valve adjustment done! great results and a question
 

I finally adjusted the valves on my 82 240D today; I'm relatively new to the diesel diy scene, and after doing oil changes, trans and differential fluid change, egr/vac simplification, glow plugs, and similar things, I had been somewhat apprehensive of this highly recommended job.

Well, I finally got up the courage to do it. Getting the cover off and clearing the linkages was not hard. I tried turning the engine by turning the rear wheel in 4th gear (manual trans); but this did not work at all--the wheel just turned, without affecting the engine. Did I overlook something?
Anyway, my second choice was the ps pulley bolt, and that worked fine--not too much effort to turn the engine over.
Keeping track of Intake/Exhaust valves was easier than I thought--just look at the intake/exhaust manifolds.
I borrowed a set of the special wrenches.
The best part is the result: my 240D runs much smoother and faster! It's the best performance boost I've had yet!

A question, however: the torque for the valve cover is listed as 10 foot pounds. I did 10 pounds, but it seemed to me to be not enough, so I went ahead and torqued them to about 15-20. Am I going to regret this? Has anyone else overtorqued the valve cover and lived to tell about it?

Many thanks for all the informative posts which encouraged me to go ahead and do this job.

as long as you didn't cut the gasket and it is not leaking I would not worry about it.

With the entire rear end of the car jacked up, you turn one wheel and the opposite wheel turns in the opposite direction. The drive shaft remains stationary.

You would need to have the opposite wheel on the ground. However, with the gear ratio in the diff (3.69?) working against you, it would be very difficult to turn the engine by attempting to rotate the tire. You might do it with a breaker bar on one of the lug nuts, but, it would be somewhat awkward, especially to attempt to turn the engine a small amount.

I heard that using anything but the crank bolt or a starter button is improper. Will using the PS bolt be harmful? I'd like to be able to adjust the valves by myself, and not having to get under the car and back up again a million times to see if the cam lobes are up would make it a much more enjoyable maintenance task. The starter button method never seems to work right, I can never do it to where the cam I want to point up is pointing up. I always overshoot. And besides, how would I keep the engine from firing?

U do not need to torque it that much. 10 ft/lb is sufficient. If u have a good valve cover seal, it should not leak.

I rotate the engine on my manual 240D via the rear wheel. Not hard at all. One wheel on the gorund - one in the air - car in fourth - parking brake off. I've also done it by jogging the starter, but I like using the rear wheel better.

Len
'83 240D 344,500 miles original owner

..........I'm wondering if the 344K on the engine is helping you a bit there, Len? ;)

Brian - guess it's possible. Don't have anything to compare it to though except my '59 ponton which I do the same thing. :)

Len

oh, you need one wheel on the ground . . .
 

Okay, that's it. I had both wheels off the ground. I guess I don't quite understand the workings of a rear wheel drivetrain system. I'll have to remember this for next time.

Drove it again this morning, and it sure is smooth :)

Gosh, you guys like to do extra work huh? :)

As long as the belt is tight you can use the power steering pump pulley bolt. Its right there in front of you, less moving around to under the car or rear wheels, etc... ;)

Not sure what's difficult about using a 27mm socket on the crankshaft. Can't go wrong with that. It's got more room there than in my Datsun with all the intercooler plumbing and electric fans...

Hmmm, MB recommends the crankshaft nut for turning the engine over. Wonder if they knew what they were talking about or maybe their car did not have power steering. :D

It's your car.

It may be extra work, barely. Once you get the first lobe lined up, count the number of "cranks" on the ratchet till the next one lines up. After that, just count the cranks and the next lobe is usually lined up.

We pulled the glow plugs out and used the PS pully.

Major Surgery

The one time that I did the valves on my '79 300SD I just used the P/S nut. I made sure though that it wasn't tightening and all went well.

Thanks
David

The amount of room is not the problem. It's knowing when the cam lobe is pointing up on whichever valves you are working on, when you are under the car cranking the bolt. This necessitates having a spotter or getting out from underneath the vehicle every few cranks to see where the cam lobe's pointing, and if you overshoot you can't go backward. You just have to start the process over. That's what's difficult about using a 27mm socket on the crankshaft.