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The 1987 240 DL wagon is a great car for the starving graduate student (that's me!). This car recently made a ~500 mile road trip and got 25-29 MPG on the flat roads down here in Florida while hauling a 2 seater couch inside. This aside, there are a few problems that I should probably fix before making a longer trip home for Christmas. . . ..
1) Anyone have the proper torques for the 6 nuts/bolts that seal the water pump to the block? A previous mechanic did not mount the new pump properly and it leaked. I replaced the gaskets and seals and set 5 of them to 20 N-m and have had no leaks during an all day road trip and several weeks of daily driving. . . . . . the sixth bolt broke in the engine block at 20 N-m (~170 IN-lb)! For sure, I will not be guessing at torque specs again and will make sure to replace old bolts and nuts.
2) Any suggestions for backing the broken piece of bolt out of the block?
3) Only at a low idle, there is a tapping (metal on metal) sound coming from the engine block/valve area. If I boost the RPM, even slightly, the tapping goes away. This tapping persists even when the engine is warm, but only at low idle. I happened to get some free advice from a local Mercedes mechanic who trained at the plant in Stuttgart. He told me the car was in bad shape with lower engine (bearing??) noise?? Perhaps he is right, but I am skeptical because he seemed arrogant. I have considered pulling the valve cover and checking the valve clearance with a feeler gauge, but would like to know if having new shims put in or doing it myself is worth it. Would out of spec. valves make noise that would go away above idle RPM's? Maybe it's piston slap and hopefully harmless? Or maybe the snobby Mercedes mechanic was right?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Jason
'87 240 wagon
161,000mi
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