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Shoutout to a fellow mechanic who changed my mind about specialty tools
I was at a shop in Omaha last month and got into a talk with an older guy named Frank. He works on older European cars mostly and I always figured buying those specialized tools for every little job was just a waste of money. He told me about a time he spent 4 hours trying to get a crankshaft seal out on a late 90s Mercedes with regular pry bars, only to buy a $60 tool that did the job in 10 minutes. He said the tool paid for itself in saved labor on that one car alone. That really hit me because I've been in that same spot more times than I count. I realized I've been losing money by being stubborn and trying to make due with what I have. Has anyone else had a similar moment where spending a little more upfront saved you time and headache?
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emma_wells834mo ago
You sure that was a late 90s Mercedes? I feel like the crank seal job on those is more of a mid 2000s thing. Not trying to be that guy, just what I remember.
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lucast814mo ago
@emma_wells83 isn't that the same seal across most of those M104 engines though?
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ruby6594mo ago
Saw a forum post not long ago where a guy claimed the M104 crank seal design changed twice in the late 90s, once around 1997 and again in 1999. His exact words were that the later seals had a different lip profile to handle the higher revs those engines could hit. Could be total rubbish, but Emma might be onto something if her experience is with the earlier seals. A buddy of mine swears his 1998 E320 had a totally different seal than his neighbor's 2000 model. Your mileage may vary but I'd double check the exact year before ordering parts.
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