With all the talk about lifter noise being common on the six cylinder 3.0 engines with hydraulic lifters, I was wondering who in the forum has this problem. I have an '87 300SDL with 100K with no work done on the head so far. When the engine is started up, I do have lifter noise on one cylinder but then after the engine warms up, it goes away. I am considering having the lifters changed out but I wanted to see what the group has done. I have switched over to Mobil 1 which seems to help some.

Herb
'82 240D
'87 300SDL

Have you replaced the o-rings on the oil filter rod that is attached to the oil filter cover? If they get hard, the oil can leak back into the engine and air gets into the hydraulic valve lifters.

I would start there because it costs practically nothing and is easy to do.

P E H

PEH

I have replaced the little o rings on the oil cover stem. The noise is annoying and goes away after about 10 minutes but I wonder how diffucult it would be to remove the camshaft to replace the lifters. I would have to keep tension on the chain during the process but I'm hesitant to try it myself because of this.

Herb
'82 240D
'87 300SDL

I hear my lifters upon start, but the noise completely disappears once oil pressure builds. Re: replacing the lifters - I understand from three individuals with the OM603.96x engine that have done so that the noise came back. If you will, it is a feature of the engine. Synthetic oil is rumored to help considerably when used with regularity.

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Chris

'04 ML500 - 53k, Inspiration Edition, Desert Silver
'11 Audi A4 Avant - Brilliant Black
'87 300SDL sold
'99 C280 Sport sold
'85 190E 2.3 sold

If it only happens when cold, use synthetic oil and just live with it. When they REALLY fail, the noise will be there all the time - even when hot, and it's VERY annoying. The lifters are expensive, too - the best price I could find was ~$18 each (times 12).

You don't need to keep tension on the timing chain while the cam is out. Remove the chain tensioner, and you can let the chain "fall" down the cavity while you're working - it doesn't go very far. Just pull it back up when you're ready to reinstall. Wouldn't hurt to check the chain stretch, the limit according to the manual is 4 degrees past spec. Oh, and be VERY careful to observe the bolt sequence on the cam when installing AND removing it, or you'll break the camshaft!


Regards,

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Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Those O-rings pretty much elimiated my lifter noise.

I still get some knocking/tapping at extented idle but I think its my injectors knocking now.

mine makes intermittant lifter noise.

my camshaft doesn't look spectacular. looks like somebody before me used too thin and oil and may have left it in there too long (abrasive soot wear) as I can "count" several layers of material on the cam lobe tip.

when i change my lifters i will change my camshaft. i think this is similar to the theory when changing the clutch change the flywheel otherwise both will wear out faster?

dave, do you see a problem with intermittant lifter noise, or am i living on the edge? i think marshall says the lifters WILL make noise from time to time... when i first got the car i didn't recall the noise, but after thousands of miles of synthetic diesel oil it surfaced.

Brian

Brian,

Ir your cam is messed up then I'd replace it, with all 12 lifters. Mercedes rededigned them twice, IIRC... originally a -03 number, then -05, then two different MFR's of the same design (???) as -07 and -08 (which are interchangeable, if memfory serves).

Like I said, if it's really intermittent, just live with it. Marshall claims even new ones can/will make noise at times even with synthetic. When one totally collapses you'll know it, it's VERY loud. That happened on my car and I replaced all 12 while replacing the head. About half were collapsed, the other half seemed OK. I didn't want to take a chance on having to yank the cam again and just did all of them.


HTH,

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

I've had my '87 300SDL for almost a year now. I am the second owner and it presently has 219k. My lifters did not say a peep when I first got the car. After six months they began to speak up.
Yes, I have been using Mobil 1 15W-50 synthetic. The noise is worse when the car is cold. Afterwards, it sounds like a diesel Benz. I know it's only one cylinder, so far. But it is more noticeable since my hood pad was removed. A good hood pad and the engine undertray helps keep the noise down considerably.

Drivability, gas mileage has not been affected. I get 21.5 mpg driving around town. Straight highway driving, I have gotten up to 34mpg. Mine is metallic gray with dark blue interior.
I am presently upgrading the a/c system with a new compressor, drier, and expansion valve. Hopefully I'll be done sometime this week.

I think this is the best diesel MB made, next to the w123.

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99 C230K Sport
87 300SDL
81 300SD

Jay123,

I think the 300SDLs are the best too. I love to hear these engines idle.

Herb
'82 240D
'87 300SDL

That makes 3 of us. I look forward to many, many years of driving pleasure is this well-equipped machine.

__________________
Chris

'04 ML500 - 53k, Inspiration Edition, Desert Silver
'11 Audi A4 Avant - Brilliant Black
'87 300SDL sold
'99 C280 Sport sold
'85 190E 2.3 sold