position_58_prod_0

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A Dalton

I think your parts guy is confused. The pair of shafts is actually the auxiliary shaft and the oil pump drive, which I don't think is what you need.

Believe you need the following:

127 158 01 12 Helical gear (goes on aux shaft) in Group 15
126 158 02 07 Drive bushing (dist drive) in Group 05)

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

Where are those metal parts sheared off, now?

The shavings are like filings. Ali suggested putting a magnet on the bottom on the oil pan. Then I could use a pencil magnet to easy remove the fillings. It is very hard see into the block.

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Britton McIntyre

68 280 SE coupe 'Hairball'
70 280 SL
71 280 SEL - RIP May 2010

I finely received the gasket for the distributor shaft housing. I started by assembling the distributor and the housing. With the electronic ignition it was easy to line up the gear, rotor and ignition shutter. The housing slid right into place with ease.
The bolts do not require much torque. Hooked up the power steering hoses and the radiator. I had previously drained the oil and changed the filter. Put all of the fluids back in and double checked everything which I had worked on.
I had the remote starter on so I fired her up and rotated the distributor until she fired up. Set the timing and took her for a test drive.
A very easy fix for an a rare problem.

__________________
Britton McIntyre

68 280 SE coupe 'Hairball'
70 280 SL
71 280 SEL - RIP May 2010