1981 300D- Can you use regular 14mm wrenches to adjust the valves or do you need wrenches with a bend in them? Also, do you need the special wrench to hold the valve spring plate while doing the adjustment? My MB maintenance manual shows a special wrench for that valve spring plate. Thanks. Rob Thomas

Ihave managed to do this on a 240D before without the wrenchset, but it is very difficult, time consuming and frustrating. On a 300D it is even more difficult because of one of the valves near the back. You just don't have as much room in the chassis with the five cylinder. Even with the wrench set there is one of the valves at the back that is challenging.

I recommend that you get the wrench set, and the special valve retainer wrench will help alot.

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

I second what Larry just posted, I have adjusted the valves on my 83 300D with plain wrenches. It can be done but is a pain! I plan to have the special tools next time. It is worth the expense.

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Keith Schuster
99 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic
97 Dodge Ram
83 300D
Heavy equipment\hydraulic mechanic 20 yrs

One thing you can do IF you are handy with a torch and have a vise:

Get some wrenches and bend them your self. My dad had some spare 14 mm wrenches lying around and that is what he did. Just bend them to mimic the MBZ wrenches and you should be good to go.

Mark.

Even if you don't have any lying around, you can get some pretty good cheap wrenches at your NAPA store on the cheap junk for $3.99 table. There is a foreign parts store that has them for a buck or two. It would be good to have a factory wrench handy so that you can bend them to the same profile.

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

Thanks to all for the advice. Some good ideas for me to pursue. Rob T <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LarryBible:
Even if you don't have any lying around, you can get some pretty good cheap wrenches at your NAPA store on the cheap junk for $3.99 table. There is a foreign parts store that has them for a buck or two. It would be good to have a factory wrench handy so that you can bend them to the same profile.

Good luck,

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Concur with the recommendation to get the bent wrenches. I did the valve adjustment on my '81 300D once or twice, found the job time consuming and frustrating for exactly the reasons mentioned. Then I bought the bent wrenches and now I actually look forward to the chance to adjust the valves.

The home made tool may not be able to unscrew a very tight nut because it is short. If you can weld a handle to it, it should work. But consider the time and parts/tool you have to spend on them, you are not really saving any money. The set of 14mm wrench is possibly $30 to $35 which does not include the valve holder wrench. I have a complete set as well as a simple home made 14mm wrench. The home made tool come in handy because it has an offset angle that reaches where the factory tool cannot.

David

Wher can I buy a set of the wrenches for the price you mentioned? I got a quote from the dealer of about $50 per 14mm wrench. Thanks. Rob Thomas <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by be459:
The home made tool may not be able to unscrew a very tight nut because it is short. If you can weld a handle to it, it should work. But consider the time and parts/tool you have to spend on them, you are not really saving any money. The set of 14mm wrench is possibly $30 to $35 which does not include the valve holder wrench. I have a complete set as well as a simple home made 14mm wrench. The home made tool come in handy because it has an offset angle that reaches where the factory tool cannot.

David<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You don't usually need heat to make offset wrenches. Just get some cheap wrenches, clamp them in a vise, and pound them with a large hammer until they are the right shape. I've done it before with good results. Also, it drives tool nuts crazy, which is some fun.

IMPCO sells the complete set for $61.60... part #58-006 -Wrench Set.

to order call 1-800-243-1220 or use the website: http://www.************************

I bought a set myself and the time they save is worth five times the cost. :)

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William
76 240D (W115) - 555K miles
78 300D (W123) - 200K+ miles -- SOLD

One thing I did way back when I bought my set of valve adjustment wrenches (man, they've seen some miles since!) was to grind the heads down just a little (only on the bent wrenches, not the retainer wrench) so they fit easier on top of one another. Just don't take too much off! Good luck!


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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'86 420SEL
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'84 BMW 745i Turbo

To make the homemade wrench, you need to heat the cheap wrench red hot and bend it. Then put it in an oil bath to cool it down. You can use water to cool it but the metal will become very hard and easy to break.

IMPCO has the set for $61.60. In the past, when you made the purchase, the invoice gave price for each wrench separately with a total of $61.60 plus shipping and tax, if any. I believe IMPCO is still billing the set this way. You should be able to buy just the 14mm wrenches and pay whatelse the predetermined price.

David

[This message has been edited by be459 (edited 11-07-2000).]