Close call... and thanks for the info guys... - Benzworld.org

Becketts_Pen · 02-19-2004, 02:15 AM

Having recently acquired a Euro spec 560 SEC... I've spent a not inconsiderable amount of time researching potential problems in this forum...

And what do you know... on Sunday I started her up, only to hear a 'clacking' sound coming from the passenger side of the engine...

Memory told me it could be the timing chain slapping against the guide-rails...

Erring on the side of caution, I called a truck to come and pick her up and take her to my local independant Mercedes specialist...

And what do you know... it was indeed the timing chain...

Thanks everyone for the fantastic advice... many a long night spent trawling through this from forum has just saved me a potential engine rebuild...

Phew...

Autootter · 02-19-2004, 03:19 AM

Just for the records: How many miles or km on the clock?

Neo420 · 02-19-2004, 04:18 AM

165 000 KM i think

Autootter · 02-19-2004, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Neo420 - 2/19/2004 1:18 PM

165 000 KM i think

[:(]Fairly low milage then?[:(] Oh well ... knock on wood and keep your pecker up?[:o)][:D]

Becketts_Pen · 02-19-2004, 04:27 AM

The odometer says 165,000 Kms...

However, when I showed it to the independant Merc guy, he believed it had been clocked, and that I should add another 100K... (His logic was that any car with so few 'genuine' miles would still have its service history)...

So we're looking at about 260K Kms...

Which sounds about right for a timing chain replacement...

I know I took a risk as she didn't have a SH, but I got her for such a good price (3000 Euros) that it was worth it...

She's currently having the chain replaced and a full service/diagnostics to check for impending problems by an independant specialist who's as crazy about the W126 as me... he knows them inside out...

Hopefully I'll end up with no more than another 1000-1500 Euros of work to get her up to scratch, which will mean I'll have spent 5000 Euros in total... and she should go another 200K Kms without any more major work...

Her previous owner didn't really know what he had... he saw it as an expensive, fuel guzzling luxury compared to his diesel Renault Picasso people-carrier... and was so keen to see the back of it, he was ready to accept almost any offer...

She's 1991 and originally from Italy (not Germany, as I stated in an earlier post)... apart from the dodgy odometer reading, she looks great... all stock (even has the rare trip computer - which I still don't fully understand), and the Becker Mexico... though that'll be going very shortly...

I'm quite keen on keeping her as original as possible...

I love a lot of the mods I've seen on this forum... but it seems that the originals are now almost the minority...

I can see the benefit of lowering the suspension and changing the tyres etc... but as I'm not a fast driver... I'm not sure I'd really notice the benefits for all their worth...

I'll get some photos soon, and post them up...

Neo420 · 02-19-2004, 05:59 AM

Phu. Ok then its ok with the km s on the car then.

Good luck. Looking forward to the pictures and roadreport.

graymarket500SEL · 02-19-2004, 09:17 AM

Glad you caught it before the annoying noise became an expensive problem!

I also picked up my car for a song, and I've enjoyed it in its stock form. Even though mine was a german gray market vehicle, it had the ugly US headlights installed and I've converted it back to Euro headlamps. It still has the euro bumpers so the only other "little touch" I've added was to install a german front license plate.
I've enjoyed driving this car in stock form - and aside from a new exhaust system installed when my old cats fell apart, I think that the cosmetics of a stock car stand up to time better than my car's flashier body-kitted lowered aftermarket wheel counterparts.