[Retroman!]

Hi I’ve got a V280 2.8 petrol. The year is 2000, and apparently as only done 44000 mile. When opening the throttle, with ones ear’ under the bonnet, you can hear a rattle, but when inside the cab, obviously this can’t be heard. do you think the chain needs replacing? Any advice greatly appreciated!!

 

[gixxerpat]

I find them a noisy engine overall..i've had two...my Chevy Astro is like a kitten compared to it...

 

[Retroman!]

Cheers mate!
Yeah nearly bought a day van lol

 

[gixxerpat]

Yeah..best part is theres loads of parts still available for them....

 

[Retroman!]

Hi chaps! I put the van into my local Mercedes dealer for diagnostics and they’ve said that’s there’s a issue with the timing chain and advised me to change it, said there’s chatter on the chain, when you rev the engine. Cant understand it because it’s not done a lot of miles.. Anyway I’m trying to locate a Guide rail to go with the timing chain kit, but it’s discontinued by Mercedes! The part number is 0000520316. I’ve looked everywhere online! But it’s just not in stock! And some sites are not in English so I can’t tell.. really need this part otherwise I can’t do the replacement! I’m so stressed with it! Appreciate ya help!
Cheers! Anton

 

[ianrandom]

Eesh, discontinued?? I don't know about your specific motor but the tensioner is possibly the main problem there. Chain stretch is one thing, and obviously it starts to get too a point where it might affect timing. But the tensioner should be keeping the rattle away for the most part.
I have old W126 cars and this can kill the lovely V8 motors, a weak tensioner causing a bit of slap, the chain guides getting brittle over time - bad combination because the slap causes a chip in a guide and that piece can cause the chain to jump time. Sad really but just a tensioner and upper guides is easy.
The kicker is, aftermarket tensioners have a bad pot luck failure rate so MB only. And it's an expensive item..

 

[Retroman!]

Hi bud thanks for that!! It’s crazy, after seeking more advice the inclination that it may be fine, and the rattle is either another belt or the bearing in the water pump! Which I know for a fact, is leaking, and getting fixed soon. Anyway I managed to source an original MB tensioner Online, and thought since I like the van so much, purchased another engine, as a spare! Since they’re becoming more scarce..
Retroman!