Rattly? Clanky?

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Yes, out of the ordinary. Like a constant tapping and a loose sound. At least for me.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

This morning, I was fiddling with the SDL's monovalve and realized that there was a LOT of noise coming from the front of the engine...very directional sound too ie: with the hood closed you can't really detect it but, open the hood and stand on the driver's side and there's a distinct 'rattle' that is radiating from either the timing chain, vacuum pump or belt tensioner.

Color me concerned.

I read Sixto's description of the belt tensioner failure (see #4 in ths thread) and what he describes is a lot like the sound I'm hearing. When I get home I'm going to release the belt tension and start the engine to see if that eliminates the noise.

Meanwhile, how do you identify the new and old vacuum pumps? I've searched the forum and cannot find anything conculsive.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

It has something to do with the number of screws on the front, or cover, or something like that. I know I've read it here somewhere.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

See post #4 of this thread:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=161817&highlight=updated



http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1VK01GHCF1YU1AWYEP&year=1987&make=MB&model=300-SDL-001&category=D&part=Diesel+Vacuum+Pump

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

I read that part about hex bolts. But, do you think they mean "cap head screws"? That is what the replacement part in the picture has on it.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Thanks all!!

I'm reasonably confident that (1) I have the later style vacuum pump and (2) the noise is caused by a combination of worn parts in the belt idler/tensioner assembly.

Here's the pump that's on the car:

It is the later style pump, right?

The idler dampner has loose ends (the Heim joints are worn) and the idler pully is running at a slight angle in relation to the belt. The belt looks OK so far.

Today, I'll order all the parts needed to replace the idler assembly.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

does anyone know if a small oil drip (very minor, barely measureable over 3k miles) at the bottom of the vacuum pump is signifigant of failure. it is an old style pump.

no noise and strong vaccuum measurements at last check.

__________________
MIKE
1987 300D Turbo, 225K
124.133/603.960

No noise is good news!
That leak isn't associated with a failing vac pump. The problem occurs when the bearings come apart and fall into the oil system. It sounds like a gasket leaking. You could replace the gasket and while the pump is off inspect the ramp on the timing device to see if its getting scored. Spin the little bearing on the end of the arm that drives the pumps diaphragm to see if its still good, if it doesn't spin freely its time to replace the pump. Someone was looking for a replacement bearing but I don't think it was ever reported as to how to change that thing.

__________________
'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!