I have recently purchaced some new plastic fitting for my cam oiler tubes on my w107 500 sl (m117.962) and they are a rather loose fitting in camparison with the originals.

My tubes are the 10mm diamater alloy ones. I relise there are only 2 types, an 8mm version and a 10mm version, so I must have the right ones or they wouldn't go on at all

Are they supposed to shrink? If so can they deliver the right oil pressure to the cams and bearings until they do? When I removed the old ones, I had to heat them slightly with a hot air gun, so I would suggest they must expand under heat, not contract?

Any thoughts?

Regards

Damian

damian,those tubes will shrink with age but your new pcs will work fine,it was prob sludge[hardened] that was holding on the old ones.

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David S Poole
European Performance
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"Fortune favors the prepared mind"
1987 Mercedes Benz 420SEL
1988 Mercedes Benz 300TE (With new evaporator)
2000 Mercedes Benz C280
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Thanks David,

I wasn't sure just didn't want to kill and engine over something so small.

obviously the oil pressure into the tubes is not that much I know it just pours onto the cams, as I've seen it as I cranked it by hand.

I thought however, as there is a direct connection to the bearings, it may need to be injected in under pressure.

So if they slide up and down the tube without to much resistance this should be ok?
I was a bit alarmed that if you hold the tube at one end the other end cap just fell off.

Thanks again

Is it possible your cams were replaced with those off a 4.5 engine?

Otherwise, if the clearance is >2mm difference, your looseness is alright. What is the p/n on your cams?

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Mine were a little tight coming off - if they were extremely tight, maybe the tube is slightly out of round? My new ones were also a little loose, so it couldn't have been the tubes.

These fittings can be a little tricky to install - the part that holds the tube and fittings down is barbed and needs to go down ALL THE WAY so that the tube seats correctly on the "U" on top of the cam bearings. There should be no or _extremely_ little room between the plastic tube part and the sides of the "U". I've done this twice and it takes more than (my) hand pressure to do this - it took some taps with a rubber mallet. Obviously, don't go overboard with the mallet or you will wind up with broken fittings and/or out of round tubes.

Apparently, my 380SL's tube fittings weren't down all the way before I got the car, one of the tubes just lifted right off of the bearings. This caused a cam to be eaten along with most of the cam followers. Definitely check that they are down all the way before buttoning up the engine.

Also be aware that these are "one time use" - once installed and removed, the plastic barbs will wear/distort, they will not be as strong as they were in holding the tube down and they must NEVER be reinstalled.

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Thanks guys,

I'll take care with putting the new fittings on.

Tomguy, I'm not sure of the cam numbers, but I would say only the RHS has had work, as those fittings were black not beer bottle brown. Both the oiler tubes were the same the 10mm round alloy ones and the fiitings only come in 8 and 10mm.

My fittings arn't 2mm loose, they just slide up and down the tubes easly and the end caps can fall off under there own weight. This is where they get the feed from.
The old ones were nice and tight. The fittings seem to expand with heat not contract, unless the oil penatrates into them or something like that.

Guess I'll just have to suck it and see.

Thanks

Damian

Well, I have finally gotten round to putting it all back together after the timing chain and rail replacement. Set the dizzy roughly in the middle and it fired up first time.

I was a little bit worried as I had to retard the RH cam gear by one touth as it seemed to line up alot better with the timming marks than where it was.

Anyhow I still think those pesky new oil tube fittings are rubbish. I ordered another set this time they are Febi, as I wasn't happy with the other ones I originally tried.

The Febi one where just the same the end caps where quite loose ( would fall of under there own weight). Thinking what other choice I had, I just re-assmebled it all, gave it good cranking with ingnition module to get the oil around Then fired it up. If you look inside the oil filler cap hole the oil streams down on the first visable cam lobe, but it also leaks alot around the visable end fitting hits the side of the lob and splashes out side the filler cap hole.

Yes at least it gets up to the end of the tube, as it is feed from the back, but surely the pressure in the tube, and hense the amout streeming onto the lobes and into the bearing cases has to be effected by the leaking around the end fittings.

What are your thoughts?

Damian

The oiler tube clips should be tight. If they are loose, oil will leak out of the plastic bits and not properly squirt onto the cam lobes or be able to lube the cam bearings, causing problems.

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Warren

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