mercedes benz diesels

[Dieselnut59]

The guy I got the car from (original owner) said it was sluggish and he did not think the turbo was working. I took the "trap oxidizer" off to clean it out and found the linkage had come off the wastegate! The "trap oxidizer" was VERY clogged with soot! It weighed about a third of what it did when I "cleaned" it out and reinstalled it. What a major PITA job to do!

You mentioned in the previous PM you sent me that the engine is not computer controlled... There appears to be an ECM amd PCM behind the battery? Mine is "drive by wire" with no cable between the pedal and injection pump. It also has a "mass air sensor" and some kind of air control device below the air cleaner. The pump is mechanical, similar to a P7100 on the Cummins, with some extra vacuum lines and electrical plugs. I removed the vacuum shutdown diaphragm and it is definitely bad. Will have to get a new one of those, as well as do the vacuum "fixes" you mentioned. Have you done any preventative or performance modifications to your Liberty? I routed the crank case vent out to beside the engine instead of into the turbo. It was an oily mess in the turbo, hoses and intercooler! I am doing the same thing on the Benz. I would love to talk to you about your methanol/water cleaning system, as well as other discoveries on the 300D and CRD. PM me your number if you don't mind!

John

 

[MOates]

John, PM sent.



The two electronic modules behind the battery are for ABS, electronic idle speed control, and operating all that hardware you found under the air cleaner which operates the EGR and ARV valves (emission control).



As far as the throttle cable - look inboard of the washer fluid reservoir. You'll find a cable that has an adjustment nut and threaded nylon portion that's screwed into a bracket attached to the intake manifold, and the cable is attached to a linkage that's underneath the intake manifold. That's your throttle cable.



All that hardware under the air cleaner, including the 80's mechanical version of a mass air flow sensor, does nothing more than control the EGR and ARV valves. Basically, it's two transducers that send a variable vacuum signal to the EGR and ARV valves, controlled by one of the electronic modules behind the battery. Some people, once they disabled the EGR and ARV, plugged off the vacuum lines at the 5 way connector and just ripped this whole mess (not the MAF sensor) out of the car. I decided on the stealth approach with BB's in the vacuum lines - same effect, and if the state decided to get anal about diesel emissions inspections, I wouldn't have to explain where all that hardware had disappeared to.



I know what you mean about oil in the intake!!! Mine had so much oil leaking out of the rubber intake boot when I got it, I thought the turbo was leaking oil from what was running down the side of the engine! I must have poured a half quart of oil just out of the boot itself. The boost pressure hose to the wastegate diaphragm was full of oil and rotted in two. Intake manifold was full of oil and grunge almost 1/4" thick - took two days of soaking and scrubbing in diesel fuel to get all that crud out after I pulled it off the engine.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I'm kicking this thread up because I'm thinking about looking for a late '90s E300 TD. It sounds like these cars aren't much tougher for a shadetree mechanic than a Dodge Cummins. I have never seen one of these cars firsthand but engine bay pictures I've seen look pretty user friendly.

How expensive is general upkeep, any exotic oil or filters required? How expensive is it to go through the transmission, and can it handle power increases?

From what I read around the 'net you can get some power out of these with pump tweaks and Bozio injectors, also turbo upgrades, but I wouldn't be looking for a lot. . . mostly MPG improvements. Really found MOates posts helpful on this and the other thread.

How do these cars handle and ride, do they score well in the fun-to-drive category?

I am attracted to this car because it has a small diesel engine that is a 6 cylinder, not the typical 4 or 5 cylinders for this size of engine. You get great MPG in a nice midsize car, smoother operation, and that good ol' inline-six satisfaction

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Another comment, I see a lot of '96-'99 E300s are non-turbo, rated at 134hp. . . are turbo versions available during those model years? I would think the non-turbo MBs would be fairly weak.

 

[Gene Heck]

Vaughn,



I use my 99 E300 TD for a daily driver. 30 miles each way to work. I get about 30 mpg. As far as maintainence it's not bad at all. The fuel fiter is on top left front of the engine. The oil filter is a cartridge type on the top left rear of the engine. Like a TDI VW if you have seen one of those. The oil plug is on the left front side of the pan. The only drag is the fact that you have to raise the car to work on it. I guess I have been spoiled by years of having trucks that you can just slide under at will as far as that goes. There are 3 plastic shields that cover the engine and trans, no big deal getting off though.



I use Mann filters, Amsoil 5w40 Euro spec oil and Amsoil ATF in the trans. The trans doesn't have a dipstick. You have to carefully catch the oil and put the same amount back in. The trans pan and torque converter both have drain plugs up to mid 99, after then they quit putting the plug in the converter. All the common parts you will need aren't any trouble to find in online stores. Do a search for MB parts. I've replaced the glow plugs and the oil level sensor, Bosch and Hella parts. The most expensive repair was one of the electronic keys took a dump and that is a dealer only repair because it is computer coded to your car thru the VIN and the little hide a key has to be cut to your cars locks. This was 325 parts and labor for this key issue. I have the factory service manual on DVD and I think it would be easier learning to read hyroglyphics (sp) than trying to figure out how to use this thing.



The 96-97 were non turbos rated at 134 hp and the 98-99 were turbos rated at 175 hp. I would buy this same car again if I had to do it over. It rides good, handles good, engine has a nice "hum" at cruise. The electric seats are both fully adjustable and heated including the seat backs. Auto A/C works good and this thing heats up pretty fast for a diesel. But if you just want to start and leave it idle to warm up forget it, it doesn't like that. I just let mine run a half minute or so to get the oil up and go. Heat in a couple of miles.



Hope this helps



Gene

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Gene that is very helpful, thanks. How long have you had it, how many miles on the car?

No dipstick on the trans, that's pretty goofy. Well guess I'll just look for '98-'99s, probably not worth fooling with the nonTD version. A lot of the E300s are advertised for $12,000+ but Kelly BB says they're worth about $9000

 

[Dieselnut59]

Got mine going, serviced the transmission but did not know about the drain plug on the torque converter. Mine does have a trans stick and is a 6 cylinder turbo. I need to work a few little bugs out of it, pack the wheel bearings and replace a couple rubber suspension bushings on the rear (independent rear suspension) and flush the cooling system again. I put on 5 new tires, checked the brakes and lubricated everything (door hinges and latches, trunk and hood hinges and latches). The a/c has been converted to 134 refrigerant but it is low and not working. No air blows from the center two vents... Radio will not come on and the original owner said there is a anti theft code you must program in after changing the battery. Anyone know anything about this?

 

[Gene Heck]

Vaughn,



I bought this car just a year ago after looking forever for another VW TDI. I had a 2000 Jetta that I sold just before the price of fuel started going up. It got 40 mpg I couldn't find a VW so I broadened my search to diesel, autos. My wife has this stick shift thing she can't get past. I found out that MB's weren't really any more money than a VW. You can't get a Jetta or Passat with the dual heated, power seats etc. Plus the biggest thing is a VW has a belt drive for the cam and injection pump that has to be maintained religiously or else. The or else if you lose the belt isn't pretty. The MB engines use a double row timing chain that is maintenance free. The 99 MB I have had 51000 on it when I got it (1 owner garage kept) and it now has 66500. One glow plug went at 53000 so I changed them all. They are under the intake which has to come off to do this job. One note is that the 98-99's have egr and I'm not positive about this but I don't think that the 96-97 non-turbos have egr. Further checking required. You can buy a dipstick for the trans that is just temporary for service work and when your done you replace the seal cap. Go figure.



Dieselnut,



No good news for you about the radio code.



You will have to contact a MB dealer with your VIN to get the 5 digit code to unlock your radio. I will predict that you will have to pull your wallet out a little bit for this info. I hope you don't. It is easy to unlock when you have the number. Write the number in the radio section of the owners manual for future reference. All the modern factory theft proof radios work this way.



Gene

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I have a buddy who is a service writer at an independent shop trying to talk me out of my MB idea, LOL. Says they have some quirky idiosyncrasies that make them difficult or expensive to repair, parts aren't cheap, door panels are real difficult to get apart and take exotic MB-specific door clips to reinstall, some interior parts are installed in such a way that if they fall off there really isn't a way to reattach it (ie the seat position control panel mounted in the door).

I've searched around for E300s on Craigslist and eBay but seems most of them are south and east US, quite a ways from the NW. I've seen some nice clean ones with a few miles (150k or more) that still look great and well maintained eBay Motors: Mercedes-Benz : E-Class (item 320332806417 end time Jan-25-09 17:00:07 PST)

 

[SMolteberg]

After 15 years as a Mercedes owner I have owned three different types. First was a 1985 230TE (wagon) gas That I had for three years. Then I traded it for a 91 300TD Turbo. I owned it for 11 years and my father have it today. It have been the best car I ever owned, and it will take a remarkable vehicle to overcome it. My last one was a 94 250D that I traded with my father. When I sold it it had 500 000 miles on the clock. So who Mercedes to choose? Well, if you ask me the 94 300 TurboDiesels are the abolute latest and the best car Mercedes ever built. It's the last year of the 124 series and the first year of the 24v 6cyl diesel. From 95 and the new series they have a lot of quality problems, some started even i 94 when they changed paint systems over to water based paint, but from 95 it just took off



If you consider a 124 series (86-94) I would recomend one after 1990, then they upgraded the interior and colormatched the bumpers together with the new panels on the doors. They are all extremly well built and all those rumors of expensive parts hard to work on is just BS in my eyes. You just have to do some shopping around, but I think one can blame certain shops that want to rip of their customers. Here in Norway the dealers compete very well with the parts houses that sell after market parts.

Someone mentioned doorpanels are hard to remove. Well it takes some more skills than just rip the panel off the door, but if you remove the screw that hold the arm rest and pull off the plastic around the door opener you can just push the whole panel up and then it's off. This is how most of the things works on the Mercedes 123-124, everything is very well engineered you just have to find the one hidden screw and then push or pull in the right direction. Up today I have never broken or rounded off a stuck bolt anywhere, and I live in a heavy salted area. I also spent more money on my Ram the first year than I spent on my 11 years with my 300TD Turbo.



If something is not possible to reatatch, then some smartass have ripped it off without any idea how to take things apart the proper way. Everything goes back without any need for new fasteners and it stays there without any noise.

 

[Diesel Gopher]

Hey Vaughn,



Did you ever end up finding a 98-99 E-300???



I just picked this up last wednesday... . Oo.



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Then last night coming home from a bbq, bambi decided to ruin my new fun for a while.....



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This is what insurance is for right? I am hauling it into the body shop on Tues. Car has 88k miles on it, the interior is spotless, the outside is almost spotless (pre-deer). All in all, a very nice car for 11 years old. Only had half a tank burned off, but I expect 30 mpg+. It also rides a touch nicer than the 1-ton





Matt

 

[Diesel Gopher]

$7k in damage, stupid forest rodents. Thank goodness for insurance. Should have the car back in 2-3 weeks.



Matt

 

[The patriot]

I had a 190D a while back. 4 cyl 5 speed stick.

Not overly peppy, but @ 75+ MPH I was getting over 40MPG;s.

 

[Flying_gage]

They are cool cars! Rode in one in Damascus, Syria with more than 500,000 miles and looked like it had been in 5 major wars! Still ran great!

I had a 1978 240D for a couple months with a 4spd manual. Miles unknown but definitely a lot! If you ever have the chance to look at the shifter/linkage on one of these older manual cars, do it. It is overengineered by a factor of 10. Cool as hell though!

 

[rscurtis]

The whole car is over engineered-that's why there are so many still running. I have an '83 300D sedan, which was 31K in 1983- that's about 1K less than I paid for my 2500 20 years later. The lower ball joints are almost the same size- that should tell you something too.

 

[The patriot]

My Dad actually saw a large 4dr MB sedan flip on rt 380 in Pa.

It landed on it's side after several revolutions in the median.

A few people stopped.

Everyone got together and righted it. It started and drove off with no major visable damage. Oo.

 

[BElliott]

I had a 92 300d with the 2. 5, I consistently got right around 30 mpg, never lower that 28 and not higher that 32. I did alot of interstate driving at 80 mph.



It was a great car and with aprox 250k miles on it, still ran great, unfortunately the low sulfur diesel destroyed seals and required a significant repair investment and then it started nickel and dime-ing me to death with non-drive train repairs and I traded it in on a new car. My mistake.



Hope you enjoy your car.



Bret