2. It is very important to find a suitable place for work. It is necessary to allocate a work space that would provide free access to the car. If the garage area is not enough for this, you can limit yourself to, at a minimum, any free clean area with a flat surface.
3. Clean the engine bay, motor and gearbox before you begin disassembling them - this will improve visibility of the work area and help keep the tool clean.
4. You will need a lift that can handle more than the combined weight of the engine and transmission. Safety is of the utmost importance given the potential hazards involved in lifting the unit from the vehicle.
5. If you are removing the engine for the first time, you will need an assistant. It would not be a bad idea to consult with someone who has already had such experience. There are some operations related to dismantling and extracting the engine from the car that are not safe to perform alone.
6. Plan your actions. Before you start work, get or borrow all the necessary tools and equipment. For complete safety and relative ease of work, you will need: a lift designed for the combined weight of the engine and transmission, a trolley with a jack of the same lifting capacity, a full set of wrenches, including socket heads, the list of which is given at the end of this book, wooden blocks and plenty of rags and solvents for washing away soaked oil, coolant and fuel. It is useful to have a set of plastic bags of different sizes for storing groups of parts together as they are removed. If you have to rent any tools or equipment, agree in advance that you will receive them at the right time, and before that perform all the operations that are possible without using them: this will save you time and money.
7. Consider in your plans that the car will not be used for some time, especially if you are planning a major engine overhaul. Read this entire section and plan the work taking into account your experience, time, tools and available space. Some repairs can only be performed at Mercedes service stations; they usually have a tight work schedule, so before you start disassembling the car, it is useful to consult with them in advance about the possible time frame for completing the work.
8. Always use extreme caution when removing the power unit from the engine compartment. Careless actions can result in serious injury. Proper planning and reasonable time investment will allow you to complete the job successfully and without incident.
9. On all models, the engine and gearbox are removed as one unit by lifting it upwards from the engine compartment.
(Original article is on the portal: www.mercedesman.ru)