[angel_280ce]

trying to change out the water pump as it started leaking shortly after getting her started. I've managed to remove radiator, upper hose, shroud, fan, and all pulleys. i tried to find the answer but it seems that people say it works both ways. do I need to remove the crank bolt to remove the harmonic balancer? or do I just throw a puller on and supposedly the balancer just falls off? if the bolt needs to come out, how do y'all keep the engine from turning over? torque would be no problem as I have a massive breaker bar and even a pipe to fit over it. gotta love that 1 single bolt for the WP behind the balancer. lol. TIA

 

[tsharkey]

On the V8's you don't need to undo the centre nut. Can't see why it would be different on the 6.

 

[angel_280ce]

On the V8's you don't need to undo the centre nut. Can't see why it would be different on the 6.

I hope so, I feel that bolt won't be coming out easy. any more input would be great before I throw a puller on

 

[MSGGrunt]

I just recently did this on my 280E and the crank nut does not need to come off. The balancer is indexed with a dowel pin and held in place with the 6 bolts, which I would highly recommend replacing with new ones. After I removed the six bolts mine came off with a few taps from a rubber dead blow hammer.

 

[MSGGrunt]

And be careful with the fan, it is very expensive to replace even used. ECS Tuning is asking $745.00 for one if yours is the heavy aluminum version. I have read the heavy ones can be swapped out for one of the plastic ones, but you need to go with the matching fluid fan clutch.

 

[angel_280ce]

I just recently did this on my 280E and the crank nut does not need to come off. The balancer is indexed with a dowel pin and held in place with the 6 bolts, which I would highly recommend replacing with new ones. After I removed the six bolts mine came off with a few taps from a rubber dead blow hammer.

View attachment 2643126

I assume you mean replace the bolts, would any bolts be ok? or do they have to be from Mercedes because it's a balanced piece? also one bolt was sheared off and the threads are still stuck in the balancer (I swear it was already like that) would this affect anything? it's not coming off with a rubber mallet, so would i be able to use a puller in this situation?

And be careful with the fan, it is very expensive to replace even used. ECS Tuning is asking $745.00 for one if yours is the heavy aluminum version. I have read the heavy ones can be swapped out for one of the plastic ones, but you need to go with the matching fluid fan clutch.

the fan is good, the fan clutch is it out of the car currently, is there a way to check if it's working properly? I understand it's some kind of viscous coupling clutch

 

[extractors]

I have just removed mine a few days ago. Removed 6 x 6mm allen bolts and slight tap on the balancer and came off with hands. I did soak mine with penetrating lubricant a few hours before removing.

Your water pump looks identical to mine.
Like to know the part number of your water pump, I had a new Febi Bilstein one arrive this morning only to find out it doesn't fit. That's the hardest part with these cars, getting parts, in Australia anyway.

 

[angel_280ce]

I have just removed mine a few days ago. Removed 6 x 6mm allen bolts and slight tap on the balancer and came off with hands. I did soak mine with penetrating lubricant a few hours before removing.

Your water pump looks identical to mine.
Like to know the part number of your water pump, I had a new Febi Bilstein one arrive this morning only to find out it doesn't fit. That's the hardest part with these cars, getting parts, in Australia anyway.
View attachment 2643140

mines will not come off with a tap, will be going to the auto parts store to rent a puller later today. I will post the part number here for future reference. I live in socal and pretty much everything is readily available so I'm lucky 😁

 

[extractors]

mines will not come off with a tap, will be going to the auto parts store to rent a puller later today. I will post the part number here for future reference. I live in socal and pretty much everything is readily available so I'm lucky 😁

Stop rubbing it in. It is hopeless here. We don't have one decent Mercedes parts supplier that I'm aware of. Generally all old cranky farts too. Try soaking yours with some penetrating oil overnight, even with puller it will help.

 

[angel_280ce]

Stop rubbing it in. It is hopeless here. We don't have one decent Mercedes parts supplier that I'm aware of. Generally all old cranky farts too. Try soaking yours with some penetrating oil overnight, even with puller it will help.

if you ever need a part I would be glad to send it your way, just send me a dm. yes i left it soaking and will be at it again in a few hours

 

[angel_280ce]

if you ever need a part I would be glad to send it your way, just send me a dm. yes i left it soaking and will be at it again in a few hours

do you know if I have to drill out the broken threads first? or is it possible to remove the balancer and then drill out the broken threads when the balancer is off the car? I'm worried that the broken threads will prevent the balancer from coming off

 

[extractors]

if you ever need a part I would be glad to send it your way, just send me a dm. yes i left it soaking and will be at it again in a few hours

That would be great. I’m sure something will come up

 

[extractors]

do you know if I have to drill out the broken threads first? or is it possible to remove the balancer and then drill out the broken threads when the balancer is off the car? I'm worried that the broken threads will prevent the balancer from coming off

The balancer isn’t threaded, so that shouldn’t stop it coming off. Unless they are seized somehow ? Wrong bolts used previously ? Once you get the balancer off the sheared bolts should still be attached to the ‘base plate’
Maybe you can reverse them out with some multi grips, plenty of penetrating oil and patience. Otherwise 27 mm crank bolt will need to come off.

 

[MSGGrunt]

Hear is what an original Mercedes bolt looks like.

 

[MSGGrunt]

The M110 equipped cars are a bit of a rarity here in the US and finding parts isn't easy. This is even more complicated if you have a grey market import car that was never sold in the US. Many of the online venders don't even show my car, a 1984 280CE, as it was never a car that was offered in 1984 in the US. It's best if you can research and find the part number yourself. Additionally, in the US, a lot of the parts for these cars are not in the inventory and have to come from Germany, if going through a Mercedes dealership. I ordered a rear muffler for my 1978 280E and bought the last one in the national warehouse in New Jersey, same with a fuel pump relay. Once MB sells the last part they restock from Germany.

When looking for obscure parts I have received help from the Mercedes Classic Center in Irvine, CA. Other than MB in Germany, they are THE subject matter experts on all things Mercedes. They are pretty quick to respond to Emails.

 

[extractors]

In Australia we had a tonne of W116 280se's sold and seemingly less W126 280se's. There does seem to be far more W126 300se's when looking around. I find there is lots of parts available for the M110 but finding the right part is difficult. For instance I ordered a set of ignition leads and waited two weeks through a Mercedes supplier only to receive the wrong leads. Apparently the W126 has a different dizzy cap and different lead plugs. Just about every supplier I phoned listed the wrong part and somehow had no idea there was even a difference. I just had a water pump arrive, part number was correct, but didn't fit. Looks like my car runs the earlier pump from the W116 despite my car having the original engine with matching numbers. I can only find two of the 4 heater hoses, so going to use either universal flex silicon hose or stainless pipe and joiners. Some of the new rubber hose is now super flexible and may also suffice.

I might send an email to your supplier in Irvine and see if they can help me. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[extractors]

Hear is what an original Mercedes bolt looks like.

View attachment 2643181

I might head to fastener shop and replace all of mine now you have mentioned it. You think stainless will be ok ?

 

[MSGGrunt]

I would not use stainless as it is much weaker than normal steel bolts and depending on the torque of the balancer bolts, I just wouldn't trust SS especially in a critical application like this. I would always use a grade higher than what you think you need.

 

[MSGGrunt]

Bolts are marked on the head depending on their grade. These are the markings on the bolts I used and I believe they are OEM. Metric are always more of a challenge to find in the US, but I would make sure that you are using something at least as hard as the OEM bolts.

 

[extractors]

Bolts are marked on the head depending on their grade. These are the markings on the bolts I used and I believe they are OEM. Metric are always more of a challenge to find in the US, but I would make sure that you are using something at least as hard as the OEM bolts.

View attachment 2643295