joe,

You CANNOT check the chain on this engine by pulling on the chain to guess at the slack. The tensioner tightens the chain as it wears. The procedure, however, is quite simple.

You will need a 27MM socket that you can get on the crankshaft pulley centerbolt.

Turn the engine until you start seeing the timing marks on the harmonic balancer. Once you see the marks, turn very slowly until you are exactly at TDC. Look at the notch on the camshaft and see if it is lined up with the mark on the front camshaft mount. If you don't see the mark on the camshaft at all, turn the crankshaft one complete turn and set it at TDC again. You should then be able to see the mark.

If the engine has had frequent and religious oil changes, the mark on the camshaft will be lined up perfectly with the mark on the mount. If not, the mark will lag, and will not quite have made it to the mark on the mount. If it is lagging by more than a couple of degrees, it is time to roll in a new chain.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles