Well, my search for a diesel is over. I think I got lucky or my patience paid off.

I found a 1987 300TDT. One owner, smoke silver, no rust, excellent paints, flawless leather seats, with lots of records at two MB dealers. The owner did not drive it in thew winter, afraid of rear wheel drive wagon in the snow. The exterior and interior are 8 out of 10, IMHO. The engine is very strong, transmission shifts smoothly, and the differential has no whine.

The Trap was removed in 1997 and a new turbo was also installed.

Never owned a diesel before, I was so surprised by its quickness. I have owned two gas 300Es and frankly, this 300TDT is not slow once it gets moving and the RPM gets to 2500. On the highway, I can hardly tell it is a diesel wagon. It handles very well.

It was a 250 mile trip back home. Before I left, I filled the fuel tank and checked the oil. After I got home, I checked the oil again, and it did not burn any oil. I used less than ½ tank of fuel for the trip!

There are a few issues though.

The AC does not work. I knew that before I went over to look and the price reflects that. Since I am in Michigan, I will wait to see if it is worth to get it fixed or converted to 134. The owner told me that the hydraulic hose has a leak and she got three quotes and they were all over $1k. This was the deciding factor for her to sell the car.

When I first started the car yesterday in the morning, there was some smoke and the idle was a little rough. Once it warms up a little, it disappears. Is this normal?

A few times when I stopped at the light, the idle was a bit rough. I shifted out to neutral and the idle smoothed out. Also if I increase the idle speed a bit to about 800 RPM, it smoothed out as well. I think the first thing to check is the transmission mount. Are there others things related to the engine that I should check? This is the first thing I would like to take care of. Actually, after the 250 mile trip home, I felt the car ran a little smother. Maybe I need to give it an Italian turn up.

The brake pad wear light comes on and off intermittently. I think it just needs some new pads. However, in the 20k mile service this July, the dealer tech wrote down 50% pads left. So it could be the sensor. Will check that this coming week.

It has only had 15W40 oil in its entire life. I am thinking about using a synthetic blend for the first oil change and then see if I can go full synthetic. There is no leak and the engine bay is very dry.

Having not owned a diesel before, I think this one is a bit loud at idle. This is the 6-cylynder 603 engine. Is loud noise normal? Are there ways to quite it down?

Final question is about diesel fuel additive. It has the trap removed and the catalyst installed. On the fuel filler door, it said do not to use any additive. I would like to clean the fuel system. Is it OK to use some additive? If yes, what to use either regularly or as a cleaner?

Thanks and I welcome any tips to maintain diesels.

Attached Thumbnails