[vvrjrlaw]

The latest in the continuing saga of the rough idle. The bolt securing the passenger side distributor rotor bracket to the cam came loose and besides trashing the bakelite parts it bent the pin that keeps the rotor bracket in place and hence maintains proper timing. After much begging and pleading I managed to pull the pin out of the cam and am ready to install the new pin and close her(yes I invoked the name of our Maker on a number of occasions much of which was in vain). I have heard much about this problem of the bolt coming lose and would like opinion on the use of loctite (blue not red) to keep it from backing out and the torque to apply to re assemble. Thanks all.

 

[95Scoupe]

I didn't use Loctite but after reading this I'm going to take it apart and use some blue. 9 Nm or about 80 inch pounds on the bolt.

 

[Smokiesman]

Boy ! Thats the first I ever heard about that problem ? I have replaced the caps and rotors in my E420 a few times and never had a rotor come apart!! Don't use LT RED ! Will be a bitch to take off the next time!!!

Smokie

 

[vvrjrlaw]

I actually found the problem on a site and I've attached the URL. Take a look at it because it seems to plague the 8 cylinder engines. Part is cheap and is a 5/32 rolled steel pin but I bought from the dealer ($11.00). Seems that over time the heat changes the properties of the lock washer which causes the bolt to start backing out so I replaced that with new. Also changed the driver side as a preventive maintenance issue. The pics from the website are quite complete and the writer was very helpful in providing me the benefit of his skill. In his case his pin sheared completely off so he had to drill the pin out.

Photos of M119 distributor failure

 

[vvrjrlaw]

I wanted to write to conclude this thread and hopefully assist others in solving what to me was a most perplexing problem.
After I replaced the pin in the camshaft I reassembled the car and fired it up expecting the cure to have occurred but no joy she idled as rough as before. I changed wires and coils. The inside coil almost cost me my religion and I would suggest the removal of the headlight to make the job easier. Again no change. Understand the wires, spark plugs and coils are new. At that point I removed each wire connected it to a spark plug tester and started the car. That's when I noted a pattern and what was the ultimate cure. Only four cylinders were producing spark, the two inside plugs on the passenger side and the two end ones on the driver side. Clearly the issue was with the driver side distributor so I connected the spark plug tester to each coil. The coil feeding the distributor on the driverside even though new was barely showing any lighting. I changed out for the second time the inside coil and used the old original coil. Started the car and she is perfect! Ordered two new Bosch coils from Autohausaz. I don't know where the "new coil" that failed came from as my son ordered them but that's what happens when you deviate from your standards (OEM only) on replacement. Just one question: can anyone tell me how to retrieve a wrench that fell into the engine compartment? I asked her to give it back but no dice. ;-). Oh well. Cheers to all.

 

[bluerooster]

Along the same lines.
How hard should it be to remove the screws holing the rotors to the rotor bracket?
I would like to change my rotors, as they're pretty well fouled.(127k miles) But the screws will not budge. I actually bent an allen wrench, and twisted a new snap-on allen socket, to no avail, on all six of them.

 

[vvrjrlaw]

My screws rounded out. Don't even waste your time or risk damage to the cam pin. Take a small chisel and knock out the center of the rotor and then remove the center screw that holds the rotor mount to the camshaft. Once you have it off you can remove the pieces of the old rotor and install the rotor mount and rotor in that order.