OM61x owners envy

[Casey]

Well after bashing up the door on my 450SE, I received the following in the mail, which put a smile back on my face.  I'd previously bought a set of custom-made valve wrenches from MercedesSource which weren't bad by any means but didn't include the third tool and when somebody offered to buy them along with my AutoCrap parts store feeler gauges, I sold them looking forward to purchasing these.  Also not pictured is a set of true metric feeler gauges that I bought separately.  Minor difference, but I'd rather 0.1mm (or whatever) actually be 0.1mm, not 0.105mm or whatever the fraction of an inch comes out to that's close in a typical set that you can find in America.  Didn't spring for the Mercedes genuine feeler gauges, because they're rather costly and you have to buy every gauge separately from a holder piece.

[JasonP]

I have yet to do my valve adjustment, but found the MercedesSource wrenches a little too tight on my practice engine. It was very difficult to get them on - they were so exact, you had to line them up perfectly. Also, the edges were roughly ground, so they grated against the metal of the nuts. I didn't like that. I am sure that is releasing microscopic shards of metal into the oil.

Anyway, I don't have the third tool, and it looks like yours is lacking some kind of attachment that seats it so it won't move.

I'd like to hear your comparison as soon as you have used both.

[Casey]

I have yet to do my valve adjustment, but found the MercedesSource wrenches a little too tight on my practice engine. It was very difficult to get them on - they were so exact, you had to line them up perfectly. Also, the edges were roughly ground, so they grated against the metal of the nuts. I didn't like that. I am sure that is releasing microscopic shards of metal into the oil.

Anyway, I don't have the third tool, and it looks like yours is lacking some kind of attachment that seats it so it won't move.

I'd like to hear your comparison as soon as you have used both.

If you turn the third tool over, that's the part that holds the part from moving. There is no attachment and nothing missing. I've never had any issue with the valves moving anyways but it's nice to have the complete set. I didn't have any issue with the MS set but yes the grind on them is a bit rough...you could smooth them out but one reason I wanted this set is because the ends are the right thickness without needing to be ground down.

[s class]

Looks cool, but excuse my ignorance - I normally only work on petrol/gasoline engines, however, I do see some OM617's for service work, and I've never had trouble setting the valve clearances with ordinary tools?

[Casey]

Looks cool, but excuse my ignorance - I normally only work on petrol/gasoline engines, however, I do see some OM617's for service work, and I've never had trouble setting the valve clearances with ordinary tools?

You need the bent wrenches to get clearance and access the valves.  The ends also need to be fairly thin compared to normal spanners.  MercedesSource sells a set (sans the third holder piece which usually isn't needed as they aren't that prone to moving) which is basically sawed off spanner end that's been bent and has a bit of metal tube welded onto the end as a handle, and some grinding done on the remaining spanner end to get it thin enough to do the job.  Decent tools but overpriced for what they are in my opinion - I got them for free in the trunk when I bought my 300CD, but then sold them for a bit less than the MercedesSource price.  I didn't actually have to spend much more to get the Hazet tools on eBay.

[Casey]

Check out http://mercedessource.com/node/715

Here's a snippet documenting the differences:

"COMPARISON: Other than the handles, there are two main differences between my wrenches and the German Hazet set. The Hazet wrenches are thin but the heads are also very wide, which can makes it difficult to get the heads on the rear two valve nut sets for adjustment. Their heads are also straight with no offset so your options for alignment in tight places are limited. What I've done with my wrenches is to offset one wrench head to the right and offset the other wrench head to the left. This will allow you to use either wrench on the top or bottom nut to get them into really tight spaces. The wrenches are extremely well balanced in your hands and the comfort I have designed into them greatly reduces fatigue.

SPECIAL NOTE: Some have asked about the third wrench which is recommended for working on difficult valves. The purpose of the third wrench is to hold the hex cap of the valve spring from rotating while you are adjusting the two nuts for valve clearance. From my experience I have found that this third wrench can be rather cumbersome to use and is not really needed in most applications. Sometimes you'll have a stubborn valve that will want to spin while you are trying to turn the nuts. When this happens, you will need a way to keep the valve spring cap from rotating. I found another way to do this without the third wrench and it is simple to use. My holding method doesn't require a special tool and it is explained completely in the instructions which are included with these wrenches."

I'm not really a fan of the whole "you have to buy the kit to see the instructions" nonsense, but IIRC the method is something like "wedge a screwdriver in there".

Mine were also the older versions with red-painted metal handles rather than the black rubberized coating, but I prefer my tools to just be metal anyways - easier to clean.  I haven't yet tried using the Hazet set but I will say that Kent's set was very comfortable to use and the offset spanner ends may have been helpful - not really sure.  I bought the Hazet set because I got a good offer on the MercedesSource set when somebody was at my garage trading parts anyways, and thought I'd spring for the "looks cool" factor. 

I also like that I can hang this set on a nail on the wall, which wasn't an option with the other set.

[Casey]

Also, the edges were roughly ground, so they grated against the metal of the nuts. I didn't like that.

I understand - I don't like rough metal edges grating against my nuts, either.  It's painful just to think about, like nails on a chalkboard.

[ziper1221]

Looks cool, but excuse my ignorance - I normally only work on petrol/gasoline engines, however, I do see some OM617's for service work, and I've never had trouble setting the valve clearances with ordinary tools?

You need the bent wrenches to get clearance and access the valves.  The ends also need to be fairly thin compared to normal spanners.  MercedesSource sells a set (sans the third holder piece which usually isn't needed as they aren't that prone to moving) which is basically sawed off spanner end that's been bent and has a bit of metal tube welded onto the end as a handle, and some grinding done on the remaining spanner end to get it thin enough to do the job.  Decent tools but overpriced for what they are in my opinion - I got them for free in the trunk when I bought my 300CD, but then sold them for a bit less than the MercedesSource price.  I didn't actually have to spend much more to get the Hazet tools on eBay.

Ive managed it with just a set of crows feet and a fair bit of cussing.