valve setting

[n/a]

Hello all,
 What are the correct settings for the valves on my 280sl U.S spec 113 car?
as I'm going to do them on monday. I also had a handleing prob
I drove to london and back the other day 576 miles in two days
and it kept pulling to the left, I thought it might be the caster
camber or tracking but it was an egg in the front left tyre and
wire was showing through the side wall very bad it had a twist also
so we put a new one on checked the tracking and caster& camber
all was good and didn't need adjusting or anything also it is
now running on all six cylinders and is fantastic to drive the kickdown is working now also. the carpet was getting in the way,
the only thing to do now is the boot lid light switch & the A.C
won't blow cold but is cutting in.

Regards Pagoda Red

red kelly

[knirk]

Red,
Valve clearance (cold engine)
Inlet …….  0.003 in (0.08 mm)
Exhaust … 0.007 in (0.18 mm)

It is hard to adjust on the manifoil side with a normal 17 mm wrench. There is a special valve adjusting tool available. I got mine from Samstag Sales:

HAZET 2770-3 valve adjust crowfoot 17mm $ 57.86
Samstag Sales
115 Main St. N., Suite 216
Carthage, TN 37030  USA

http://www.samstagsales.com/howorder.htm

Maybe you can borrow one from another sl113 guy in your area.


Per G. Birkeland
69 280 sl aut 834
Norway

[hands_aus]

Hey red what is wrong with the boot lid switch?

Bob (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[n/a]

Hi Bob,
 the switch is broken at the push button.
Pagoda Red

red kelly

[A Dalton]

Here is a valve adj. tool that can be easily made from an old plug socket and some stock..
 Had this for years and works slick..for anyone  interested in making their own tools..

 http://members.aol.com/ajdalton7/vtool.jpg

[Naj ✝︎]

Does anybody here use 'feeler gage' strips from MB?

naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[Cees Klumper]

Naj - I use generic feeler gauges (Sears Craftsman actually). I would not expect MB gauges to be any different?

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Naj ✝︎]

Cees,
MB sell individual strips in different sizes and then a handle to fit them on. The .003" feeler gage/strip is VERY fragile ( no doubt you've experienced this  :oops: ) and easily breaks.
With MB you just buy one strip rather than throw away a full set.
naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[Mike Hughes]

The only thing that wasn't working when I got my 230SL last winter was the courtesy lamp in the boot lid.  I thought I had a bad switch, too, after I replaced the bulb and still had no light.  First, the light only illuminates when the headlamp switch is at least in the parking lamp position.  Second, look at the wiring near the boot lid hinge.  It is subject to quite a bit of repetitious bending at that point as the boot lid is opened over the years and the insulation will eventually weaken and crack with the wire strands parting soon thereafter.  I ended up replacing about six inches of the wiring there with newer, more flexible, stuff and now my courtesy lamp should work just fine for another 38 years!

quote:Originally posted by pagoda red

Hi Bob,
 the switch is broken at the push button.
Pagoda Red

red kelly

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[J. Huber]

Ok. Humor me. What (and where) is the boot lid light?

James
63 230SL

[Cees Klumper]

The boot/trunk lid light is located at the rear edge, center, inside one of the cavities there, as part of an assembly that also incorporates the necessary switch. My assembly is plastic and recently stopped working. When it does work, it provides for a nice amount of light.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Mike Hughes]

Sorry, too many years of owning British cars.  I meant trunk lid!  A bonnet is a hood, a boot is a trunk, and a hood is a top!  (So why do they call a convertible a drophead instead of a drophood?)  Anyway, you don't have the trunk courtesy light on your '63.  It was a running change that phased in some time in the late '65 or early '66 models (see Frank Mallory's translation of the complete 230SL running changes in Mercedes Collector).  It is located in one of the access holes let into the inner frame of the trunk lid to the left of the latch (standing at the rear of the car facing forward) such that it shines straight down into the boot (er, trunk!) when the lid is fully open.  The switch is a plunger similar to the courtesy lamp switch in each of the door jambs and is also located on the inner frame of the trunk lid to the left of the latch.

quote:Originally posted by J. Huber

Ok. Humor me. What (and where) is the boot lid light?

James
63 230SL

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[Mike Hughes]

Cees, I posted this a while back but it is worth repeating here since we have collectively hijacked this topic:  I have found that the center contact on some bulbs protrudes more than others.  A "short" bulb contact will not adequately touch with the spring loaded power contact in the socket, causing intermittent illumination.  

Also consider that while the wire is breaking up at the bending point down by the trunk hinge there will be intermittent illumination from time to time.  Then the switch itself has some contects that can build up corrosion over time, especially if water is able to seep into the cavity where it resides through any of the holes for the star or the 2?0SL logo. It may be possible to remove it and simply clean up the contacts to restore proper function.  I had a merry old time finally getting my courtesy lamp to function reliably!

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

The boot/trunk lid light is located at the rear edge, center, inside one of the cavities there, as part of an assembly that also incorporates the necessary switch. My assembly is plastic and recently stopped working. When it does work, it provides for a nice amount of light.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[J. Huber]

Aaah. That explains why I've never had to fix it! Thanks.

James
63 230SL

[hands_aus]

I had the problem of broken wires to the boot lamp.

At the break I cut the wires and installed a MB female and male 2 pin plug arrangement.
I screwed the female part to the side support where the wire clamp was located using the same screw and hole.

The old wire in the boot lid was hard and the support clips were missing, which was a source of rattle noise.
I made a foray to the local german wreckers and I came home with the new old cable from a 70-80's car and the retaining clips also, all for about $5.00.

So now I can unplug the boot light when necessary and the only part of the cable that moves is the cable in the boot lid. The other part of the wiring harness is stable and never moves around.

Problem solved.

Bob (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto