SOS Need help - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

PeterG · #1 09-24-2003, 09:18 PM

HelpI started the car up this morning, seemed louder than normal, but thought it was the change in weather and drove to work. It ran normal no problems, but when I pulled in the garage tonight there is a terrible noise coming from the front of the engine.

Took off the valve cover thinking the chain was about to go, but the chain is tight, in that I can't lift it off the gear. Where is the noise coming from and should I be concerned, as I need the car tomorrow. Could the vacuum pump make this much noise?

PeterG

leathermang · #2 09-24-2003, 09:25 PM

You know... we are not Psychics.... you will need to do more investigation yourself...

Turn the car on and use a metal rod held against your ear...and put it on different items in the front of the car.. avoiding getting it caught by any belts... or hitting the fan... if you can put something in the other ear... this is a good way to isolate noises... although some will travel well down a steel frame....you could also go to a part store and get a mechanics stethascope.. a wonderfully useful item in the future as well...

Then come back and tell us where the noise is coming from....

PeterG · #3 09-24-2003, 10:00 PM

Looked a little closer and it appears I am missing the top part of the tensioner. The tensioner appears to end at the top of the head, and the ends look jagged. This could have been gone before, dont know. Can the car run without this top part? the chain is tight.

PeterG

79 300 SD

sixto · #4 09-24-2003, 10:16 PM

Have you ruled out the vacuum pump?

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

jassz · #5 09-24-2003, 10:29 PM

Quote:

You know... we are not Psychics....

Oh, wait a minute. I'm getting something here.... uh oh.... this isn't good....

Has anyone seen the neighbour's cat??:p

Perhaps a few more adjectives besides terrible could be used to describe the noise?

leathermang · #6 09-24-2003, 10:32 PM

"few more adjectives " .... including if the noise changes with the speed of the engine... or of the car moving...
Do you have any manuals to look at to compare what your engine looks like now ?

Wasuchi · #7 09-24-2003, 10:56 PM

Hey, you can't say that everyone isn't a psychic on here! I just might be...... oh wait.... nope, I'm not.

Seriously though, could it be the chain slapping around in there?

dmorrison · #8 09-24-2003, 11:07 PM

Leathermang

Quote:

Turn the car on and use a metal rod held against your ear...and put it on different items in the front of the car.. avoiding getting it caught by any belts... or hitting the fan...

Is that what that snake in G-benz's car was doing??? Your right those belts can be bad. Just ask the snake.

Dave

R Leo · #9 09-24-2003, 11:25 PM

Peter,
Use the following graphic to locate and identify to us the part that you believe to be broken. If it has actually broken off, at the very least, you willl need to remove all of the broken pieces and replace them with new components before operating the engine again.

#10 09-24-2003, 11:48 PM

Pulling on it is not a valid test. If you see broken anything in there. Park it and fix it.
Or you could distroy cam, valves, bearing towers and other good stuff.
Fix it or be prepaid to buy a bunch of parts.
Charlie

leathermang · #11 09-25-2003, 12:07 AM

Randy,, sometimes,,, when one can not help... I think that just keeping the person company.... and the thread at the top of the forum is helpful... until someone who DOES know something useful happens to sign in and see the problem...
And if we can't laugh at some of these problems ... they could REALLY get us down... Remember your Toyota head gasket job ?

PeterG · #12 09-25-2003, 12:10 AM

After doing a lot of cursing after I had the wife turn over the car and it started. Only one problem no valve cover.

there is a silver lining to this story. I fished around with mirrors and lights not to find any parts. Bolted it all together after de-oiling everything, started it up and probed around with a mechanics stethescope. The noise would go away when you raced the engine. I thought maybe a rod bearing. So, I started to run the engine up and down and notice a lot of wobble on the belts. I shut the engine off and grab a hold of the power steering pulley, the alternator, and the clutch fan, no play. Start it back up again and gave it the throttle and snap

the lower pulley comes rolling out from under the car.
All the bolts had worked their way free. I will probably have to pull the lower balancer off and fix the holes.Is this difficult, and should I leave it on and pull the radiator? But the best thing it happened in the garage not on the road. I even found five of the six bolts on the garage floor. On the highway it probably would have taken out the radiator.

Thanks again for all your input in a timely matter. like always experience makes a big difference, and I appreciate everybody sharing theirs.

PeterG
79 300SD

leathermang · #13 09-25-2003, 12:13 AM

There has been a thread on this...
but I would sure pull the radiator myself...
someone had a real problem fixing the holes...

this may be it...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=33688&highlight=holes+vibration+dampner

PeterG · #14 09-25-2003, 12:16 AM

R Leo
Thanks,

From the picture the part that is missing is the top corner of part number 85. Maybe an inch of it.

PeterG

79 300 SD

Wasuchi · #15 09-25-2003, 11:15 AM

Glad you found it wasn't an internal problem... I think. I read one of those threads (I don't think it's the one reposted above however)about getting the pulley or balancer on and it didn't sound like fun but I think that there was something else wrong on the one I remember, hopefully you can just put it back together and be good to go. Good luck.

I'm assuming he should use locktite on any bolts he puts in on this pulley to prevent them from coming back out?