Engine rebuild 280 SL

[Pinder]

just took the fuel pump apart. replaced brushes and cleaned it up.   Now when putting the housing back (the one with the magnets in it) and looking at the nose of the shaft it spins clockwise when i power it up, the bottom plate also has an arrow pointing clockwise.  am i correct in that when viewed from the nose of the shaft of the pump that it should rotate clockwise? i know that if the body of the housing with the magnets is 180 degrees off the pump willl spin backwards.

[Pinder]

Ok so I now have the engine running. its all put back together. I do have a problem with the head. it appears to have a small coolant leak. I thought it was from the head gasket but it appears to be occurring one of the manifold stud bolts around the middle of the head closer to the front. it is a very small leak. My question is do the manifold head bolts that fit into the head need to be sealed? do they go into any cooling passages?

[Pinder]

So I become full member today. My decision was based on all of  the very helpful people on this site and the respectful advice and wealth of knowledge. I now have my engine rebuilt to the best of my abilities and deapth of wallet. (in a perfect world with unlimited time and money  I would replace every part but not always feasible).  The engine is running welll; Starts on first try and idles good but needs some fine tuning (some times pops in intake box). I just accessed the linkage tour and I am looking forward to carrying out the necessary adjustments. Its a well written piece and makes sense. I can already see that my linkage rod to the IP is too long and IP stop is not being used by the IP arm.

[Garry]

Welcome Pinder and glad you see the benefit of membership.

 Hope you enjoy the Pagoda World that is sent out every six months or so and a membership package should be your way soon.  Now as a Full Member with access to the Pagoda Notes, there is lots to read on line there as well over the Xmas break.

Garry
Membership Administrator.

[ja17]

Welcome to the "inner circle" Pindler! Could be the best money you ever spent.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Welcome Pendler to the Pagoda SL Group Happy Holidays and success with the linkage adjustments, once done you will discover the old girl will run like a Swiss watch Joe is right on when he said "you will find it's the best money you ever spent" becoming a full member.

[Pinder]

ive done the linage adjustments. Car is idlling nicely. It does still pop in the intake box a bit. Ill do some more fuel adjustments when get the gas tank back in the car. right now i have a temporry gas tank hooked up from an old plastic gas can.  Cant believe how easily a car this old starts up, its starts with first turn hot or cold.

The fuel injection pump in this car was totally locked up when i first got the car and I went through hoops to free up the pistons. it was stiff to turn at first but eventuall all the stuck pistons freeded up after lots of sea foam, carb cleaner, trans fluid , soaking the whole thing up to its neck in chem dip.  I didnt know if it would run at all but was happy not to have it sent out for a rebuild. I think the internals are very durable.

[Pinder]

I replaced the waterpump with a new one today. I had ordered it from Amazon and it turned out to be the long nose. Mine had the short nose pump. Howver after removing the spacker between pully and pump and using shorter bolts i was able to use the long nose pump which happens to be readily available.

[glenn]

Hi, Is the oil distribution tube-to the rocker arms-clean? all 12 holes(?) clear?  If the project goes south, I have a good 280SE engine.

[Pinder]

I hope those are clear. I soaked that line in laquer thiner for 10 days and blow it out at 120 psi. so pretty sure its all clear,

[Pinder]

This link is for the engine running. Please comment on if its sounds how it should. this is a cold start idle was around 900.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0iwdksPjk&feature=youtu.be

[Cees Klumper]

Sound alright to me, although it's a bit hard to hear.

[Pinder]

Thanks for listening to it and the feedback.

Regards

Pinder

[Pinder]

Just for my own future reference I did a compression test (spark plugs removed) and the compression was 180 for each piston. This was a dry test.

[Benz Dr.]

You're hired!  180 is just about optimal. Just my rough figuring, but I'd say each pound of compression is worth about 1 HP in a 280SL if everything is tuned and dialed in perfectly. 180 HP isn't bad at all.  Good work young man!

[Pinder]

Thank you. that makes my day!