Alda/Valve Job/Clean up and pics. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mattmacklind · #1 04-11-2009, 05:56 PM

I should have named this post Ich bin nicht ein mechaniker (?). My 300D was real boggy lately on the highway and felt like it had lost significant power, almost like the turbo was gone, so after reading this site and also dieselgiant, I figured it was due for an Alda check up and also a valve adjustment.

First the ALDA. My underhood varied somewhat from the pics on the giant, but I figured it out, removed the bolt, and it was only a little sooty, bit barely what I expected.

I cleaned it up nonetheless, and the difference is amazing. Even the gear shifts are more predictable and confident, another problem that seemed to develop. It was like the whole car was driving underwater.

On to the valve adjustment. I had a new gasket and all the necessary tools. I disconnected the linkages and began to remove the valve cover. Not so fast. I would have to remove a lot more stuff to get it free enough to move. In the process of moving it around and exploring the limits of movement, I broke this unknown item. I hope its not the self destruct mechanism.

So, not wanting to remove more than I could handle, I decided to just have the valve adjustment done in a competent shop later ($100).

Disappointed in my lack of mechanical prowess, I did decide to clean up the car and took some pics. So here's some nice pics. I didn't clean the wheels, at least not yet. Driving around in a clean car without the sluggishness and the A/C on today, I felt like a rock star I don't mind saying. At least I got that much done.

cmbdiesel · #2 04-11-2009, 06:11 PM

Congrats on digging in and getting your hands dirty. Not sure if there is much to compare with making your aging vehicle perform better with your own two hands. What you broke is part of the EGR system. Best plan there is to follow those vacuum lines back to the tees (visible in the upper right of your picture), remove the tees and join the vacuum lines with a 1" piece of rubber tubing (or plug the tee with a golf tee, BB, what ever will plug the hole nice and tight) When you say you followed the dieselgiant directions, do you mean the banjo bolt procedure? The picture is kind of fuzzy, but the bolt seems too short to be from banjo bolt on the manifold. Where did you remove that particular bolt?

mattmacklind · #3 04-11-2009, 06:19 PM

That bolt is from the other end away from the banjo bolt. I actually can't reach the banjo bolt, the line seems to go behind the firewall when I follow it, just to the left of the brake MC. There is no canister thing like on the giant. Whatever I did made a difference. If I could find the other end of the line I'd like to continue as it would likely make it even better! I'll plug that line and have the mech check it out at valve job time. Thanks! I'm a little tool shy with this car.

cmbdiesel · #4 04-11-2009, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattmacklind

That bolt is from the other end away from the banjo bolt. I actually can't reach the banjo bolt, the line seems to go behind the firewall when I follow it, just to the left of the brake MC. There is no canister thing like on the giant. Whatever I did made a difference. If I could find the other end of the line I'd like to continue as it would likely make it even better! I'll plug that line and have the mech check it out at valve job time. Thanks! I'm a little tool shy with this car.

The banjo bolt is on the end of the intake manifold(toward the rear of the vehicle) That is the spot where the soot will build up the most, especially if you have the EGR hooked up. Seriously, plug the lines to the EGR, most folks on this forum remove all traces of the EGR as the first step with one of these cars.
How many miles on this car?

mattmacklind · #5 04-11-2009, 06:43 PM

As of today, 260,010 miles. I bought it 7 years ago at 221K, and only used it as a DD in the last year, so I'm paying more attention to it. I'll plug that line. I used to be on this forum with a different name over the years, but never wrenched on this car really before.

snookwhaler · #6 04-11-2009, 06:58 PM

Good Job!

Great place for some pics. That road reminds me of some back roads on NC that I used to Road race on.

I can hear the car asking you to hop in.... "Lets go for a ride"!!

JonL · #7 04-11-2009, 08:29 PM

Well, I may be in the minority but I leave my EGR connected on my 190D. I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of performance to not increase my NOx emissions. The car performs well enough for me with the EGR working.

Where are you located? That sure is a pretty road!