Great Trip in 300TD
 

Just back from a week in Colorado. Drove from San Diego to La Junta, Colorado, a trip of about 1300 miles one way in my 1983 300TD. What a great trip. Got 28mpg going 75-80 at about 3500 rpm. Never had a hint of a problem. Used no oil at all. Just ate up the road and was certainly not the slowest out there by a long shot. In fact, I passed or kept up with 99% of the traffic. Car is running better than ever owing to a good long run.

Just had to share that.

Mike Holbrook
San Diego

Reading that makes me want to devise a road trip. Too late to do a long drive foliage tour (can see some very impressive on my own property). Glad you shared the positive . . . :)

I hate the gearing on that MB transmission. My 300SD does 65mph a 3,000rpm and the faster I go the higher the rpms go and the noisier the engine gets. Whatever happened to tall gearing on overdrive for a quiet cruise? On the other hand, due to the gearing, when it's time to pass the transmission rarely drops gears.

Glad to hear your trip was awesome. These old cars really are incredible.

I hate the gearing on that MB transmission.

I hate overdrive. No engine braking, can't hear the engine, and the Transmission has to downshift for the throttle to have any effect. OD is for Omas.

Well I don't like having a noisy engine making its loud noise for six straight hours! Whatever happened to quiet, relaxed cruising?!? That's why I'll never take my diesel on such a long trip. Even just driving it on the highway for an hour annoys the hell out of me! Bring on the overdrive please. MB obviously was aware of this and that was why they changed the gearing in the early 90s.

There are very few cars as satisfying for long highway trips as a Mercedes. I have not noticed that the noise on either of my cars is any sort of irritation, and I have yet to replace the hood blankets in either of them.

Of course, that is what a radio is for. I plug a cassette into the stereo or put in a Book-on-tape for a small rental fee from the Cracker barrel, or a tape I got at a yard sale or used bookshop and it keeps me amused for hours and hours, even when I am way out there in the wild where the only thing on the radio is screaming preachers, the hog futures report and perhaps rapsters or 30 minutes of commercials per hour radio.

I prefer to crank up The Band or some Creedence. The miles just fly by, 'specially in my diesel. Volume turned down on occasion to hear the 5 cylinder purr.

That engine is the noisiest engine at 75mph that I've ever come across, even my '89 Corolla's I-4 is quieter with a three speed transmission!! My Mazda 929 is much more comfortable on such long trips and much more quiet. I won't even talk about the Toyota Avalon! Using the radio/CD player to make up for a noisy engine just isn't my thing. Many times I just want peace while driving. Of course many times I play my CDs and MP3s, but even more frequently I prefer to make long trips without any music/engine noise.

On a related note (i.e., non-diesel), I just went on a 1200km (750mi) trip in my 5-speed manual 190e2.6, and my overdrive 5th gear definitely helped in the fuel economy area, but I had to downshift into 4th sometimes to make any progress on inclines. This was because I had to drive within the tolerated speed limits (around 120kph/75mph). If I drove above 140kph (88mph), the engine would have been in a fatter part of the torque curve, and I would not have much need to downshift.

I came out really amazed however, by the seats, having had no back strain whatsoever after that long drive. They look so innocuous, and only reveal themselves after a long drive.

Another thing I appreciated was the effectiveness of my Euro-headlamps.

Other small details I appreciated were the dead pedal and the wide steering wheel, which lessens the strain on the arms on a long trip.

I like your choice of tunes AND you're a birds fan. Stop by when you get back in the area...

The motor running is music to my ears. And these cars really seem to thrive on RPMs. I've never had a diesel that likes to rev so much.

For those of you who say it's noisey, is your hood pad in place? These are quite often missing and they do deaden the sound.

Hood Pad
 

No hood pad, well, very little, it began to disintegrate about 10 years ago by the looks of. Touch it and it turns to dust. Will replace b4 repaint in Spring. But, my engine is soooo quiet at highway speeds.

Did I mention that I have a 12 disc CD changer inside the spare tire and a Pioneer CD in the dash with all new speakers and an extra pair of 6x9 3-way's on the floor by the back hatch. What noise? I have an eclectic taste in music but 3 of George Strait's best and 9 of the Time-Life sounds of the 70's as well as a couple dozen 60's such as Santana, Guess Who, Three Dog Night, America, Joe Walsh, and many more. Crank that up to about 15 to 20 on the volume dial and you can't hear anything from the motor.

Actually, I like the sound of that motor burbling along at 75 or so. My last "major" thought was what a great motor that would make in a boat! Anyway, the ringing in my ears has finally subsided and there is no other car I would rather take on a long trip.

My though process is this. If the motor is running fine when you leave, and you watch the temp gauge closely, you will not have any problem with the motor. The rest of the car is old school simple and anyone can fix it. I will not say the same for my BMW.

Mike Holbrook
Spring Valley, CA
83 300TD

My 300D is extremely noisy as well, but I think I have traced it to the bottom of the doors. I bought this car in the Chicago area, so it obviously has some rust. It was suprisingly clean for the age and location, but I noyiced that the bottom of each door is rusted enough to allow the rubber gasket to sag down - a couple doors have that section of gasket missing. I can deal with the engine noise, even though the RPM's are hard for me to get used to, it's all the air/road noise coming in from the bottom of the doors. The RPM's make me nervous for a diesel, but reading in this forum has gotten me to relax and not think I'm toasting the motor :eek:

One of my daughters has hockey practice twice a week about 2 hours away (plus games on the weekends), I want to take the benz, but it's hard to let the Jetta sit when it gets 51mpg and diesel is so high right now ;)

I am completly bit with the fever now, so I am in search of a rust free 240 or 300 to sink my repair money into. I'll drive this car locally and keep up with maintenance, but am hesitant to go all out due to the rust.

You guys need to get into the contemporary diesels. '86 +. At 100 mph, you'd be hard pressed to even hear the engine.

I have noticed that many people constantly complain about the noise of a diesel automobile, but yet they keep driving them. If the noise bothers you that much, sell the car. I grew up around diesels, so the noise don't have that effect on me. The thing I do like about them is that they are built like an anvil. Especially the MB's. I just read a report from sometime back of MB buy back a MB taxi from a man in the Kosovo region that had 4.6 million Km on it. My W123 currently has 267K miles and still runs like a watch. I fully expect at least another 400K before any major overhaul work.