Camshaft adjuster pin flip fix/trick?
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 369
Likes: 53
07' E63
I ended up taking off my Cam Adjusters when I had both Heads rebuilt. Aside from both of my passenger side CA's having previously been rebuilt *** backwards in that they installed the internal sprocket upside down which not only renders the oil channel leading to the pin/barrel being on the wrong side, it also causes for the end that the Cam Bolt usually secures to to be reversed to the side of the Cam. This results in more of a depression on the Cam side and has the effect of rendering the diamond washer being useless because as the CA is mounted to the Cam in this way, because this depression is too deep the CA doesn't mate with the end of the Cam! Instead, in my case, the Cam was found to be butting right up against the timing guides leaving an internal gap of at least 1/8"! The CA was essentially kept in place via the force of the Cam Bolt coupled with the support of the Cam Gear below, never mind that this offset also caused for the gears of the CA to be precariously drawn in towards the Timing Chain while overlapping the Cam Gears slightly (about 1/8")!!! So if you're to endeavor taking your CA's apart, please bear this in mind! Don't erroneously take out the inner sprocket and put it back in upside down! Duh!!
In rebuilding my CA's, I came awfully close to loosing one of those little pin/barrels, so you'll want to be mindful that the spring in there can release if you don't keep that top plate held down until you get to a flat surface. I had mine sandwiched in my Vice between to pliable pieces of plastic with sandpaper taped on the contact points to keep the CA from turning as I unscrewed the 5 bolts. I had the foresight to take a metal marker to mark several of the bolts by putting dot on the edge of each. Then I unscrewed those that I marked and proceeded to tighten measuring with a torque wrench. I turned out they were torqued to approximately 16-18Nm. But don't think that will be all there is to it! I say this because I did. It was only after putting her back together and doing my first start which only lasted 30-40 seconds which ultimately ended up hydrolocking my engine upon shutdown causing me to take her apart again did I see that those bolts in the Cam Adjuster start to walk their way back out!! I dodged a bullit there for sure! I ended up using Loctite Red 277 on the threads before torquing them back down 18Nm and am hopeful that will keep them in place!
As for the Hydrolock, it appears it must have occurred at Shutdown since it was running albeit dreadfully before I shut off the ignition. I took off the valve covers first erroneously as it was a bit messy after taking out the Spark Plugs and turning the engine over to find Fuel spitting out of Chamber 8 (closest to the rail). I had towels ready but then used my cylinder sucker to remove the fuel. I was surprised how much actually came out of each chamber! With the valves closed and that much fuel in the chambers, it's no wonder it hydrolocked on me. I'm fortunate it didn't happen while driving in gear as it would have been catastrophic! As a result of this and reading on these forums of the "issues" with the "early-2007" E63 having the same problem with injectors, I ended up buying 8 from RM European and just hope they work as advertised. I'm thinking of bring both sets back to get tested side by side to be certain, but I have yet to remove them. I'll let you know what the results are when I get them!
In rebuilding my CA's, I came awfully close to loosing one of those little pin/barrels, so you'll want to be mindful that the spring in there can release if you don't keep that top plate held down until you get to a flat surface. I had mine sandwiched in my Vice between to pliable pieces of plastic with sandpaper taped on the contact points to keep the CA from turning as I unscrewed the 5 bolts. I had the foresight to take a metal marker to mark several of the bolts by putting dot on the edge of each. Then I unscrewed those that I marked and proceeded to tighten measuring with a torque wrench. I turned out they were torqued to approximately 16-18Nm. But don't think that will be all there is to it! I say this because I did. It was only after putting her back together and doing my first start which only lasted 30-40 seconds which ultimately ended up hydrolocking my engine upon shutdown causing me to take her apart again did I see that those bolts in the Cam Adjuster start to walk their way back out!! I dodged a bullit there for sure! I ended up using Loctite Red 277 on the threads before torquing them back down 18Nm and am hopeful that will keep them in place!
As for the Hydrolock, it appears it must have occurred at Shutdown since it was running albeit dreadfully before I shut off the ignition. I took off the valve covers first erroneously as it was a bit messy after taking out the Spark Plugs and turning the engine over to find Fuel spitting out of Chamber 8 (closest to the rail). I had towels ready but then used my cylinder sucker to remove the fuel. I was surprised how much actually came out of each chamber! With the valves closed and that much fuel in the chambers, it's no wonder it hydrolocked on me. I'm fortunate it didn't happen while driving in gear as it would have been catastrophic! As a result of this and reading on these forums of the "issues" with the "early-2007" E63 having the same problem with injectors, I ended up buying 8 from RM European and just hope they work as advertised. I'm thinking of bring both sets back to get tested side by side to be certain, but I have yet to remove them. I'll let you know what the results are when I get them!
Last edited by E63007; Nov 28, 2018 at 09:22 AM.
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 522
Likes: 129
From: Bondi Beach , Australia
2013 W204 C63 AMG P31 Estate wagon
Any further updates on your rebuild?
I'm interested was the pin flip successful.
I recently started hearing the ticking after the engine has warmed up and only appears at this stage to be on the left bank.
When engine is cold no ticking.
I'm interested was the pin flip successful.
I recently started hearing the ticking after the engine has warmed up and only appears at this stage to be on the left bank.
When engine is cold no ticking.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 1,219
Likes: 147
2012 c63 AMG, 2011 GLK 350, 2019 GLS 450
That has nothing to do with the pin flip. Adjusters vs lifters two different things
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 522
Likes: 129
From: Bondi Beach , Australia
2013 W204 C63 AMG P31 Estate wagon
Why are you talking lifters, Isn't this a Camshaft adjuster pin flip fix/trick? thread.
E63007 rebuilt his CA and I was wondering how he went after the engine was back up and running.
I have read so many of these CA threads I may be getting some mixed up.
E63007 rebuilt his CA and I was wondering how he went after the engine was back up and running.
I have read so many of these CA threads I may be getting some mixed up.
Last edited by Cwagon; May 10, 2019 at 05:25 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 1,219
Likes: 147
2012 c63 AMG, 2011 GLK 350, 2019 GLS 450
Why are you talking lifters, Isn't this a Camshaft adjuster pin flip fix/trick? thread.
E63007 rebuilt his CA and I was wondering how he went after the engine was back up and running.
I have read so many of these CA threads I may be getting some mixed up.
E63007 rebuilt his CA and I was wondering how he went after the engine was back up and running.
I have read so many of these CA threads I may be getting some mixed up.
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 808
Likes: 281
.
For those with this issue and are looking for just the plates, instead of replacing entire Cam Adjuster:
There's a dude in S. Korea who makes them: eBay Seller ID: beetls
https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMG-m156-en...-/183794158766
He informed me that these plates are "made of carbon steel, CNC + heat treatment - harder than original. We can supply more."
There's a dude in S. Korea who makes them: eBay Seller ID: beetls
https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMG-m156-en...-/183794158766
He informed me that these plates are "made of carbon steel, CNC + heat treatment - harder than original. We can supply more."
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 369
Likes: 53
07' E63
I have put about 1500 mi on my E63 since rebuilding the engine/front suspension and man I've been having fun flooring it occasionally!! As for other brilliant aspects of driving this sexy beast, I love how it automatically downshifts as you apply the breaks, something I was definitely not aware of! I was experiencing some slight surge in idle ( only 100 rpm maybe) most likely due to me adding a Catch Can and, with some 7 right angle bends in the 1" heater hose, I understand why. After driving 1500 miles though, the vapor flowing through it has in effect sealed any previous minute leaks and my rpm’s at idle are now steady, however it still throws a cell resulting in the check engine light being on. STAR/Xentry showed the pressure being slightly out of range at idle previously but since I bricked my SSD by knocking over my Dell 630 as well as broke the screen, I have since bought a used i5 Latitude e6430 locally and am waiting for a Star/Xentry HDD from you know where!! Only then might I be able to delete the "failure" notification but otherwise it doesn't really bother me.
I also like using the paddle shifters in Sport Mode as it will on its own generally upshift below 2k rpm. Until the engine oil hits 80C, I don't ever touch the paddles, however once it hits 80C, I'll downshift from 5th or 6th gear with my foot off the gas to gain control of the shifting. Another cool feature is you can set the gear to not shift over 3-4-5 for example when you come to a stop. Say if you know you'll be speeding up to 45 after a stop light, you can pre-set the max gearshift to 3 or 4 by using the paddle shift whilst slowing down to the light. Then when you pull away after the stop light, it will only shift up to the gear you specify in the little left hand window, then from there you Control with the paddles. Pretty awesome!
As for the Hydrolock I experienced upon the first startup after the entire rebuild, it turned out it was one of the original injectors that I had previously removed to be tested where they all passed with flying colors!!! Yeah Right! Even though I bought and installed new injectors, I was fearful to just try again. With my tail between my legs, I ended up towing the car to the Stealership. I ended up having to pay them to remove my newly installed valve cover because even though I showed the multiple pictures with a newspaper to verify the recent date those pictures were taken of both Heads with Timing Tools installed verifying all was in Timing, they had to redo it anyway. In the end, they complimented me on my work but not after charging me big time! However, I did glean from the Technician a Pearl of Wisdom many of you may want to employ? That is, after working on my car for some 8 months with no Oil, the tech told me he disconnected the electrical connectors for the injectors and the simply turned over the engine 40-50 times with the key (i.e. Quick On-Offs) with the Oil Fill Cap Off for the other tech to view as to when he saw Oil flowing under the Valve Cover! Only after seeing the oil flow did they reconnect the injectors and she started right up!!
Since then, I've noticed very small leaks emanating from the Rear Main Seal, so I've loaded up on those bits as well as everything to rebuild the rear Suspension, but I'm in no rush! Since I could use my fingernail to dig and pull off a bit of the dried out rear Suspension bush, it goes without saying that they will all need to be replaced sooner or later!!
I also like using the paddle shifters in Sport Mode as it will on its own generally upshift below 2k rpm. Until the engine oil hits 80C, I don't ever touch the paddles, however once it hits 80C, I'll downshift from 5th or 6th gear with my foot off the gas to gain control of the shifting. Another cool feature is you can set the gear to not shift over 3-4-5 for example when you come to a stop. Say if you know you'll be speeding up to 45 after a stop light, you can pre-set the max gearshift to 3 or 4 by using the paddle shift whilst slowing down to the light. Then when you pull away after the stop light, it will only shift up to the gear you specify in the little left hand window, then from there you Control with the paddles. Pretty awesome!
As for the Hydrolock I experienced upon the first startup after the entire rebuild, it turned out it was one of the original injectors that I had previously removed to be tested where they all passed with flying colors!!! Yeah Right! Even though I bought and installed new injectors, I was fearful to just try again. With my tail between my legs, I ended up towing the car to the Stealership. I ended up having to pay them to remove my newly installed valve cover because even though I showed the multiple pictures with a newspaper to verify the recent date those pictures were taken of both Heads with Timing Tools installed verifying all was in Timing, they had to redo it anyway. In the end, they complimented me on my work but not after charging me big time! However, I did glean from the Technician a Pearl of Wisdom many of you may want to employ? That is, after working on my car for some 8 months with no Oil, the tech told me he disconnected the electrical connectors for the injectors and the simply turned over the engine 40-50 times with the key (i.e. Quick On-Offs) with the Oil Fill Cap Off for the other tech to view as to when he saw Oil flowing under the Valve Cover! Only after seeing the oil flow did they reconnect the injectors and she started right up!!
Since then, I've noticed very small leaks emanating from the Rear Main Seal, so I've loaded up on those bits as well as everything to rebuild the rear Suspension, but I'm in no rush! Since I could use my fingernail to dig and pull off a bit of the dried out rear Suspension bush, it goes without saying that they will all need to be replaced sooner or later!!
Last edited by E63007; Mar 21, 2021 at 03:38 PM.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 176
Likes: 11
'10 C63 P30
The 1st one was the initial start-up rattle that if the plate wasn't too worn, I think the pin flip may have remedied.
The 2nd involved a random and very drastic tap/shake that would change each time I started the car (came on after pushing the car very hard with a new exhaust set-up and tune).
This adjuster was just plain worn and replacing it was extremely difficult, because it would not return to 'alignment' when using the removal tool.
I flipped the pins on the intakes as a matter of service and based on all I can gather - probably decent maintenance around 50K or so or worth doing if you need to replace the cover gaskets.
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