Mercedes turbo diesel reliability

[jaynes]

I was looking at a 1987 Mercedes 300D turbo diesel online and I wanted to know if anybody knew how reliable these things are with 150,000 miles on them. The car looks to be in excelent shape. I was just wondering how reliable they are and how much it would be worth paying for. Thanks for the imput guys!

 

[Texas Diesel]

I had a neighbor who had one and he had 849874 x 10 to the 18 power miles on it . He had only minor ( water pump = big $ ) and battery, and stupid minor ( but expensive ) stuff. The motor was made in Heaven according to him. He sold it with 300,000 + on the clock.

 

[jaynes]

849874 x 10 to the 18...hahaha

So thats good news then. I just talked to the guy who is selling it (a dealership out of Pennsilvania. . . and I live in Missouri!) and he said it drives really nice, gets good mileage, i believe he said around upper 20's, mid 30's. I think he said his reserve price is $6,000, but right now the bid is at 3,550 and there are only three days left. I need to figure out what I'm going to do, cause although there are 143k on it, he things there are more miles than the clock is showing, so. . . Yeah, thanks for that input, that makes me feel better. I don't want to sell my Beast, but there comes a time when a man has to sacrafice a little dignity for economy (does that make sense?). Thanks Texas, made me feel better.



jaynes

 

[B. Gill]

i have the bigger model 300sdl and engine is larger capacity compared to what 300d has (same configuration however) , mine is 1986 and has over 170000 miles on it with no problems so far , still does not burn no oil at all lots of power and the sound of the warmed up engine is just music, it will give you between 25 to 30 miles a gllon depending on how hard you drive. i bought it new and then found out that only 14000 of these cars were made so now i dont drive it as much as i used to. $ 6000 seems like a steal compared to what the cost of the new one was.

hope that it helps.

bob

 

[bvanetten]

B. Gill



The year Benz your looking at might have a 6 cyl. in it that had problems. 300d model years 1980 through 1985 had the 617a 5 cyl. in them and they are solid. I believe in 1986 and 87 the had a 6. Mercedes stopped production of that paticular series of motor in 87 and went to a different 6 cyl. in 88. From what I've heard it had lots of problems. An indication of how bad it was is the fact it was only built for two years. The 5 cyl. is tough a nails. Mine has 200k on it and still has 500 psi compression on each cyl. I've been told that 500k is not uncommon. "diesel@mbz.org" is an exellent resourse to tap into for more accurate info.



B. Gill,

No disrespect to your car. I'm glad you have had good luck with it and I am knocking on wood for ya as we speak. Need to keep the bad juju gods at bay ya know!





Bruce

 

[BCFAST]

MB reliability

The 5 cylinder is the better motor (my M. I. L. has an 85 300D turbo for sale cheap!) but in typical Mercedes style, the cars do have thier problems: AIR CONDITIONING!! Have had to do them several times over the years... about $1400 each time... . it's the only thing on the car that breaks, and the only American component on the car... go figure. (GM R4 compressor).

 

[David Oxland]

I've got one. It's a beautiful driving car. Very hot on the throttle. AC; lost the evaporator with a hole, expensive. Other monor stuff. I'm at 160,000 mi just now . running well . A very quiet engine. Cruise control is disappointing. It holds well on the highway but encountering a grade starts to overreact. Dealers have given upon this. Very comfortable car for long distance and good handler.



My cousins' 79 300 SDL turbo is just dying now. It's had lots of hard use, cold starts short runs etc. He's really grumbling about having to let it go.



Lastly, a Dealer in our town here has a 99 turbo diesel "E" model with 40,000 mi on it. Theyre asking the original selling price 60,000 Cdn or about 40,000 US. Can't understand it.

David

 

[jaynes]

M.I.L's car

BCFAST,



How much does your MIL want for it? How many miles? Any pictures? Just curious. And what engine problems did the 86-87 6 cyl. have with them? Seems like B. Gill has had good luck with his. What was wrong with them? Thanks guys, it sounds like those Mercedes run strong!



jaynes

 

[bvanetten]

BCFAST,



Your right on the money. The AC SUCKS. When it works it works well, even in Phoenix. The part that I have the most problems with is the "climate control system" sometimes it works some times it doesn't. GM compressor and Chrysler controls... oh my!



jaynes,

again, get on "diesel@mbz.org". Lots of very knowledgable people

 

[B. Gill]

thanks for the thought Bruce

i have one 300sd also with 5 cyl engine which still is going strong after 271000 miles, but the 300 sdl has a 6 cyl engine which i did not have any problems so far and i used to drive it as my commute car every day putting about 160 miles on it everyday until i realized that it is kinda rare so now i just take care of it mean drive it once in a while and wash and wax and park in garage with a car cover on it . i am not sure what kind problems did those motors had but they are quite responsive and pleasure to drive the reason they did not make them for so many years was that they could not meet emmission standards but i think in 92-94 they again came out with 350 sdl and that car had the same engine with larger cu. capacity. i agree with you that 5 cyl engine is a tough engine.

bob

 

[JoeyD]

On the Ford site a guy has an '82 I think, that has a broken timing chain. It's a 5 cly. I don't know if it's common or his was abused but letting you know.

 

[Uncle Joe]

as a former MB tech ican tell you the 617 motor made prior to 85

is the most reliable engine ever made,,,it not just an opinion!

i cant count how many i seen with milage over 350k. . never had the head off.

I have 2,80 sd with over 400k(went thru the motor in 95) & 84 sd 325k.

the diesels made after 86... . i whuldnt touch with a 10ft poll... just an opinion ,i know many folks with them & they love them

the sdl is much more powerfull then the older cars. much smoother. however repair cost & ease of maintnance is prohebitive

 

[Blakers]

We've had 15 Benz diesels over the years - oldest one 1962 190D and the newest 1981 300SD. I grew up with them. They're great cars, though have their problems too. Never had a 6 cylinder diesel Benz, but the 5 cylinders run like crazy.



The 4 cylinder non-turbos are dogs, but would run and run. I still have a 67 200D. I rebuilt the engine several years ago and would like to sell it. The car is rusted away.



The 81 300SD we now have runs good, but has a transmission slip. Seems that is a common problem. Any ideas out there on that?



Blake

 

[Uncle Joe]

transmission slip... let me guess from 3rd to 4th??

get used to it,it has no influance on life expectency

had an 81 300d that been doing that for 7 years now,about 90k

sold it to a friend of mine years ago... . his wife drives it daily

rebuilding the trans is$$$$

 

[Blakers]

get used to it,it has no influance on life expectency

Wow, thanks! The car's been sitting in the garage since 1989 because nobody wanted to tackle the transmission and they thought it would fail one day.



I guess we should just drive it.



The speedometer and cruise control both quit at the same time. Any ideas there?



Thanks again.



Blake

 

[willyslover]

my '84 5 cylinder runs great at 270k miles, no oil useage . . like BC FAST the air conditioner pump is the weak link. . 3 in one year gets pricey ... maintenance is very low just do it regulary and this car will live long. .

 

[sonorakitch]

My brother had a 1981 240D that he ran the heck out of it until about 275,000 miles, which he then had to sell because the cosmetics did not fit his new job as an attorney. The car also had its small problems, but the motor was in excellent shape despite the mechanical abuse. Oil changes every fourth full moon would tear apart any other engine I think (except maybe the ole' Cummins! ).



~Chris

 

[Uncle Joe]

Blakers,

oddly the transmission problem seem to be related to atf &filter changes(beats the hell out of me),i know of a some folks with the 6 bolt trany(81&up) that the trans started slipping after the trans service,my theory is when the oil is changed(most folks are lets say . . cost conscience... trans service usualy happenes once a blue moon)the friction material in it is removed & fresh slick oil is added cousing the slip

however in your case with the car sitting since 89,do perform a major service prior to start up,including flushing the fuel tank... ... ..... joe

 

[Blakers]

Uncle Joe...



Thanks for the advice. I start the car and drive it around the farm now and then - the fuel is fine and the engine runs perfectly. I need to fix the speedometer and cruise control (probably a sending unit or wire off) then get plates on it and run it.



As far as diesel fuel going bad, my 67 Benz has been sitting since 1988 with the same fuel in it and it starts and runs fine every year. The car is rusted out and junk though. I have tractors that have had fuel in them for over 35 years and it's still ok.



With that 81 transmission, I wonder if there's another type of ATF with different friction properties that would work better?



Thanks a lot,



Blake

 

[Uncle Joe]

Blakers,

as far as the cruise cont... . forget about it! never seen one that worked properly,part are super expensive(over $500 per componatnt)there is the amplifer &the activator unit plus more junk... if you decide to try to fix it let me know. . i might be able to dig up some wiring diagrams

as far as the speedo... if its just the odometer its a little white plastic gear in the back that has a tendency to slip off the teath

a bit of super glue will do the trick,if its the speedo itself, dont mess with it they are cheap,im shure i got some let me know if you got a 116 body or 123

an old hotrod trick was to run type f fluid in the th350(chevy)

its thicker,never tried it on the MB but there is no reason it shuldnt work

as for old fuel... from what i was told. . algea will form in humid enviroment,cloging the filters,never had it happen to me,cheap insurance i always added the additive to fuel in storage... . joe