Valve adjustment woes - am I stupid?

[dwoloz]

Wait...don't answer that



What I would like answered though, is why am I having difficulty getting the camshaft to turn when turning the 22mm power steering bolt clockwise?
The bolt takes a good amount of force to get the pulley to move at all but the little bit it does move doesn't seem to move the cams at all

What am I doing wrong here?

[pjc]

Have you removed (or at least well loosened) the glow plugs? If not, you're working against engine compression as well as friction.

[dwoloz]

Doh
Should I be loosening all the glow plugs? Is there a gasket for these that I'll have to replace if I loosen them?

Dieselgiants guide just mentioned turning the bolt so thats what I did, guess theres more to it though http://www.dieselgiant.com/valveadjustment.htm

[Brian Carlton]

Unless the power steering belt is very tight, you won't turn the engine with it..........the belt will slip.

I've never been successful with such a plan on the SD.........just get underneath and turn the crankshaft via the bolt that secures the pulley..........27mm or 1 1/16" if you prefer. The SD needs a 1" extension to make that happen.

[dwoloz]

Roger

Going to try on the crankshaft bolt then

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by dwoloz

Roger

Going to try on the crankshaft bolt then

Obviously, you'll be using a 1/2" ratchet.......which barely provides the leverage required.........if you're of lesser arm strength, you'll need a short extension on it so you don't kill yourself. This is on the 617..........the 616 might be easier.

[DieselAddict]

Like others said, use the crank. If you also remove the radiator fan you can turn it from above which is more comfortable and accurate.

[dwoloz]

This is proving much more difficult than imagined. I have seen everyone speak of how easy this job is

Can't get to the crankshaft bolt because its blocked by a fan blade (and the shroud gets in the way too)

[DieselAddict]

Yeah, the 240D has no fan clutch so you need to remove the fan to access the crank bolt in any way. It's a piece of cake, easier than the fan on a 300D. The valve adjustment itself takes some work, but it's not rocket science.

[dwoloz]

How would I go about removing the fan?

This just seems like a lot just to turn the engine

[DieselAddict]

I believe there are 4 10-mm bolts holding the fan. Removing them should be the easiest part of the valve adjustment. You don't really have a choice. Using the PS nut risks overtightening it and belt slipping or breakage.

[kerry]

All you've got to do is push down on the power steering belt with your left hand as you turn the power steering pulley with the right. You just have to provide enough tension on the belt to stop it from slipping. It's easy. (unless you have a manual transmission and forget to take it out of gear)

[dwoloz]

I did press down on the belt while turning the bolt and it didn't seem to make things any easier

If I do take off the fan and shroud then how exactly am I going to know when the cam lobes are in the right position from under the car on my back?

I think I'm better off trying to rig the starter up to turn it. According to the FSM, non turbo models dont have remote terimanals for the starter so I'd have to run a wire from the starter itself

[turbo_d]

I make a copy of the valve layout and bump the engine over with the key. Whichever valve has the cam lobe pointing correctly gets adjusted and crossed off the diagram.

The Mercedes manual shows using a remote starter switch to bump the engine when adjusting the valves, so I figured it would be ok to do the same with the key. (Don't go through the glow cycle, just stick the key in, bump the starter a little and cut it off.)

turbo_d
1985 300DT 252,000 miles
1983 300DT 228,000 miles

[dwoloz]

I'm afraid of starting the engine with the key. Mine will start without glow