My 83 SD is not timing right?
 

I took the valve cover off, and i alligned the timing slot on the chain, but i cannot turn the engine by hand. it seems that the chain is stuck. it turns 10-20 degrees either way, but she's not loose to go around. im thinking maybe the chain gets stuck at the bottom. any ideas?

I hope you didn't turn it backwards.....

i think i have. now what do i do?

the tensioner would take the full load rahter than take up slack and could jump time I believe...you are saying the engine is binding up?

yes. With the chain in place, its binding. It's not going either way. it only moves a few degrees left and a few degrees right. and then it clicks and i don't want to force it or use the starter.

good idea don't force it at this point..sounds like it may have jumped time on you one tooth may be enough for valves to contact pistons..I've not had the timing chain out on this engine but hang in there someone who has will pick it up from here soon......

any suggestions?

Got to think about this one a bit....I'm thinking you may have broken the tensioner and its jaming it up.....

no i took the tensioner out. i had it in and out many times. and it goes into place so i don't think its the tensioner

the ears are still on it right? thats what breaks...

what do you mean by the ears? nothing broke i didn't force anything. All i did was take the wheel off and move the chain around a little bit with the tensioner out. and then i put the chain back and the wheel back on top. but the engine is not turning, i tried it with the tensioner in and out and it still doesn't move. now what

the ends.....supposedly thats what sometimes breads and drops inside.

Hmmmmm....is your crank at the tdc mark by any miricle?

Yes i can put it there but the engine is not turning. it locks up.

OK...with the crank on TDC can you determine if the cam is where it should be based on valve lift as per determining chain stretch? I bet its not where it should be but a tooth or more off.


On a side thought.....I hope its on the right stroke also...it could be on the wrong stroke.

thats very possible. how do i fix it?

check the valve adjustment section on the manual....you should judge what stroke its on from what valves are open and what valves are closed...

first you need to know exactly where it is. and on what stroke. and determine which direction it jumped..and if it jumped at the crank or the cam...

critical as the IP ties into all of this too.....its driven off the chain too. You don't want to get everything out of wack.

Well thatnk you very much for your help tonight. i guess i need a mental break, and start fresh tomorrow.

about time for me to hit the sack anyway....

I'm going to think about the easiest way to get things back where they should be......

Before you try this I want to see if anyone has any better ideas......


As I see it you need to ....

#1 reestablish TDC and cam position....and it appears you have valve contacting piston at this time..

#2 you will need to reestablish IP timing...

now this is what I would do....however lets see if someone has better ideas first...

#1 I would check by what valves are open and closed to dtermine which stroke engine is currently on....if its on the compression stroke you are in better shape than if you are on the exhaust stroke.

If its on the exhaust strokeI would pull cam spkroket and unbolt cam towers...this will allow all vavles to close allowing engine to be rotated to TDC if its not there already...gat the cam into the correct position and reinstall.. you will then need to rotate it to 14 degrees BTDC .but then you need to pull the IP and get it back to the proper position by lining up th emissing spline with the mark, then reinstal (and then doing the drip timming to get precise)

If you are lucky and its already on the compression stroke you reindex the cam with the crank at the correct position for TDC..

then before you touch the IP see if it starts and runs..if it does great...if not then you need to get engine to correct stroke at 14 degrees BTDC then pull the IP and reindex it reinstall, then do the drip timing. If it slipped on the crank sproket you will need to reindex the IP.....if it jumped on the cam sproket then you did not disturb the crank to ip timing reference.


Thats a whole lot of work and will entertain any other ways to correct this condition.

I

i feel as if
 

i have come in on the middle of the story.

what prompted your original actions? was the car in running condidtion before you started with this project?

tom w

I bought the car the car runs rough, I couldnt figure it out so I did this

*brand new injectors
* lines
* Adjust valves
* compression above 300psi on all five cylinders and even

Car still idled rough & had very low power (compared to many other diesel benz's ive owned)

I decided to check time by the method in the haynes manual & tdc on the balancer didnt match with the camshaft timeing mark. That is when I took the camshaft bolt out while keep tention on the chain then I turned the engine over with a wrench on the balancer backwards until I got to TDC on the balancer then I put the camshaft sprocket back on so the timing marks line up & now here I am with a engine that wont turn over. Also I turned the cam with pliers. Nothing was forced & even though Im stupid enough to get in this mess I still know better then trying to start it.

thanks for any help as my car parked

With the crankshaft damper reading O degrees, and with the presumption that you are on the compression stroke, you can look at the tower for the #1 cam bearing. There is a mark on this tower and it should precisely align with the notch in the thrust washer that lives behind the cam sprocket.

I'm thinking that you possibly set the sprocket back on the camshaft with the crankshaft at 0 degrees, but with the #1 cylinder at the top of the exhaust stroke. I think it's possible to install the washer with the notch off by 180 degrees, so this would cause the problem that you currently have.

83 SD engine locked up
 

JGreek,

I have the same problem. Found a rebuilt engine on ebay. Had it installed but installer couldn't get it started. Turned over but wouldn't start. Sent it to MB dealer to set IP timing. When I got the car back engine was locked up. Dealer blamed installer, installer blamed dealer. Engine still locked up. Would appreciate if you could share what you find.

Thanks,

Jack Wendel