Found a good sub-forum for this project and this will be the thread with updates and repair on my 1992 300D that runs and drives for a whopping
$300.
I found the car a few months ago at a gas station parked on the side of a main road before RT 1. Talked to the owner and he wanted too much, so I passed and came back a few months later and got it for a steal because he was going to scrap it so I gave the price the yard told him. This car was and is too nice to scrap.
Handed the money and got the title. Loaded it on the trailer and got it back to a friends house where it resides while I work on it. It was running really rough and smoking and was stalling out when cold. Had no idea what I was working with until I started poking around. Found lots of water in the main filter, dirty black diesel, and lots of dirt particles and a completely black pre-filter.
The initial plan is to purge the motor, replace the filters, drain the tank, add fresh diesel and see what I'm working with after. It does need new glow plugs and most likely rebuilt injectors. All cylinders have good compression.
It does have a few oil leaks (IP) and a trans cooler leak. I ordered both lines. When I got it running the transmission was bone dry. I'm hoping it wasn't driven too far with no fluid otherwise I'm looking at sourcing a new trans.
Found a ton of broken and disconnected vacuum lines so far, repaired a few and had the transmission shifting a lot better (having fluid helps
)
The car needs some rust repair that I will repair as time proceeds and funds. The radiator support is fairly rusted on the pipes at the bottom of the radiator. I'm going to bend pipes of same diameter and weld in new metal.
The rear quarter panel has a patch repair that has some rust underneath on the right rear quarter that I will fix next spring/summer. Looks like a fibreglass repair. Everything else is perfect on this car rust-wise.
Suspension has a little play (tie-rods have play as well as ball joints). Will be replaced in future, still passable inspection wise. The shocks and springs appear to be newer.
The muffler rotted off and needs to be replaced with new hangers/donuts. Sourced an aftermarket for $180 bucks that will do. The rest of the exhaust is perfect and rust-free.
The brakes are about the worst I've ever seen. It's absolutely metal on metal brakes and pads. The rotors are so thin on the front its ridiculous. I've never seen anything like it.
The rear end clunks continually when driving. I'm assuming its a diff mount, subframe mounts or a flex disc that I haven't inspected yet.
The fan clutch squeals terribly and is ridiculously loose. Not safe to drive. I've already had a fan clutch go and the fan break off and taking out a radiator, shroud, and hoses on the highway at 80MPH. Horrible time.
List of items currently to be repaired/replaced:
Rotors & pads front and back.
Muffler replacement.
Re-seal IP
Replace both transmission cooler lines.
Determine cause of PS leak.
Drain fuel tank, replace with fresh diesel.
Purge injectors & IP with 2-3 cans of diesel purge.
Replace glow plugs.
Inspect rear suspension for play & fix clunking.
Replace fan clutch.
Repair radiator support tubes rust.
Get inspected, registered insured and hopefully drive it!
Pictures of this beast:
Will update with more pictures and purge results tomorrow!