1996 Mercedes diesel

[FD5]

Looking at buying a 1996 E300D non turbo diesel Benz. Anyone know of any problems with this 6 cylinder diesel? Mileage is 208K which is close to my 252K on my Cummins with no problems. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[HDH]

As long as its been Maintained, I dont see a problem with it.

They are Durable Engines, And cars for that matter.

doug.

 

[Motorhead]

MBZ diesels

FD5, I have worked on alot of MBZ' I do a crankcase blow-by check which helps to tell how good the rings are. The older ('77to'81) non-turbo 4 & 5 cyls wore out the compression rings alot sooner than the 5 cyl turbos. Don't know if that is the case with the '96 but try this. At hot idle,(I would drive it for a good 3 to 5 miles), carefully remove the oil cap and see how much blow-by there is. There should be some but it should not look like a steam locomotive coming out of the oil filler. Old worn out 300's with 150K + miles would push the cap away from the valve cover when opened. Is this a grey market car with no turbo? Also try the trans out when stone cold to see if it has a long delay going into gear. The newer trannys weren't quite as good as the early ones. (77to 81) Hope this helps Chris