Hello to all,

I'm a newbie MB owner ('81, 240D, 4cyl, 4spd, 235K miles). I've read in the owners manual, but want to verify if this is correct - that the oil pressure guage will fluctuate depending upon what RPM's the engine is at? Mine reads between 1 (at idle) and 3 (full) at higher RPM.

Also (and this too is an ignorant question because this is my first diesel), but the car smokes a LOT when first started and then gets better after it warms up. Is this typical, or did I buy a car that's going to need major engine work soon? (At least I guess it will keep the mesquitoes away next summer... )

Thanks,
AJ

 

Hi AJ,
The oil pressure seems about normal to me, my 240D does about the same thing.

At 235K the engine has a bit of wear in it so the smoking when you start it sounds about right, again mine does the same thing with 360K on it. If you look at the smoke it will be blue for a couple of minutes right after you start it cold and then get a black tint to it as it warms. The blue smoke is oil smoke and the black is diesel. You can help the diesel smoke by running a couple of cans of Lubro-Moly Purge through it. The purge will help the power also. The site http://dieselgiant.com/injectorcleaning.htm will help you figure out how to do the purge along with pictures. The purge can do wonders for an older engine. Make sure you change all your filters after the purge.

As far as major issues, I think your in good shape. The only thing that I'd want to check is the timing chain slack and adjust the valves. I replaced the timing chain in mine at about 330K but I waited almost to long so check it out. It's not a bad job to change the timing chain, guides and tensioner, I bought mine as a kit along with instructions and completed it in and afternoon (that included repairing several other things while I had things apart).

Good luck, I love my 240D.

Tony T

 

Tony,

Thanks! (...as I sigh in relief...) I will check out the purge fluid. Thanks for mentioning the timing chain issue too. Fortunately the previous owner had it replaced (I hope they also did the tensioner and other parts while they were in there too). But I was wondering about the valve adjustment. Is this pretty straight forward? And is there a tech manual that would be a good source for specs and instructions?

Thanks,
Andy

 

The valve adjustment is a straight forward repair. There are a couple of special wrenches that make the job easier but you don't have to have them. I made my own wrenches by heating and bending two 14mm open end wrenches and then welding a handle on. These wrenches make the job MUCH easier. You can buy a kit from mercedessource.com that comes with the wrenches a valve cover seal/gasket and a nicely written instruction sheet with pictures. I normally hate to recommend one parts source over another because I've bought from several suppliers and they have all been FANTASTIC to work with but mercedessource.com has stuff packaged in such a way that a newbie gets everything to complete a job without knowing everything he needs to order. In the case of the timing chain, I could have purchased the parts seperately but they had everyones price beat when you added the total of all the parts and it was all very good quality stuff too. Also Rusty over at buymbparts.com has been VERY helpful and they have the fastest shipping of any of the places I've used. Plus Rusty just knows Mercedes inside and out and he doesn't mind answering questions about parts.

Good luck with your 240. If I can help you with anything I'd be happy to.

My 240D has been out of service since my daughter wrecked it (or as the insurance said "totaled" it). I have been working on it for about two months and just about have it back on the road. I took it for it's first drive Saturday just to see how it would handle and it needs a little more adjusting on the front end. I had to replace everything on the drivers side front along with the hood and both doors on the driver side. My wife calls the car the Phoenix because it has risen from the ashes to live another 1000 years ----- how true. I do believe without doubt that this car saved my daughters life, a lesser car and she could have been killed.

See ya,
Tony T