Top End Rebuild - Day 4

Finally the intake manifold comes off! Removing the small hose going to the water pump seems to have helped. I used a broken wooden spade handle and pried the intake manifold loose. On an original setup, you have to remove the top half of the manifold first. This is because of the way the EGR pipe is clamped down.

The EGR pipe is clamped in 3 places. Once on the driver's side exhaust shield, once behind the cylinder head and one more time on the plenum. You cannot remove the clamp behind the cylinder head without removing the head from the car. Thus you have to separate the intake manifold into two pieces and remove the clamp on the plenum and wiggle the plenum out - leaving the EGR pipe clamped to the head. If it wasn't for this one clamp, you could remove the intake manifold with the plenum as one assembly all together. When it comes down to reassembly I think I'm going to omit the clamp behind the cylinder head. EDIT: You can remove the clamp. Its just very difficult.









The intake manifold gasket was pretty much shot. It was brittle and torn. I even found engine oil in the plenum so that gasket was really done. The coolant passages? along the cylinder head had carbon deposits baked in. Check out the pictures.

No one would ever believe that these timing chain guide rails were originally white in colour. Mine were reddish brown. Long past their life span. The chain didn't look too bad, but it'll be changed as well with the tensioner. Not taking any chances here.
Mercedes makes some amazing cars, but they also do some amazingly stupid things. How are you supposed to work on the passenger's side cylinder head - removing the exhaust manifold and what have you, with the battery shield protruding so much into the engine bay. I always thought that British cars were designed by the devil. Now I see that Germans cars are just as bad.