Hello
I am new member to the group and purchased 69 280sl about 6 months ago, from BAT. The car is very nicely restored about 8 years ago including full paint, interior leather and engine and trans out restoration. The top of engine was probably done, not sure if the bottom was done but most likely it was done
I have to say the past 6 months have been a challenging and unpleasant journey. First the Starter broke down and need replacement, and then 1 month later had to again be replaced as the starter failed again, Then a month later the electric fuel pump need replacement since after 30 minutes it would vapor lock and the engine would stop working and needed towing. During the first 3 months of ownership I probably towed the car at least 5 times to the mechanic.
The car would run ok seemed that the power was low and it seemed to run rich because you could smell gas from the exhaust. After a month I attempted to find a specialized Pagoda mechanic to be able to fine tune the engine so that it would be more powerful and less rich. I took this mechanic about 1 month and he attempted to play with the hot valve and attempted to adjust the linkage . The car ran worst and had even less power but it did not smell of gas.
I was not happy with this mechanic and I thought that I may need a new mechanic and I discovered a Pagoda mechanic that came to my house and attempt to get more power by adjusting the valves . After he adjusted the valves the clicking and tap tap noise was very apparent and the clicking was very loud and the car had less power. He came back the next day and redid the valves but the clicking was still there.
A few weeks later I found another mechanic that was more knowledgeable he adjusted the valves to speck but the sound was still there , he said to not drive the car as it could cause more catastrophic damage. He said they need to investigate the top of the engine then the bottom of engine to find the problem of the clicking noise and I would have to wait 2 months before he could see me,
2 days ago I found an older mechanic who was very sympathetic with my problem and seemed like he knew Pagodas . He proceeded to reset the valves, tightened all the rocker arms and repositioned a couple of misplaced springs and adjusted the valve cover so that the it will not hit the cam shaft and tested the compression after readjusting the valves.
He also said that the cam shaft looked great almost like new
After all this the click sound is still there he said that the sound is coming from the bottom of the engine , he said that the top is 100% perfect and the problem is coming from the Bottom of the engine and the engine needs to be pulled out.
He raised the car and the sound was much more noticeable from the bottom of the engine.
He thought it might be the rods or piston arms or crank shaft. He advised not to drive the car at all and only tow it. He thought it would take about 1 -2 months to fix it.
The compressions we all about 100 psi highest 108 low 98. The car does not smoke, no smell of gas, no blue or white smoke
So sorry about the long winded description but I really need some advise and help . Thank you !
Is there anything else that can be done rather than removing the engine
How else can you diagnose this problem
How did this happen ? it seemed like the very first time I adjust the valves with the amateur mechanic is when the clicking sound started. Can the Crank shaft be damaged by jacking up the car from one side and putting too much pressure while turning the shaft
??
Does the engine need to go to a specialized overhaul mechanic shop or can a small time mechanic fix this ? If you pull the engine out should you do a overhaul ??
What should be my next step ? What does this type of fix cost
I am located in Los Angeles – So California area . Any recommendations ?
Arthur
