Mercedes 300CE rough idle - supplement

Maintenance/Repairs
1

@db4690
@insightful
@ok4450
@the same mountainbike
@wesw
…

Since you guys assisted me so pleasantly in my thread “Mercedes 300CE rough idle” about half a year ago, I want to give you guys some feedback.
As you probably remember I renewed the camshaft, rocker arms, hydraulic lifters, timing chain … of my 1988 Mercedes 300CE because it had a shaky idle.

And maybe you remember that however idle stopped being shaky after I had installed the new parts there was still some ticking sound coming from the valve train.
So the “saga” – as insightful appropriately called it - wasn’t quite over yet.

At the third time of checking under the valve hood and changing rockers and / or lifters from one cylinder to another I realized some marks on the underside of the oil supply pipe (sheet metal part) for the camshaft lobes.
I put the pipe back on and turned the crankshaft manually and discovered, that some of the rockers were touching the underside of the pipe when they reached the “valve completely open” position. Luckily they were JUST touching it and not noticeably bending it.

I compared the new rockers with the old ones and saw that their contour was about 2 mm (0.08”) higher.
With all the work involved in finding out what caused the ticking sound after the new parts were installed, the parts supplier generously agreed on sending me new original Mercedes rockers for free.

After installing those and a test drive I remembered wesw’s words (“…with a little luck (and a lot of skill and hard work), you may have the smoothest running '88 Mercedes in the world …”).
The ticking sound was finally gone! And the car runs and feels as smooth as a new car now!

With the renewal of the sealing of the timing chain cover and the replacement of the valve stem seals oil loss and oil use seem to be history too.
Thanks db4690 for suggesting a new camshaft instead of replacing the whole head by a used one!

With the current condition of the car I’m looking forward to keep it on the road for many more years.

Thank you guys again for your contributions and your assistance last summer!

And Merry Christmas from Germany!

2

merry Christmas HD!!!

nice to hear from you. I m glad your hard work paid off.

I have been beating on the brake drums on my 75 ford pick up all day. I even got one of them off…

3

Thanks for the update! Merry Christmas to you and yours. And happy motoring.

4

@H.D.

Merry Christmas from Los Angeles!

I’m glad to hear you were able to continue using your original cylinder head

Undoubtedly, you really do now have the smoothest running 300CE in the world

you should be proud of yourself

And we look forward to hearing from you again . . . !

Since the 124 body was so well built, the car will probably outlive most or all of us, with proper attention

I recall reading Oldtimer Markt a few months ago, and they had a Kaufberatung on the W124. The conclusion was that it was the last true Benz. In fact, it was mentioned that the direct successor, the 210, was a much more troublesome vehicle, and that they are falling apart at a rapid pace

In my opinion, the 210 does not have the stuff to become a classic, but your 124 does

5

Thank you for posting back and congratulations on a job well done by a pretty astute DIYer.

Merry Christmas from Oklahoma and miracle of miracles; no one around here with a car complaint to be resolved over the holidays.
I may have Xmas dinner without grease under the nails… :-