1984 Mercedes 300D opinions?

[Steve St.Laurent]

I'm looking at an 84 Mercedes 300D for my wife with a 3. 0L 5 cyl diesel (not sure if it's a turbo diesel or not) and an auto. It has 235,000 miles on it and everything works on it. They are asking $2,400 for it, the transmission was replaced with a rebuilt last year. We're looking for cheap, safe transportation for her to replace her '95 Jeep Wrangler. I'd like to hear your opinions on parts costs, durability, etc. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dkevdog]

I'm not a super mechanical person, But will share what I know. My mother had an 81' 240D. It was the non turbo and from day one slower than SH**. She sold it about three years ago. It had 267,000 miles on it. I remember repairs being somewhat expensive, and they seemed to go in cycles. It would run fine for a few years, then shed have it in the shop every other week for a couple months, spend the money to fix it (usually $$$) and then be on her way for a few more years. All in all though, I'd say it was a pretty reliable car and was built like a tank.



Kev

 

[BLACKRAM]

Steve, I had a 1982 300D. It was a good car, but needed constant repairs on very minor items. Email me if you want my new phone number to discuss it.

 

[BCFAST]

Two Words:

Money Pit. The A/C system is american and is ALWAYS broken. The power window actuators are vacuum driven and are a constant source of frustration. The motors are fine... and the turbo engines like the 84 youre looking at can be made to run pretty good without much effort. Having owned a couple of these cars over the years I would advise you to spend your money... . more wisely.

 

[bvanetten]

BCFAST is right about the ACC system in the 81-85 300d's. It's chrysler. If you have a dealer work on it or buy parts through a dealer you will get bent over. Do it yourself or find a good independent. Vacuum issues are simple to diagnose and rather inexpensive to repair. A good test when shopping is to cycle the door locks with the drivers key hole. If the vacuum system is in good working order you should get 5 complete cycles before the other door knobs start to slow down. By the 7th it's out of vacuum. The auto trannys a tough as nails. $400 will get you a complete brake job (this includes new front and rear rotors). These are 20 year old cars ya know. Things do wear out. On a positive note, at 20 years or about 200k miles the stuff that is wearing out is most likely original. So, if the systems that are wearing out are repaired correctly you should expect to get at least another 15 years out of that system. The poster child for a trouble free mercedes car would be a 68-76 240d or the early years of the 77-86 240d. It is possible if your patient to find a 240d with manual windows, door locks, ACC controls, Stick shift, etc. That car would last forever. And lets not forget crashworthyness. I've seen pictures of wrecked 300 and 240 series mercedes that you would swear someone died in only to find out that they walked away with a couple of scratches and a stiff neck. I for one can put up with the maintaince and repairs any car of this age will need for that kind of piece of mind.



Do your homework,

Good luck,

The right car is out their you just have to find it,



Bruce

 

[Animal]

Re: Two Words:

Originally posted by BCFAST

The motors are fine... and the turbo engines like the 84 youre looking at can be made to run pretty good without much effort.

BCFAST,



Are you saying that the engine can be turned up with little effort, or are you saying the stock engine runs fine? The reason I'm asking is I have a 0 hour 3. 0L 5 cylinder Mercedes turbo diesel that was used in the SUSV's, I'd like to put it in a Toyota 4X4 and turn it up if possible. Any advice will be appreciated.



Thanks

 

[bvanetten]

Poke around on -- email address removed --. From what I have gathered on that list turning up the 3. 0l 5 cyl. isn't recommended.

 

[BCFAST]

Animal, the easy thing to do is at the pump. On the top of the pump you will see a square-shaped metal canister about 3"x3" with a nipple on top. The top of the nipple has a black plastic cover that you need to remove... . use a small flat screwdriver to pry/tear it off. Under that black cover is a slotted screw with a 10mm jam nut. Loosen the jam nut and screw the set screw down all the way til it stops, then back it off 2 full revs. Congrats, you just turned up the fuel!

 

[Barry]

I just bought an '83 300 CD Coupe from the original owner with 118K on it and all the records. Was not the color I wanted but it will do. I think the 83 was the last year for the big turbo and not having all the polution stuff. The one I bought is coming out of San Diego where it has been all it's life. Have to do a little repair to the left quarter panel and tail light. Soon as I get it fixed, I am parking my CTD unless I need it. 80K on a 2001 is too much... . Now if I can figure out how to put a Reese hitch on the MBZ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

 

[Animal]

Thanks

Thanks BCFAST and bvanetten for the info.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

bvanetten - I tried -- email address removed --, www.mbz.org, and mbz.org - none of them would come up with anything.



-Steve

 

[bvanetten]

Steve,



They must be down. I subscribe to the list and have been getting messages from it today. Below are some more links.





To unsubscribe: see http://lists.mbz.org/diesel/

Archives are at http://lists.mbz.org/diesel/archives/

MBZ. ORG official parts vendor: http://rusty.mbz.org

eBay specials: http://ebay.mbz.org

 

[Cooker]

Why not cosider one of the new VW diesels? I have a few friends with these and they are very happy with them. Although the price sure is a little more. That's probably why you are looking at them. Duh Sorry.

 

[bill threlkel]

For merced check www.mercedesshop.com

I have two 300sd and love them. check out the site a lot of help over there geat bunch of guys. The site is same formate as this site and easy to find out information.

Bill

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Thanks Bill, that's exactly what I was looking for. Just posted over there - we'll see, maybe we'll be a two diesel family soon!

 

[LSMITH]

BCFast has the fuel adjustment nailed, it is easy, safe and helps a ton. The euro spec cars (the engines are mechanically identical) make 12-13. 5 PSI of boost, the american import model is pulled back to about 7 PSI and is equipped with an EGR. If a guy was inclined to disable the EGR he would get a little better fuel economy ( like + 1. 5-2 MPG) and much better power. If you were inclined to adjust the wastegate to 12 PSI or so and then match the fuel to that it makes a HUGE difference. Properly tuned you should look for 27-32 MPG on the highway, and they drive well. Valve adjustments are also critical, every 15K you need to adjust them.



Just so you know, the glow plugs are a maintenance item. Only buy genuine Bosch, and plan on replacing at least a couple every 50K miles or so. If you do not plug it in you should plan on it not starting at about 0*F and lower, if it sits for about 10 hours after being fully warmed at 0* and lower plan on it not starting. There are some that start colder, but generally 0* is the number. The engine in the car you are looking at with anything even close to reasonable care is good for 350K miles plus. The auto transmission is also a great unit, 200K miles is not uncommon at all. As was mentioned earlier the AC system is garbage, but overall they are good cars. Parts are readily available even for the late 70's models and are not too bad pricewise. As far as working on the car goes you will have a hard time finding a car that is as easy to work on.



Whatever you do DO NOT buy a Mercedes diesel with a 6 cyl!!! Junk is an understatement.



Leave the AC broken when it goes out and plan on some normal maintenance, the car will give you good service.

 

[bvanetten]

These links are working now.



To unsubscribe: see http://lists.mbz.org/diesel/

Archives are at http://lists.mbz.org/diesel/archives/

MBZ. ORG official parts vendor: http://rusty.mbz.org

eBay specials: http://ebay.mbz.org

 

[B. Gill]

well Steve i have one 300 sd and it basically is the same engine and the 84 300 D is a turbo diesel on my car it has 275000 miles and it have had AC broken and vaccume problems a few times with engine shut off system but nothing major and it still drives very good plenty of power and fuel economy and has been very reliable car and i love to drive it hope that helps

bob

 

[Animal]

Originally posted by LSMITH

BCFast has the fuel adjustment nailed, it is easy, safe and helps a ton. The euro spec cars (the engines are mechanically identical) make 12-13. 5 PSI of boost, the american import model is pulled back to about 7 PSI and is equipped with an EGR. If a guy was inclined to disable the EGR he would get a little better fuel economy ( like + 1. 5-2 MPG) and much better power. If you were inclined to adjust the wastegate to 12 PSI or so and then match the fuel to that it makes a HUGE difference. Properly tuned you should look for 27-32 MPG on the highway, and they drive well. Valve adjustments are also critical, every 15K you need to adjust them.

LSMITH,



The engine I have came out of a SUSV, there is dyno chart with it. It shows 121HP/141TQ with 20 lbs boost @ 4200 RPM, Is this much sronger than the 5 cylinder stock engine? Also it show 86HP/120TQ at 3500 RPM, but doesn't have boost ready.



Thanks

 

[LSMITH]

Animal, I have never heard of a factory Mecedes diesel running that kind of boost, I think the 3. 0 would survive fine at that level though. The HP you listed is about right for an american spec 3. 0 TD, but the TQ is low, the car engines stock make about 210 Ft/Lbs. What vintage is the engine you have? Are you sure the dyno report you have is not metric figures (KW and N-m)? I am not sure what engine you have so I am looking to learn from you.



The 3. 0 5 cyl TD in the cars is about 650 pounds fully outfitted, so I would think it rather heavy for a Toyota project. A VW TDI 1. 9L is about 460 pounds ready to go and would be a much easier fit for roughly the same power output.





Another thing to consider is the 3. 0 out of the cars with 0 hours should fetch $5-6K easily, and fund a project entirely with a TDI or B3. 9 transmission and all. Food for thought is all.