Cambz

As most of this car repair has gone, I fix one thing and something else gets broken in the process.

I removed the 2 & 3 o'clock bell housing bolts as part of my attempt to replace the engine oil dipstick guide tube. The 2 ​​​​​​o'clock bolt went back in ok but after 2 hours I gave up on getting the 3 o'clock bolt back in. Figured it's just a bell housing bolt F it, I'll figure it out later as I have a bunch of other stuff to get done to get it back together and running.

Wrap up all the other stuff, start the car, hear a loud wine I thought was the belt but no dealer gave me the wrong o-ring for the trans cooler feed line connection and about a quart of ATF sprayed all over the front of the freshly cleaned motor (I hate this F in car!). Get most of the mess cleaned up, swap in the old o-ring and fire it up a second time. This time I hear a faint metal rattle on start and some faint clanging and i see smoke from motor so I shut it down after about a minute. Remove serp belt and clean all pullys reinstall serp belt.

​​​I tried to start 3rd time but this time I heard metal hit and the starter stop turning over basically sounds like it locked up. I try it one more time (4th try) and I hear the starter spin but no engagement, just spinning.

SO....after looking at the starter WIS, I think the 3 o'clock bolt is the upper starter mount bolt and some how the starter got moved by the flywheel when I pushing the car in & out of the garage in neutral so I could not get the 3 o'clock clock bolt started as the receiver hole in the starter had moved. I did note that if I pushed in the bottom of the hole with the bolt it would flex/move and vibrate the flywheel which I had my finger on, I thought this was odd.
https://mbwis.net/en/doc/7039158

Can someone confirm;
1) The 3 o'clock bolt is the upper starter mount bolt?
2) the starter can rotate in the block housing with the bottom bolt (3:30 o'clock) tight to spec ( this seems weird to me looking at how it mounts in the block housing)?
( Not pics of mine but this is the back of the block)



Now diagnosis, based on the series of events & sounds I'm thinking I either:
1) Jambed the Bendix on the 3rd start where it locked up and quit turning and broke the Bendix on start attempt #4 where it just spun?
OR
2) I some how rotated the starter further over and the Bendix no longer engages the flywheel. (Is this even possible? I'm only thinking this might have happened because it seems the starter rotated without trying to start the motor, and that is why I couldn't get the 3 o'clock clock bolt back in?

I really don't want to pull the starter if I can just fix by loosening the bottom bolt and re-aligning it and putting the upper bolt in, as replacing the starter is a PITA, $$$, and another week in the garage waiting for parts.

What a F-ing PITA, I'm quickly loosing my fondness for MB!

Thanks

Cambz

Ok so I figured this out.

I actually pulled the bell housing bolts located at 2:30 & 3:30, the ones above & below the starter nose in the picture above, which moved the starter. When I put the upper bolt in, it tightened but never torqued down. In reality the bolt was never in the starter and this probably saved me from damaging the starter and/or the flywheel. What actually happened was the starter was loose in the housing and when I started it the grinding was the starter nose cone was gringding on the flywheel a little. On start attempt #3 when it locked up, it kicked the starter out of the housing enough that on attempt #4 the Bendix was spinning free because there starter was out of the housing and this is what saved my a$$ from having to buy a new starter or replacing the flywheel.

I ended up removing the starter, inspecting it for damage, testing it, greasing it and re-installing it.

If you follow the MB WIS linked above there are a few short cuts that makes the starter removal/install much easier than it specifies.

1) The whole exhaust does not need to be removed. Disconnect both O2 sensors, the black & white ones. Then just drop the front clamp at the bottom of the header, it's 13mm with an extension. Then remove the center mounts next to the transmission, again 13mm nuts. Then remove the rear clamp on the passanger side just before the dual muffler (you can see these clamps just behind #35 in the picture below), It's a 13mm bolt, 12mm nut. Then twist the exhaust pipe back & forth until the front cat drops down and lodges against the axle shield. It'll sit there without dropping all the way down so now you can move the cat around to get at what you need to.



2) you can put your hand between the black cross member and the motor mount, just behind the motor mount. This gives you direct access to the front of the starter to get the two nuts off securing the battery cable & the ignition signal wire. The small one, is the ignition signal wire and is a 10mm. The large one is the positive battery cable and it's a 13mm. The large nut has a black cap you'll need to pry off first. I used a box wrench to break them loose then ran them off with my fingers. When removing the large cable, it has a plastic overhang that acts as a catch, you'll need to get the cable mount past. Take off the cables prior to pulling the starter, as it won't come out with it attached.

Loosen the starter mount bolts on the bell housing, the lower bolt has the O2 sensor cable mount and the upper starter Bolt has the battery cable with the copper looking bracket. Once bolts are out, drop starter down to get the nose cone out of the block housing mount. Drop the nose cone and pull it out above the lowered cat.

Here's a great video on how to do all this on a 2005 E320 non 4 matic:

Here's pelican parts Starter removal & replace DIY on a 4 matic
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...eplacement.htm



And here's how to test your starter once it's out of the car:


Good luck, I could have used this when I started so hopefully it helps someone else.