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380SL timing tensioner permanent fix?

2K views 1 reply 1 participant last post by  Guest (MBNZ) 
#1 ·
1982 380SL-The bad one.<br>First: The single chain skipped and wrecked the heads and pistons: Rebuilt by Mercedes Benz and double chain installed.<br>Second: The chain skipped again only destroying the valves and valve cover (chain guide I think.)<br>The car had had at least three new timing belt tensioners and the chain still rattles like crazy on startup for a few minutes until it tensions.<br>Could somebody please explain to me how the tensioner works and if it can be remedied.<br>Rene
 
#2 ·
Timing chain is a 100,000 mile fix. The single row can fail quickly. THe double row chain should run for 120,000 miles without any service. Change the oil often. The timing chain should not rattle long at start up. Maybe for 10 seconds. The way it works is that thte hydraulic chain tensioner fills with oil when the oil pump pressurizes it. Perhaps you have a problem with the oil supply to the tensioner. Normally the guides get brittle (Overheating is very bad) and when they break they get driven between the chain and sprocket. New guides, tensioner and oil tubes should also be replaced. Broken guides are more likely than the chain jumping. This should not have happened after the double row chain was installed. If there were new guides and tensioner it should run a long time. Perhaps somebody overlooked something during the rebuild?<br>Steve, 107 driver
 
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