[W126 Coupe] "Whirring" noise in the engine

[Olsson_Chris]

You may be tearing up your car and missing the problem, Does the
whirring noise go away after it warms up? If so, then most likely is
your Smog pump, fairly common in older Mercedes. Mine is an 84' 500 sec.
Does not harm the car necessarily, but sounds awful, for the first 60-90
seconds. Mine has been this way for 2 years, as it costs a good amount
of $$$ to replace. I had a mechanic check mine out, and he told me as
long as the bearings were OK, which was the case with mine, that it was
fine to continue the way it was. I plan to fix, but have had it like
this for some time

 

From: Michael Ramay [mailto:mike.ramay at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 6:00 AM
To: Mbcoupes
Subject: [W126 Coupe] "Whirring" noise in the engine

 

My '87 560SEL makes a "whirring" noise when it's first started. Sounds
almost like a bad bearing in the alternator and loud enough that my wife
is commenting on it but in a mile or so it goes away. 

- I removed all the V-belts on the front of the motor, still have the
noise.
- Since it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side of the engine
up high, I removed that valve cover then ran the engine - it was louder.
- Put in a new timing chain and new guides. !@#$%^&* - still have the
noise but the car has noticeably more power.

It REALLY needed the guides since one was broken in two and a 3" long
piece is missing plus another had the hole for the retention pin
wallowed out.  I looked very carefully down the chain pathway during the
installations but no sign of the piece.

Will removal of the oil pan allow me to see much of the lower timing
chain guide area? If the missing chain guide is jammed in there and
rubbing on the rotating bits, why would the noise diminish in a minute
or so of operation?

Suggestions?? 

Thanks,
Mike

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