I watch my mechanic adjust the valves yesterday, he adjusted it by turning the camshaft, did this hurt anything? He also used inches (.010 and .030 ) instead of mm ( it was pretty noisy when he was done ), he also adjusted my idle by turning the screw from the injection pump. Did he messed up anything? I drove it for about 20 miles before I went home and adjusted it back to .004" and .012" . Thanks for your help...

300CD,

Why did you take your car to a mechanic to have the valves adjusted if you could do it yourself?

He probably didn't mess anything up by adjusting the idle speed.

I would have told him to turn the engine from the crankshaft pulley and wouldn't have taken no for an answer. You can break the plastic timing chain guides by turning engine by the camshaft.

P E H

I guess he didn't know how to adjust the valves until he had watched his mechanic doing it. Seems to me like that mechanic is an idiot.

I'm planning to do my own valve adjustment too and I'm unsure about turning the engine. Is the crankshaft pulley the one with all the belts on it? If so, how do I turn it since there's no bolt on the front of it?

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

DieselAddict,

I have done a number of valve adjustments on 220D & 240D engines, and I normally do them on the driveway, outside. I rotate the engine by putting the car in 4th gear, and pulling it towards me while I watch the camshaft. My driveway has a slight slope, which helps. When I am done, I push it back (up the hill slightly, so it is a pretty slight hill) and check them again, pulling it back down the driveway. I use a brick in front of the front wheel to prevent the car from going too far.

I have also used the power steering pulley nut but this is not endorsed by a number of pretty savvy guys on the site. The pulling mode works fine and you always know the direction of rotation is correct. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

DieseAddict,

The nut is inside the concave part of the pulley. Use a 27mm or 1 1/16" socket wrench and a suitable extension to turn the crankshaft via the pulley nut.

P E H

I just bought the car, so I just want to be safe for the first time. ( I guess regular mechanic don't know about diesel engine ). Jim, I did try your method on pushing the car in third gear, but the car won't move ( I guess I am just too weak). About that plastic timing chain guide, how does that work? Do I turn it to tdc and match the guide, but which one? I recall seeing 4 or 5 notchs, thanks...

300cd,

The cam timing mark is on the side of the cam washer just behind the cam sprocket, not on any chain guides. The other mark is on the cam tower. There is only one set of these marks.

If you are checking chain elongation, you align the two marks and look on the cranakshaft pulley for the degrees. Should be off no more than 4 degrees or it is time to replace the chain or install offset woodruff key between cam and cam gear.

Also check the chain tensioner to make sure it is keeping the chain tight.

P E H

I'd have to recommend going ahead and getting a 27mm deep socket. In my case I spent the extra money to get the nice German injector socket from Performance Products, but I think any plain 27mm deep socket will do.

This way, you have the tool to turn the crank easily, and also the tool to take out the injectors if that time comes.

You are going to need to be able to turn the engine over to get the automatic transmission torque convertor drain lined up, so go ahead and invest in the tool to do it correctly without the possibility of damage to the car.

It works best for me with a short extension, 1/2 inch drive socket handle, from under the car.

Ken300D

__________________
--------------------------
1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

This may be a stupid question but here it goes... Do you turn the engine with the trans in neutral/park or in drive?

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

It's alot easier to turn the engine if it is not engaged...

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

Disel Addict,

It doesn't matter what gear the auto transmission is in, you are only turning the front side of the torque converter. But I suggest park so car doesn't move.

For manual trans, put transmission in neutral and apply parking brake so the car doesn't move.

P E H

Well I suppose it wouldn't matter a whole lot if you did try it in drive, but your only adding more resistance to turning it. Myself I'd do this in park, or be lazy and get one of those push buttons from harbor freight and wire that up to let the starter do the work.

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

You don't need to waste time and money buying a 27mm socket.
27mm is 1.0630 inches. 1 1/16 is 1.0625 inches. The engine is not going to care about the difference. I got a 1 1/16 standard socket from Sears and it works just fine. The real problem is the reach in from the forward face of the crank pulley. This requires just the proper length extension. If the extension is too long, the socket wrench hits the fan shroud. If the extension is too short, the socket wrench hits the pulley before you reach the bolt. From memory, I think that the 1.5 inch extension was about right.

Brian Carlton