heat shield

[reg]

I have a 1966 230sl   did they have a heat shield between the intake and exhaust manifolds?

[mbzse]

../... did they have a heat shield between the intake and exhaust manifolds

Answer is - yes, all W113 (and other M-B models of the era) had this
/Hans in Sweden

[rgafitanu@gmail.com]

After reading this post and looking up the EPC I realize that I don't have the intake heat shield as well. My W111 had a 230 engine transplanted 20 years ago on the previous restauration attempt and they probably missed to put this one.
Would there be adverse effects to the running if this shield is not the there? Like vapor lock, I'm not too happy with my warm (20 min) start.

Thank you,
Radu

[wjsvb ✝︎]

I have one from a 1968 280SE...not sure if it is the same.  It does have the original attaching screws and straps.  $25 + postage.  Jon

[Tyler S]

Being aluminum, the intake manifold will absorb the heat fast and transfer it to your incoming air. Could cause a very slight loss of performance.  The heat shield definately keeps things cooler.

[rgafitanu@gmail.com]

Jon, PM sent.

[rgafitanu@gmail.com]

Actually you are making a good point there Tyler. Intake air needs to be cold not overheated. This brings me to another "improvement" that I made that may work against me. I replaced the original filter housing with a conical K&N mounted directly on the throttle. I also placed a small K&N crankcase breather filter on the idle air intake. Now there is a very strong air whistling and even after I added a muffler inside the small filter ther is still noise you can hear it from outside.
I realize that with my contraption I am feeding the engine with air heated by the engine and the radiator instead of the cold air from in front of the radiator. I guess the original design was there for several reasons.

[Tyler S]

Radu, yes, keep the intake system stock. If you want to add a k&n, add it to the original air box. The small filter added to the idle air hose may actually cause a restriction. Hence the noise. It may also become saturated very quickly.

There are plenty of mixed opinions about these so called "cold air intakes" on the net. The real deal cold air systems direct air from the grille or fender well. The cheaper systems seen everywhere really dont do much and can actually cause driveability issues. This is coming from a former dealer tech who ran into these all the time. Guys were putting these on their Nissan turbo z cars and actually loosing performance.
Tyler

[Shvegel]

You might want to consider switching back to a good paper air filter (Hengst, Mann etc).  A K&N air filter may have slightly less restriction than a good paper filter but it does so at the expense of dirt trapping ability.  The only way you get less restriction is with bigger holes and bigger holes allow bigger particles of dirt.  This is especially true in light of the fact that most K&N filters have roughly half the pleats(Surface area) of a good paper filter.   K&N explains this away by saying that their filters are designed in such a way that the air wavers as it passes through the matrix and the dirt hits the fibers coated with their sticky oil and sticks to the oil allowing only clean air to enter the engine.  I offer you the following test:  Wrap masking tape around your hand with the sticky side out then slap your hand against a dusty floor a few times.  No more sticky!

[rgafitanu@gmail.com]

Shvegel and Tyler you both make sense. My main reason for replacing the stock filter system was because of how big the whole thing is, I didn't realize that I was forcing it to suck heated air from the radiator and around the engine instead of cold air from the front of the car. I don't know how the air intake is on the Pagoda but the W111 has the intake right in front of the radiator behind the grille. This weekend I put back the stock filter and what I hated most, the annoying hissing is gone. Indeed I was restricting the idle air supply too, I had to screw it in almost a turn to bring down the idle.
After I will get a heat shield I will probably tackle the idle and the cold/warm start, which while they work, they are not consistent as I see on a lot of members here.
Thank you.

[reg]

re: heat shield    turns out I couldn't get one so I made one that should do the trick.   Thanks for the info  I would have bet my 230sl did not have one from the factory but these cars have a sorted history..  Sun is out  summer is close

[Shvegel]

Nice Job!

[sandcrab59]

What is the material utilized to make the shield?
Also do you have the measurements to make one.
Tom

[Tyler S]

The original heat shields are made of 2 layers of thin aluminum with an asbestos sheet sandwiched in between.

[ja17]

All had heat shields from the factory. Keeping that side of the engine shieldeded from the heat of the exhaust, helps prevent the gasoline from boiling in the injector lines. It also keeps the intake manifold cooler. The new alcohol gasoline blends boil easier.

[reg]

It is a fairly thick piece of aluminum that I had around and looked up a picture of one on google and measured the picture between the mounting holes.   Just went from there,  there is no asbestos but it should be better than nothing, went to the auto supply and got some rad clamps,  Little things to do while waiting for the engine rebuilders.       

[Cees Klumper]

SLS in Hamburg lists these new at around €85. I think I have a bunch of used ones lying around I'd be happy to let go for postage, so if anyone wants one, please send a pm.