Just finished my first valve adjustment +++
 

Finally made some time in the schedule, and with a couple of boxes in tow with gaskets filters etc..I have managed to eek out some mild successes. Purchased the wrenches from DG, and for the 10 bucks went ahead and got the DVD. Overall I think watching the DVD made the whole process a lot less intimidating. Anyways, as advertised, many of the valves were way too tight, and after fiddling with the wrenches and getting the technique down, I managed to knock out the whole thing in about 90 minutes. Referred back to this site twice to make sure I was doing it correctly, and buttoned her up. It was a very gratifying to turn the key and hear the cold engine settle into a quieter smooth idle. Then went on to change the oil and fuel filters, a noticable difference in performance with the short test drive.

Had planned on finishing the afternoon with changing out the rear diff fluid, but holy schmoly those nuts are not moving. I need to hit them with PB blaster over the coming week and then try again.

thanks to all of the experienced gurus on the board, tomorrow is AT filter and fluid change.

It is satisfying, isn't it?

I just recently did my valves, AT/filter/K-1 kit, rear diff, PS fluid and filter, air filter, fuel return hoses, coolant flush, rad hoses, brake fluid, brake pads, battery....whew! And a couple other things that escape me.

I keep telling my wife how much money I save doing it myself...she just chuckles. She knows it is a toy :)

Glad to hear, I just did my first valve adjustment last Thursday. I had a friend over guiding me through the process and I felt it wasn't as intimidating as I originally thought. All the exhaust valves were tight and intake valve #4 was tight the rest were fine. She sure does idle smoother but there's still not much power :mad:

Pedal to the floor on a warm engine yielded a 0-60 "dash" in 25.0 seconds.

The drain and fill plugs are, I believe, a tapered pipe thread, and I have found the only reasonable way to remove them is to insert the 14 mm Allen wrench, then use a hammer to forcefully turn them in the opening direction. It ususally doesn't take a serious amount of force or pounding, just a few good whacks and the plug will begin to move.

Also, as someone here once warned me, make sure you take the fill plug out first. Nothing worse than getting it all drained and then being unable to put lubricant back in to the differential. Or the gear box.

Good luck and I hope this helps. Jim

Just did my valves last night, after some quick help from a few guys here. It does start, idle and shut down faster and smoother. More smoke now though=weird. Next time i am definitely getting some better wrenches. some of them i could actually get at from both sides so that made them easy, but the very last valve was nearly impossible. i think that valve alone took me as long to do as all the rest combined. Im doing the transmission, ps, brakes, and rear diff sometime this week.

Thats amazing, I did my first self-valve-adjustment ever yesterday morning and all of my exhaust were way tight, as well as #4 intake being tight. :dizzy2:

I have a 0-60 of around 12 seconds though. :D

Smoother ride
 

Finally got a longer test drive. I would have been happy that it ran after all of the pieces laying around the garage, but it certainly runs smoother - idle and accelerating. I know need to isolate what I am beginning to think is turbo noise.

At idle it is now definitely quieter. When I start to increase the throttle, I start to get a high frequency (bare with the description) buzz/rattle/whistle. My 300SD does not make the same noise, and I have stuck my nose into areas where there could be a rattle, but it does not onset until fuel increase with the throttle rod. It does not really concern me as much as annoy me.

I am a manic rattle, squeek chaser - which begs the question as to why I love these old cars.

Tonight will be spent edumicating myself about the turbo system.

Only on the older ones.
 

I think the W124's don't need valve adjustments, they're self adjusting from what I heard. Not sure.

jeff
1991 300d, 100k

The '84 engine (617) does have valve springs, that need periodic adjusting. From '86 on, hydraulic valves, constantly adjusting themselves.

After changing the coolants keep a close eye on coolant levels and watch the water pump weep hole for seepage or leaking. I have lost water pumps several times after flushing the cooling systems. It may be just my luck tough.

Very good idea to get the gear oil fill plug loose first. It would be very alarming to your neighbors to have your car upside down to fill it again.

With some creativity I bet you could force the oil into the differential from the drain opening. :D ;)

I am sure you are right
 

I suppose one could always put the differential fluid in the freezer and turn it into a gel-like putty and then just squeeze it into the diff like toothpaste, button her up and let the car sit in the garage for a couple of days.

Rear Diff socket
 

....Someone posted on another thread that Auto Zone has the 14mm size hex bit needed for the plug with a 1/2 " drive socket for a breaker bar/ratchet...they come in a set of three... 12mm 14mm 17mm....under 10 bucks/set ...I cleaned out the hex plug recess...hammered in the 14mm socket/bit and it backed right out with the ratchet handle...same bit for the drain plug....made life easy...I like the post about freezing the gear oil into an insertable ice tube for those that are too far gone...That is some fantastic, creative, desperate, last measure thinking.....

You can also use
 

a 9/16 allen wrench if that's all you have. It is .011 bigger than a 14mm., which is a good thing if the hex hole is a little larger due to it rusting away (common in salt-infested Ohio!) Pounding it in also helps loosen the plug.

edit