V8 engines, pre-1991

[freelance]

Hi

I'm writing an 'Icon Engine' feature for Classic Car Weekly on the M116/117 Mercedes V8s.

Would anyone like to impart their opinion on what made these engines special, their relevance to the long-term success of the S-Class, and any good or weak points about them? In fact anything relevant to the subject could be useful.

You can either reply here or e-mail me direct at [email protected]

Regards

Russ Smith

 

[Shude]

Moved to the engine section.

 

[graeme73s]

I have owned both the w116 series 450 sel 6.9 and the 109 series 300 sel 6.3, what makes them fun is not just the power but the effortless torque. there nothing quite like blowing the doors off some gti in what looks like an old merc barge.

 

[GRAV888]

These engines were built to last, not thrown together

 

[grober]

timing chains

Have heard that timing chains are a known weak spot and require regular replacement to avoid major valve/timing damage.

 

[Dieselman]

Spot on grober. The chain goes through the cam cover if they wear too much.

 

[Vlad]

Ok, here are my thoughts on the M117 V8's......designed and built from a time when engineering integrity was paramount to Mercedes. Typical of many older MB engines they were not the sexiest engines about and were pretty low tech, but they were built for longevity and were built to be capable of running at high autobahn speeds day in, day out. The engines bottom end is hugely strong, having originally been designed as a diesel engine.

You will hardly ever come across one with a worn block even after having covered a huge mileage....the nicasil liners in the block hardly ever show any wear and the same is the case for the crankshaft.

When used by the Sauber Le Mans team in the mid 80's the engines were putting out @ 700bhp all with a stock block......OK, from the block up they were using AMG Quad Cam heads, but none the less these engines were chosen due to their strength.

Personally my favourite V8 is the later M119 V8 which replaced the M117....what an engine. Using bang upto date electronics for the time, with coil packs etc etc, this was one great engine and was at its best in the W124 500E. Again great build quality and built to last....that word again. Back in 1992/3 when it first saw use in the W124 500E it was putting out 325bhp which was still an impressive figure a decade later and its only recently the MB's current range of V8's has seen power being increased over the older M119 engine