Just got a new to me 1993 2.6 Sportline 5 speed. It needs a lot of love having 250k miles with practically no maintenance records.

At cold start up there is a clicking sound, not harsh, that goes away after ~ 5-10 seconds. Not too troubling but noticeable. Thinking its a collapsed lifter I took off the valve cover and found this. ( I can send you a video too big to attach here)

The rocker moves axially on the shaft. I tried pulling up on the rocker to see if a could get a click but no dice.

Car's from Florida and the PO has run 5w-30 oil. I was given the advise to go to a 15-40 oil and see if that quiets it up.

I did some research and found out there is a procedure that you put a preload on the rocker lifter assemble and make some adjustments with some shims-cups.on new rockers

The axial play seems excessive to me.

Without spending on new rockers, how should I go about with the repair.

Just replace the lifters with new?
Used rockers?

Please advise.

You mean like a worn rocker arm/rocker arm shaft ?


In that case it's a new rocker arm/shaft (they are replaceable)


and yes on a M103 you would have to have a special tool or make your own measurements somehow or you can just put the old shim back on and see what happens.

OK

Thanks Chris

Anyone know what the fit is rocker to shaft?

there should be basically no play between the rocker and the shaft.

new rocker is like $20 on this website

shaft is like $30 on ebay pn:1020550605

at a pick-n-pull it's less than $15 probably

This is just what I was looking for.
PERFECT!

PO did damage by running this oil grade in florida

Check out the video on youtube on the replacment and just as easy - haydralic tappet its a known problem .

It's not a collapsed hydraulic adjuster. That happened to my erstwhile '84 190E 2.3. It made a continuous clacking noise, and I knew what it was right away because I was familiar with the design. It was replaced on warranty by the dealer.

Very rarely on my '88 190E 2.6 I'll hear a lifter ticking for a couple of seconds after a cold start although it rarely sees temps below about 40F.

Be sure to use CJ-4 or CK-4 engine oil, which is the best modern oil to use in vintage engines with sliding surface valve trains. It's also is richer in detergents/dispersants than SN to help keep lifters clean; 15W-40 is okay for cold starts down to 15F. If typical winter lows are lower, use the 5W-40 "synthetic" version.

Duke

That chart has updated to oil spec 224.1 on the bevo website

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/224.1_en.html

__________________
Paul

Christuna,

Yes I knew that buying the car. Although, the clicking went away after a few seconds and don't think the damage has been critical yet.

Im going to run a Rotella T6 15w-40 synthetic for a couple hundred miles then do another filter and oil change with the same oil. See if that makes a difference before I dig into the rocker noise. Im more worried about the cleanliness of the oil. The oil bar and oil passages in the rocker boxes will be cleaned out too.

If anyone wants to see the video of the rocker movement, just sent me your email. I would like to hear any comments. The video was too big to attach on this forum.

Thanks again for the comments and help.

Dave