cawimmer430
Piston Pioneer
We're planning on selling the 1985 Mercedes 300SE because the garage we're storing it in is being torn down to build a home for the old and because it is hardly being driven. One of our neighbors has expressed interest since he's an avid Mercedes fan and plans on fixing the car up for a business he's going to start up - namely driving newly weds in a limousine and this car is perfect for the job.
There was only one problem: the engine of the 300SE, with its 178,000 km+, had a strange metallic sound emitting from it Various people, including the local Mercedes dealership suspected a valve problem. Thankfully my dad got to know a competent Mercedes mechanic named Erich Lösch who has over 30 years experience with all sorts of Mercedes cars. He came over one day, we fired the car up and within a few minutes (just from listening to the sound) he said he suspected it was a camshaft problem. A week later he came over again with his tools and took apart the top part of the engine to see how many camshafts were affected.
Before the "operation". My dad and the experienced Mercedes mechanic, Erich Lösch discussing something about the car.
The engine with the plastic covering still on. The airfilter has been removed to allow access and the wiring leading to the sparkplugs has also been removed as a safety precaution.
Unscrewing the protective plastic covering.
Let's remove it!
Voila!
That long metallic bar in the middle acts as protection for the camshafts. It had to go.
With the bar removed, we now had perfect access to the camshafts. One of us had to crawl under the car and stick a metal bar into a small port located under the engine and rotate it. Through this action the camshafts and valves would operate and Mr. Lösch could inspect each one of them for damage.
A closer view...
Aha! Problem found! A slightly deformed camshaft!
The last picture says it all. Only one camshaft was affected. The problem appeared to be a deformaty with the metal and the sound we hear comes from the contanct this deformed camshaft experiences while rotating.
Here's the killer. Our 300SE is valued at about € 1,300. A spare camshaft of this type for an M103 E30 engine will cost € 76.00 each - and it is recommended that if one chamshaft is changed, the others should be changed as well. Add to that the very expensive Mercedes labor costs and you'll easily reach a bill of under a € 1,000 since this task will take not "a few hours" but many hours. Essentially it could cost more to fix the car than the vehicle is actually worth. Mr. Lösch has said that this problem often occurs with the M103 E30 engine.
My dad is still deciding what to do. More updates to follow.
There was only one problem: the engine of the 300SE, with its 178,000 km+, had a strange metallic sound emitting from it Various people, including the local Mercedes dealership suspected a valve problem. Thankfully my dad got to know a competent Mercedes mechanic named Erich Lösch who has over 30 years experience with all sorts of Mercedes cars. He came over one day, we fired the car up and within a few minutes (just from listening to the sound) he said he suspected it was a camshaft problem. A week later he came over again with his tools and took apart the top part of the engine to see how many camshafts were affected.
Before the "operation". My dad and the experienced Mercedes mechanic, Erich Lösch discussing something about the car.
The engine with the plastic covering still on. The airfilter has been removed to allow access and the wiring leading to the sparkplugs has also been removed as a safety precaution.
Unscrewing the protective plastic covering.
Let's remove it!
Voila!
That long metallic bar in the middle acts as protection for the camshafts. It had to go.
With the bar removed, we now had perfect access to the camshafts. One of us had to crawl under the car and stick a metal bar into a small port located under the engine and rotate it. Through this action the camshafts and valves would operate and Mr. Lösch could inspect each one of them for damage.
A closer view...
Aha! Problem found! A slightly deformed camshaft!
The last picture says it all. Only one camshaft was affected. The problem appeared to be a deformaty with the metal and the sound we hear comes from the contanct this deformed camshaft experiences while rotating.
Here's the killer. Our 300SE is valued at about € 1,300. A spare camshaft of this type for an M103 E30 engine will cost € 76.00 each - and it is recommended that if one chamshaft is changed, the others should be changed as well. Add to that the very expensive Mercedes labor costs and you'll easily reach a bill of under a € 1,000 since this task will take not "a few hours" but many hours. Essentially it could cost more to fix the car than the vehicle is actually worth. Mr. Lösch has said that this problem often occurs with the M103 E30 engine.
My dad is still deciding what to do. More updates to follow.
