1976 Mercedes 280

[grace]

I'm a new member, having just purchased a 1976 280 from a private party, to complete the restoration. I have a question about the soft clicking noise the engine makes. It has a 6 cyl. dual overhead aluminum cam, with 166,00 miles. The previous owner said he had that checked by a Mercedes tech, who said that the noise is systemic, and not to worry about it. We just drove it home - 250 miles, and it performed very well. Good acceleration and power. Anyone have an answer, or experienced the same type of problem? It sounds like soft lifter noise to me! It also has occasional (what we think) blow-by. Would really appreciate input from you guys!
Thanks

 

[nasher]

The soft clicking is from the tappets. I bought one car where the noise was excessive, checking the valve clearance proved that they were set wrongly. After the valves were adjusted, there was still an audible sound, but not nearly as bad as it was. If you are concerned and quite handy with a spanner, I would take the camshaft cover off, and check the condition of the cams, then measure the clearance of each valve.

 

[salvatori]

Hi,

you say that it makes a soft clicking noise. Is this soft clicking noise constant when the engine is running?

Does it at all sound like a clatter?

My brother has recently bought a 280SE (M110 engine) and the engine also gives off a little "soft clicking" or "clatter sound" - this just happens to be the engine's characteristic as they tend to be noisey engines.

As long as the noise is not excessively loud I would not worry about it.

Sal