Mercedes Diesel

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tarbe

tarbe

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I have wanted a W123 Mercedes diesel for years. I am looking for a 300D or 300CD, preferably a later one ('83 - '85) with the turbo.

Miles are not important, maintenance and care are. I want to find a nice one that, with care and proper maintenance, will go another 200,000 miles.

There, that was therapy. I am out of the closet now. I want a 21+ year old Mercedes diesel :)


Anyone here had one and care to comment?
 
tarbe said:
I have wanted a W123 Mercedes diesel for years. I am looking for a 300D or 300CD, preferably a later one ('83 - '85) with the turbo.

Miles are not important, maintenance and care are. I want to find a nice one that, with care and proper maintenance, will go another 200,000 miles.

There, that was therapy. I am out of the closet now. I want a 21+ year old Mercedes diesel :)


Anyone here had one and care to comment?
Click to expand...

Ive owned two mercedes diesels. An 1983 240D and an 1980 300D. They are solid cars. Keep up proper maintenance and you should be able to go a long time. If you want power get the turbo diesel after 1984.
Some of us are in the process of converting a rig over to the benz... I have the engine and transmission in the frame... just waiting for funds to do the rest.
 
MiniPigg said:
Some of us are in the process of converting a rig over to the benz... I have the engine and transmission in the frame... just waiting for funds to do the rest.
Click to expand...


Putting a Mercedes diesel in a Cruiser??? :eek:
 
My '78 240D has become my daily commuter car because it gets over 30 mpg and my BJ42 only gets 20-25. As recommended, I would go for one with the 619 (?) engine, the 5 cyl. turbo, because a 240D is a true dog in every sense (at least mine's a manual, I hear the auto 240Ds are dangerously slow). Unless you're like me and live almost in the middle of nowhere, not too much traffic or hairy merges needed, in which case the 240D is fine until you hit a hill. But that's just time...

Here's a great forum: http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/forumdisplay.php?f=15

Lot's of guys on there really know their sh!t and have done some interesting swaps and mods, my fav being the 619 engine in front of the 4 spd. manual tranny. Apparently it's a screamer.

HTH
B
 
I drive by a 300CD with 200K for sale everyday...

Only problem is he wants like $6K for the damn thing...

I've called him several times, thing is getting caked with dust, and I swear the paint is literally being baked off of it.

He won't budge.
 
I own an 84 300SD with 280k on the od. I bought it as a winter commuter to take me 170km round trip 5/days a week when I worked at a hill last winter. The car is a tank and absolutley awesome on the highway. That round trip would cost me roughly 30 bucks and I have a heavy foot (and up serious mountain pass roads) Picked it up for $2200 with some dents, but really nice shape otherwise.

Whichever car you look at, have an inspection done of the tranny - even though a rebuilt is about $1500 Cdn, I would pay close attention there. Other than that, the motors are commonly seeing 4-500 thousand without major work.

Nicest Hwy car I've owned and great in town too. I used to own a 64' 190D Fintail - sweet little car too, but not even in the same galaxy for ride and handling.

Good luck.
 
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Seems like Mercedes diesels make a nice complement to a Land Cruiser!
 
jesterb said:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=114148&highlight="mercedes"
Click to expand...

that is a good deal on a nice sounding Benz.. Search in chit chat, there is a good thread.. My last one I had I sold with 340K miles and its still truckin to this day (the one in the photos below).

The big thing is older used high mileage diesels take a little understanding when buying them, they are either in great shape (most of the time) but sometimes they are tired or the glow plugs or charging system started going south and instead of fixing the problem, the owner will go out and get starting fluid and it can ruin the engine.. Everything (glow plugs, battery, alternator, and moderatly tight compression) are needed for good strong starting in almost all temps... The benzes if all of these things are in place will start no matter what the weather.. And even though its a diesel is still a great cold weather car... But if it still has starting trouble and there are signs of "starting fluid" (a can in the trunk, for example) I would walk away as the engine is probably tired and starting fluid only accents its tiredness.. You can tell most of them just by looking at the engine, usually covered in oil and if there is white smoke when starting then they are a little tired.. And you can tell by driving.. If it feels real tight then probably OK but if it is a little sloppy then the engine is worn... But that said they can run 10s of thousands of miles tired, if you can get then started... If the guys says it "needs glow plugs" but you really like the car, they are about $9 a pop at Autozone for genuine Bosch glow plugs. Put them in and if it reliably starts when cold then you are probably fine...

General things, they all leak oil more or less but are great old cars. And shifting very very hard is totally normal.. They all need a new trans about 150-250K miles, also, for what its worth...

Good luck with it, it was a sweet car and I miss it.. It got about 20-25 mpg I figure.. Definetely get a turbo model if you want to enjoy it.. I liked the 300D more than the 300SDs, the SD's a very large and the 300Ds are a little more maneuverable.. they are gutless till the turbo kicks in then wee! There are great old benz forums out there too... Here are photos of mine right before I sold it...

http://www.shoumatoffmedia.com/benzgallery/

:beer:
 
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I had a '84 300TD and it was a great car! I got about 35 miles to the gallon. Maintenance was easy and parts are readily available. Two things to watch out for:

#1 The vacuum system. Mercedes 123 series cars use vacuum to operate the automatic locks, the climate control, and the fuel cut off. Diesel engines don't make vacuum, so they require vacuum pumps. These pumps are good for about 100,000 miles before they fail. Additionally there are many vacuum valves and vacuum actuators in hard-to-reach places that can fail. That being said, if your vacuum system fails the only way to shut the vehicle off is to use the manual kill lever in the engine bay.

#2 The self-leveling hydraulic rear suspension (on models so equipped). This system is relatively reliable, but if it fails can be expensive and difficult to repair.

My Benz had 320,000 on the clock when I sold it, and AFAIK it is still running.

I say get one. They are the best bombers around.
 
Watch out for rusted floorboards, rust behind the battery box that will leak into the cab, and rusted bottoms of doors.

Except for rust they're fairly cheap to keep, and the vacuum locks, trans shifts, and heater can be figured out.

Lots of nice looking ripoffs in ebay.
 
they are work, don't be fooled. The best part is the ride and the great engine.

The trans are trouble, the door locks suck, they are a vacuum nightmere. The parts are expensive for things hard to find. Like a power window switch.. 177 bucks.

My 300 D engine I hope to use in a super clean 40 or 55 project. Once the body gives out.
 
Watch out for climate control equipped cars. Other than that my 1980 300SD is one of the best cars I've owned.
 
I'd love to get rid of the climate control. What a piece of s***.

Vacuum controlled nightmare.

Like I said, great little engine tho.
 
dieseldan said:
Now 280K and flies up hills.


View attachment 98858
Click to expand...

Parked next to your house?
FamilyManning%20015.webp
 
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