Under Powered
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Australia
300E
Under Powered
Well lately I have noticed my 300E isn't performing like it should. Overtaking seems to be more of an effort, I lost racing my friends XR6 Ford Falcon off the lights (which I should beat according to stock acceleration times) and the other night the car maxed out at 180Km/h on a flat when it should be reaching 220-230Km/h!
So it seems I losing some very serious HP somewhere and the only thing I can think of is a few months ago I had a new distributer put in, though afterwards it has never idled properly (it seems to hunt) and I can smell petrol fumes in the exhaust.
Could it be possible they got the spark plug leads mixed up and 1 or 2 of the cylinders aren’t firing?
So it seems I losing some very serious HP somewhere and the only thing I can think of is a few months ago I had a new distributer put in, though afterwards it has never idled properly (it seems to hunt) and I can smell petrol fumes in the exhaust.
Could it be possible they got the spark plug leads mixed up and 1 or 2 of the cylinders aren’t firing?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,433
Likes: 5
From: SFV CA
2008 Black Out C350 Saks Edition / 87 VW GTI
Well lately I have noticed my 300E isn't performing like it should. Overtaking seems to be more of an effort, I lost racing my friends XR6 Ford Falcon off the lights (which I should beat according to stock acceleration times) and the other night the car maxed out at 180Km/h on a flat when it should be reaching 220-230Km/h!
So it seems I losing some very serious HP somewhere and the only thing I can think of is a few months ago I had a new distributer put in, though afterwards it has never idled properly (it seems to hunt) and I can smell petrol fumes in the exhaust.
Could it be possible they got the spark plug leads mixed up and 1 or 2 of the cylinders aren’t firing?
So it seems I losing some very serious HP somewhere and the only thing I can think of is a few months ago I had a new distributer put in, though afterwards it has never idled properly (it seems to hunt) and I can smell petrol fumes in the exhaust.
Could it be possible they got the spark plug leads mixed up and 1 or 2 of the cylinders aren’t firing?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,042
Likes: 1
From: Bellevue, NE
1995 E320 SE, 162,000 Miles (Sold) 2007 CLK350 Cabriolet 2014 ML550
Did you replace the wires also? Do you mean fuel distributor or ignition? Definitely check the firing order and check for arching wires.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Australia
300E
Sorry I meant the ignition distributor.
I pulled apart the rotor and checked all the leads the other night, all cylinders are firing in the correct order and the wires work properly without any arching.
I did notice 5 of my Bosch spark plugs were 682’s and 1 was a 591 type would this make a difference?
When I pulled apart the distributer I didn’t notice any variable timing mechanism inside?? Did you mean the valve timing? I have heard a ticking noise that sounds like its coming from under the rocker cover. If the valves weren’t lifting properly could that be a possible cause? Also my exhaust tone sounds normal.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,042
Likes: 1
From: Bellevue, NE
1995 E320 SE, 162,000 Miles (Sold) 2007 CLK350 Cabriolet 2014 ML550
Sorry I meant the ignition distributor.
I pulled apart the rotor and checked all the leads the other night, all cylinders are firing in the correct order and the wires work properly without any arching.
I did notice 5 of my Bosch spark plugs were 682’s and 1 was a 591 type would this make a difference?
When I pulled apart the distributer I didn’t notice any variable timing mechanism inside?? Did you mean the valve timing? I have heard a ticking noise that sounds like its coming from under the rocker cover. If the valves weren’t lifting properly could that be a possible cause? Also my exhaust tone sounds normal.
I pulled apart the rotor and checked all the leads the other night, all cylinders are firing in the correct order and the wires work properly without any arching.
I did notice 5 of my Bosch spark plugs were 682’s and 1 was a 591 type would this make a difference?
When I pulled apart the distributer I didn’t notice any variable timing mechanism inside?? Did you mean the valve timing? I have heard a ticking noise that sounds like its coming from under the rocker cover. If the valves weren’t lifting properly could that be a possible cause? Also my exhaust tone sounds normal.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Australia
300E
He meant ignition timing. The M103 engine does not have variable valve timing. It is controlled by the EZL unit and uses a trim resistor to compensate for the type of fuel used. As far as checking it, as long as the EZL unit is functioning the timing should be OK, unless the distributor was installed in such a way as to be out of position. I'm not sure if that's possible.
