tapping sound from my 1989 230 TE

[Hollo]

Hello all ,
            I'm new to this forum and a proud owner of a 1989 230 TE . I've only had the car a couple of months and its my first MB . There is a 'tiker , te , ticker ' sound from the engine ( 133,000 serviced miles ) . I thought it was the tappets , but have just gone to a local garage ( not a MB dealer ) and have been informed that the camshaft is worn - I nearly shat myself . Just a couple of questions , is this a common thing to wear ? and the garage is going to ring me back with the cost , how much should a replacement approx. cost to fit ?.
Thanks

Mike .

 

[dave elcome]

Hi Hollo

I would say that if the cam is worn with the mileage you have quoted, then it's had a fair innings.

All is not lost, if you look at www.eurocarparts.com they list 2 makes of camshaft, at either £45, or £55. Hydraulic tappets are only £5 each, and it would be best practice to replace these at the same time as the cam, the only frightening bit will be the labour, (i'm lucky i did mine myself!!)

Europarts nearest depot to you seems to be Wembley.

Sorry about this Dave and Andy, but Europarts are the nearest to me, which is why i use them, (grovel).

 

[Neil Eglintine]

Might be the rocker arms. Look at this thread for Andy's thoughts on the matter.
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=2&topic=88

 

[David Halsey]

beware of cheap imitation cams, we only do OE cams for £62.50 +vat. Other companies have OE Casting Cams, That means the blank casting case is sold when the OE manufacturers replace it due to wear. Another company then uses the old case to produce cams, these are not OE as the matrials and finishing is not up to scratch!

If you change a cam it is false economy not to also change the rockers and elements, also the rocker cover gasket.

Also do an oil and filter change at the same time, check the timing chain tensioner.

labour time should be about 2.5 hrs from memory

 

[Anonymous]

I had a really good tick on my 230E (1985, 150K miles), which
stayed for 10 days, then went away by itself. I am convinced it was gunge in one or more hydraulic tappets.
If it had persisted longer I would have taken out each tappet and cleaned them thoroughly, as well as examining all cam faces. Much easier and cheaper than a new camshaft plus rockers. Hoping it works out OK, Tony.