Time to look at that injector pump. I washed it off some with brake cleaner and then removed the vacuum shutoff device. It had been poorly mounted (it was probably a replacement, and access to the IP is quite difficult unless you remove the intake manifold), one of the bolts was cross-threaded and only a little way into its hole. In effect it wasn't doing anything. Beneath the shutoff was a nice big hole into which one could see much of the IP's guts. I had been warned against losing the shutoff shaft inside once I removed the lever, but it was obvious from this access point that there was nothing to fear on that score. I removed the lever, pushed the shaft in, and removed the shaft from the inside. It looked good, as did the bushing it rode in. The O-ring shaft seal was still quite pliable. What I _did_ find was that the E-clip retainer that pinned a washer against the O-ring, keeping it locked in its socket in the bushing, was missing! The washer had shifted and the O-ring had popped out of its socket, and was not sealing at all.
That would do it. I got out my Harbor Freight E-clip assortment, and found one that would work. I reassembled everything properly, and snapped on the new E-clip. I think that ought to do it. When I put the shutoff device back I noticed that there was no seal on it, though the IP case looked like it had a socket for a big O-ring. Theorizing that it couldn't hurt, I got out my Harbor Freight O-ring kit and found one that fit OK. I installed the shutoff device, with both bolts installed correctly. The O-ring ought to help keep out dirt as well as prevent oil splash from migrating out. It is well known that if you install the shutoff wrong you can get a runaway engine, but it is actually quite easy to install correctly, at least if you have good access to the IP. It has a pin sticking out the bottom of its shaft that hooks into a fork in the internal shutoff lever. It is also easy to test: push the shutoff lever down, cover the vacuum hole with your thumb, then release the lever. It should hold in place, and then snap up when you remove your thumb. It should resist if you try to lift the lever without releasing the vacuum. That took care of the obvious problems. Because it will never get easier than this I decided to look at the other seals too. I removed the vacuum control valve and its dust seal, I won't be putting it back as there's nothing for it to drive in this car anymore. The throttle shaft seals are not O-rings and didn't look like they had been leaking. I decided to leave them alone. I then removed the side plate, which covers the fuel rack. Its gasket was thick rubber, but very hard. I decided to make another one, so I got out my scrap inner tube and cut out a gasket using tin snips and some hole punches. Once I had the gasket formed I cut/scraped off the old gasket and reinstalled the plate using the new gasket. The screws can't be tightened too much or the gasket squeezes out the side. We'll see if this works! Access to this plate, at least, should be possible later if necessary. I then removed the fuel pump, cleaned its thin paper gasket and seats, and then reinstalled it using some shellac gasket sealer. At this point I had run out of time, I will have to deal with the bottom and rear access plates later. -- Jim _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
