[rudeney]

A fellow forum member has decided to tackle this, so I promised the docs:

http://benzbits.com/m272/ReplaceBalanceShaft.zip

Enjoy!

 

[1iwilly]

Thanks will you updated

 

[rudeney]

Yes, Willy, please do keep us updated on the job.

 

[vr2whf]

Support DIY! Good luck.

 

[rudeney]

I think this is really beyond a DIY job. If you don't have vehicle and engine lifts, this is gong to be very difficult. It's definitely not a "weekend in the garage" sort of job. Mainly I posted this because there may be some owners with access to assistance from a professional mechanic that could do the job, but needs all the details of torque specs and what needs to be removed. It is a tremendous amount of work with a lot of parts being removed, so either the mechanic needs to be intimately familiar with all of them, or have a very methodical way of laying out the removed parts so as not to mix up and bolts and such.

I actually looked at doing this on my CLK550 in case MBUSA wouldn't cover it (thankfully they did). Since the V8's don't have a balance shaft, but just an idler gear, it is possible to do the job without pulling the engine. However, it would still require lifting the engine to remove the oil pan, and the work to get to that point is about 90% engine removal. Most mechanics (like my dealer) would at that point just go ahead and pull the engine so as to have more room to work on the timing cover removal.

 

[1iwilly]

i'm not doing the job until april of 2014 sounds bad but not really. simplest way is to take engine out with tranny . then separate them once engine is out. fly wheel also needs to be remove as the screw that hold the balance shaft sits in back of the engine block.
only parts that need to be replace are balance shaft+counter weight.oil pump,chain tensioner and front crank seal .you also need a tube of mb rtv for the valve cover,timing cover and oil pan as there are no gaskets.also the counter shaft has to be aligned and the valve cover has to be on before installing the chain tensioner which by the way it is a one shot deal mb claims you can't re use the chain tensioner once it has been put on and then remove.you will also need 9 qts of regular oil to run the engine for 15 minutes then drain and refill with mb require oil 0w40 my best friend will be my camera for them i can't remember were it goes parts.LOL

 

[rudeney]

One trick I have learned when dealing with "lots of parts" in these jobs is to buy some white poster board and as I remove a part, draw boxes and circles on the paper for the nuts and bolts and clips and make notes on removal order. Pictures are good, but sometimes good old fashioned paper is better. Plus, I'v got to put the parts somewhere.

 

[a02stang]

have fun with this job. not pulling the valve covers off will save some time. if your going back together and the right exhaust doesn't line up you will probably need a adjuster. make sure when you check basic timing after going together everything is centered. if its off a hair it will cause a mil. good luck

 

[1iwilly]

1st thing would be to set the timing marks before i take it apart i personally think if the chain had a master link that would be 100% of the job as the cam pully would not need to come off. but maybe just maybe i can sneak the chain of the balance shaft after i take off the chain tensioner. these are assumptions
until i physically start doing the job.

have fun with this job. not pulling the valve covers off will save some time. if your going back together and the right exhaust doesn't line up you will probably need a adjuster. make sure when you check basic timing after going together everything is centered. if its off a hair it will cause a mil. good luck

 

[a02stang]

the chain does not have a master link. its all pressed fit. you will have copper links to help line up timing marks, but only the intake cams are driven by the chain. the exhaust cams are gear driven off the intake cams. that's usually where I see people be off by a tooth.