[silvrbitcoin101]

The text is referring to the pulley and the front cover, neither of which is installed. I believe there's a flat protrusion in the cover at 12:00 that aligns with marks on the pulley.

I would determine TDC directly. Preferably with a piston stop in the #1 plug hole and a degree wheel, or else with a socket extension in the #1 plug hole and a dial indicator.

That makes perfect sense now. Now sure why I didn't realize that's what it meant. And yes I need to take off the oil pan and install the front cover. for some reason I installed the oil pan first like a bozo.

 

[SprinterSS]

Yes, i think the pulley needs to be on the keyway, timing cover on. Then Cams can be placed based on crank TDC.

 

[focus805]

That makes perfect sense now. Now sure why I didn't realize that's what it meant. And yes I need to take off the oil pan and install the front cover. for some reason I installed the oil pan first like a bozo.

You're killing it! Make time to rest. Sorry I've been out of the loop. I was away to Baja.

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

Bros. I'm getting super aggavated with this timing lock device...

There seems to be about a couple thousandths of play in the hex of the locking device and the camshaft hex that binds the locking device after the final 40 degree torque of the control valve . When I have the pulley at TDC, then thread in the chain tensioner and finally torque the control valve the 40 degrees, the cam turns that tiny tolerance so that when I back check my alignment by loosening the locking device and removing the hexed locks and turning the crank direction of operation to get back to cyl#1 TDC I can't get the hex locking device out and back in with just my hand. It's literally of a few thousanths. Crank pulley seems to be right on TDC perfectly...

After many tries the closest and I can get is having to take the load off the crank -barely turning it - which rotates the left control valve just a hair ( a couple thousandths) and I can then pull the hex lock out of the exhaust cam. But then I have to do the same thing with the intake and rotate it with the ratchet at the control valve instead, the same amount for the hex locking device to slip out and in by hand. I mean literally put a few pounds of body weight on my ratchet and it's enough to slide the hex lock in and out by hand...

The instructions say on #16 "if the bracket cannot be installed repeat adjustment"...

Does this mean I absolutely have to beable to remove the hex lockers by hand to be timed properly???

Other than that, everything is in tip top shape as far as alignment is concerned!!!

No time for sleep I need to have this engine back in the car for tomorrow and I'm so close. Am I being over the top on the timing issue or what???

🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🌘🌘🌘

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

I finally got the tiny variance correct in the TDC camshaft alignment allowing me to remove the hex locking devices from the camshafts by hand. I turned the crank a few times and checked my TDC and insert/removability of the hex locking device and it all checks out now.

I think I did it like 15-20 times before I got it correct. WTF!!!

ON with assembly!!!!

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

Just wanted to say how grateful I am for all your support, thank you very much everyone!

I'm learning an immense amount. It's very empowering type of skill. The first time around always takes the longest. Next one will take half the time.

The support is very much appreciated. 🙂

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

GREAT NEWS!!!!! SHE RUNS LIKE A TOP!!!!!

Pulled an all nighter last night getting the engine installed and hooked up. What a tedious process to run the harness, vaccuum tubing and every other component and devices properly... I'm STOKED the timing was dead perfect!!!!

I also saved me self $1200.00 not having to purchase a new crank case ventilation breather tube that I broke twice. I simply using electrical tape to hold the tubing aligned. I purchased $25 chemical and oil proof shrink tubing from mcmaster carr and heat shrunk it over the whole length of the corrugated tubing. It's perfect for the breather tube and shrinks nice and tight around the plastic corrugated breather tube.

NEW compression test has me at 186 #1, 196 on #2, 195 #3 and 185#4.

I removed the plugs and disconnected the injectors and used the starter to prime the oil pressure for about 5 Mississippi's

First start was bit a of a rough idle but I knew I was on to it. Let it run for a bout a minute then gave it a rest. I started it a second time and it was still a little rough so I shut down and let rest while clearing the old codes. Third start was amazing!!!! SHE PURRSS LIKE A KITTEN! NO FAULT CODES FOUND, SYSTEM PASS!!! NO FLUID LEAKS EITHER!!!!

Revved to about 2k for 5-10 seconds and then let it idle again. SOUNDS EPIC!! I made a time lapse of all my work and will publish a video to youtube very soon.

For now check out the sharable link for my startup, idle and rev up. 20230305_063902.mp4

All, I have left is bleed the coolant, change the transmission filter and fluid, fill the torque converter install my new power steering rack drop it and go.

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, woohoo!! couldn't have it done it with out all of you. THANK YOU SO MUC FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!

 

[focus805]

GREAT NEWS!!!!! SHE RUNS LIKE A TOP!!!!!

Pulled an all nighter last night getting the engine installed and hooked up. What a tedious process to run the harness, vaccuum tubing and every other component and devices properly... I'm STOKED the timing was dead perfect!!!!

I also saved me self $1200.00 not having to purchase a new crank case ventilation breather tube that I broke twice. I simply using electrical tape to hold the tubing aligned. I purchased $25 chemical and oil proof shrink tubing from mcmaster carr and heat shrunk it over the whole length of the corrugated tubing. It's perfect for the breather tube and shrinks nice and tight around the plastic corrugated breather tube.
View attachment 22566

NEW compression test has me at 186 #1, 196 on #2, 195 #3 and 185#4.

I removed the plugs and disconnected the injectors and used the starter to prime the oil pressure for about 5 Mississippi's

First start was bit a of a rough idle but I knew I was on to it. Let it run for a bout a minute then gave it a rest. I started it a second time and it was still a little rough so I shut down and let rest while clearing the old codes. Third start was amazing!!!! SHE PURRSS LIKE A KITTEN! NO FAULT CODES FOUND, SYSTEM PASS!!! NO FLUID LEAKS EITHER!!!!

Revved to about 2k for 5-10 seconds and then let it idle again. SOUNDS EPIC!! I made a time lapse of all my work and will publish a video to youtube very soon.

For now check out the sharable link for my startup, idle and rev up. 20230305_063902.mp4

All, I have left is bleed the coolant, change the transmission filter and fluid, fill the torque converter install my new power steering rack drop it and go.

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, woohoo!! couldn't have it done it with out all of you. THANK YOU SO MUC FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!

Congratulations are in order. You've given all of us a great blow-by-blow tale to success!!

 

[cafebmw]

incredible!

 

[SprinterSS]

Major congrats are in order! Thats awesome and super rewarding. After doing the rebuild you probably have a sense of confidence in the vehicle you would not have had otherwise. I have had Mercedes for years and enjoy working on them alot, once you learn how they put things together you start to get more proficient with them.

Dont forget to change that oil after about 30-45 min run time. Look forward to hear a driving report.

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

Another update!

Took the van for a spin around the block today. It doesn't have any current DTCs but the old DTCS have a status of "permanent" and my code reader gives me the option to delete them and it turns the CEL off. After a short drive the CEL blinks and comes back. Yet, there is no "current" dtcs. How do I clear the "permanent" codes from the my ecu?

Observations so far are...

1.) tends to have a low idle about 700-800 rpm and runs a little rough (barely noticeable) but doesn't stall. A little gas and smooths it all out and idles more smoothly about 900-1000rpm
2.) radiator cooling fan doesn't seem to be kicking on. I let it idle and bled the coolant system for about 45 mins today and at no point did it kick on. Coolant temp gets to the first line above the middle line about 84-90 degrees Celsius.
3.) Cluster gauge beeps constantly saying that the hood, the cargo doors and the slider are all open. HOW ANNOYING!
4.) collision prevention is also inoperable.
5.) Sliding door doesn't not open what so ever. There doesn't seem to be a button to open it. I'm assuming it is manual open. any thoughts?
6.) Installed new steering rack and it came with excellent tie rod ends. They look like they never been adjusted so I put it in and the tires are nice and straight but the steering is at about 10 O'clock position. Any ideas on steering wheel adjustment?

Thanks for all the congrats everyone, it runs beautifully and I feel so good about that. Just need to iron out the other small details. I'm ready to get back to business and super excited to have the van. And no offense to all the mechanics out there but I'm super happy I'm not a career mechanic, I've had enough tinkering for now! lol.

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

Major congrats are in order! Thats awesome and super rewarding. After doing the rebuild you probably have a sense of confidence in the vehicle you would not have had otherwise. I have had Mercedes for years and enjoy working on them alot, once you learn how they put things together you start to get more proficient with them.

Dont forget to change that oil after about 30-45 min run time. Look forward to hear a driving report.

You referring to changing the engine oil, correct?

 

[BlauBlitzen2016]

90 degree/one line up is where it normally is supposed to sit. I don’t normally have that cooling fan come on outside of pretty hot summer days; combine that with the A/C and the van sounds like a vacuum cooler. I don’t know the layout under these things but on previous generation MBs they had both electric and mechanical fans and the electric ones were auxiliary.

Personally I’m amazed you do this. These modern computerized miracles are like hocus pocus to me. If my wife could drive stick I would have bought a small T2. I might still; I understand those.

Love my Metris, not feeling comfortable working on it myself is one of the limited drawbacks. (Paying for maintenance on said wizardry is rhe other)

 

[SprinterSS]

You referring to changing the engine oil, correct?

Yes, on the oil change. You will want to flush the new component swarf out of the engine.

The Door ajar notice will be present until you get the hood latch back on probably. The latch has a sensor in it to detect if its open. Not sure on that side slider, I think all Metris' are manual. Maybe open the interior panel and see if the cable is releasing the latch at the rear of the door. The handle is forward of course but the latch mechanism is at the rear.

On the low idle double check all of the intake air joints. (also this can cause a Check Engine LIght). The "permanent" DTCs are going to need to erased via Mercedes Xentry computer (or I think the Snap On version can code too). I would get it back together and drive it to see what else may pop up and check for leaks etc. then go have it scanned /cleared.

Great Job !

 

[pounce]

We have power doors as well. Low chance that cargo has a single powered slider. If there is no button it's manual.Give it a yank.

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

Yes, on the oil change. You will want to flush the new component swarf out of the engine.

The Door ajar notice will be present until you get the hood latch back on probably. The latch has a sensor in it to detect if its open. Not sure on that side slider, I think all Metris' are manual. Maybe open the interior panel and see if the cable is releasing the latch at the rear of the door. The handle is forward of course but the latch mechanism is at the rear.

On the low idle double check all of the intake air joints. (also this can cause a Check Engine LIght). The "permanent" DTCs are going to need to erased via Mercedes Xentry computer (or I think the Snap On version can code too). I would get it back together and drive it to see what else may pop up and check for leaks etc. then go have it scanned /cleared.

Great Job !

Thank you for the important tip!

I'll double check the hood latch and sensor. I have them installed and they appear to functioning just fine. Also, all the doors are ajar lol. I don't see anything unplugged that might suggest there's central component not functioning. I'll check the door sensors as well and all my intake connections.

Oh an I forgot to mention, I left my ratchet and socket on crank bolt after doing the torque converter and attempted to start it up to drive out of the garage. That didn't work out to well as soon as I started turning it over I heard loud clank and noise thought I had blown up the engine some how, my cortisol levels where a little high! Thankfully no serious damage was done but that flailing ratchet broke the small vaccuum tuping that runs down in front of the crankcase breather tube. Thankfully I was using a slightly larger socket and the ratchet fell out pretty easily, I didn't bother opening the hood to drive it out. started up after and it was running rough. Opened the hood and the vaccuum line was shattered. shrink tubing to the rescue! lol

I'll keep you all posted for updates. Try and get my timelapse finished up this week!

90 degree/one line up is where it normally is supposed to sit. I don’t normally have that cooling fan come on outside of pretty hot summer days; combine that with the A/C and the van sounds like a vacuum cooler. I don’t know the layout under these things but on previous generation MBs they had both electric and mechanical fans and the electric ones were auxiliary.

Personally I’m amazed you do this. These modern computerized miracles are like hocus pocus to me. If my wife could drive stick I would have bought a small T2. I might still; I understand those.

Love my Metris, not feeling comfortable working on it myself is one of the limited drawbacks. (Paying for maintenance on said wizardry is rhe other)

Thanks for the comment!

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

SO collision prevention inoperable was an easy fix... Just needed to plug the sensor from the front right bumper reinforcement panel back in.

I don't see any sensors on the doors. Must be they are all built into the latches?

Also, I found a myster harness plug in the glove box, not sure if it even goes to this van. There was a random GM relay in the cup holder... Also I took a photo of the passenger well fuse box. Notice anything out of the ordinary for this base model cargo van?

Lastly, sliding door won't budge at all. Checked the lock and it's definitely not locked. Took a shot of the door mechanism. Looks like a some contact points on the back of the socket where the harness plugs in. Any thoughts on this?

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

HOUSTON I HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM... COOLANT SOME HOW GOT INTO THE OIL.

I check it yesterday it was looking great. Fresh oil as could be. This morning I started it up and it was cold and was a little rough until it was warmed up. I left my driveway with a bit of smoke coming out the rear looked like white smoke and then it went away.

Went to change the oil and have a mess on my hands. I'm really up a creek without a paddle on this one. I have no idea what could be the problem now. Looks like a blowout on the driver side and some oil is spilled onto the ground under the transmission too you can see the bell housing cap I took off and it fell on the ground. Oil/coolant has spilled there too. I'm feeling very demoralized at this point.

Just when everything was going so well....

 

[SprinterSS]

Dang...setback.

You can run a quick compression test to see if it is the head gasket possibly. Did you say you replaced the oil cooler?
Is the coolant low too? Maybe rent or borrow a coolant pressurization kit and put some pressure on the coolant system (check pressure specs). See what bleeds down.

 

[silvrbitcoin101]

Events that lead up to today are as follows...

Yesterday I bled the coolant and let the engine run for an hour or so with the coolant cap off to allow air bubble to escape. When no more air was coming I capped the reservoir and the oil at the time was clean and pristine. I used petosin pink and mixed it 50/50 with water very precisely when filling.

Fastforward to this morning I started her up and let it warm up. We are at about 20-30 degree temps here in northern Vermont. Everything was fine yesterday there was no coolant loss or any kind. Also just for the record, when I recieved the car the first thing I did was test the coolant reservoir with a pressure tester and it checked out absolutely no leaks...

I took off out of the driveway this morning and there was unusual amount of white smoke from behind the car but knowing it hasn't really run thoroughly I kept on the gas and it she ripped down the road no problem and the smoke seemed to dissapear. I drove it for about a half hour today until I remember I had only put 2 quarts of atf in the torque converter so it wasn't wanting to shift well in third gear at about 40-50 mph. I picked up more atf from my local MB dealer and upon filling the torque converter this afternoon I removed the intake to the turbo and saw the milky residue in the plastic inlet tube. RED FLAG #1. Horrified I pulled out the dip stick and my worst nightmare was true... I have since drained all the oil. This engine is going to have to come out this weekend. There is NO WAY I can let that coolant sit in there. Looks like a long weekend ahead of me boys. During todays short commute the temperature guage was being a bit funky, warming up to the line above the middle line and slightly overy and then at one point had a sudden drop down below center and then went back up to where it seems to like to stay...

Upon further investigation underneath there was no sign of head gasket blowing or any catastrophic damage. I hooked up the air pump to my coolant reservoir and there is no pressure holding. In fact, the air comes right out of the vavle cover oil filler tube opening. Clearly there is something that has seriously failed.

To answer your question @SprinterSS Yes I did replace the oil cooler. I have to admit I also, put a quarter turn more on the head bolts then the specs required. For some reason I just felt the need to do it. I'm praying the head isn't cracked. BUT what else could possible have failed that the pressure in the reservoir is coming out the oil filler outlet on the valve cover!?