Am seriuosly thinking about buying a 85 300D or 300 TD. But the only thing is that I've had bad experiences with turbos in the past. So the question is how durable are blowers on 85 300D/TDs?

Depends on how often/what kind of oil was used and how the car was driven.

My '85 300SD had roughly 290,000 on the turbo before I replaced it with a federal version turbo. (the old one is still good)

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'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

lets say that the blower on a 300D breaks down...is it safe to drive without fixing it?

Most definitely NOT!--I doubt if the car would get 100 yards with a blown Turbo--The lube oil would be injested into the engine, burnt and cause huge amounts of smoke, just before the engine seizes due to lack of lube!

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http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...0TDnoplate.jpg

Alastair AKA H.C.II South Wales, U.K. based member

W123, 1985 300TD Wagon, 256K,
-Most recent M.B. purchase, Cost-a-plenty, Gulps BioDiesel extravagantly, and I love it like an old dog.

W114, 1975 280E Custard Yellow,
-Great above decks needs chassis welding--Really will do it this year....

Add to that the risk of a runaway, with the engine running on the lube oil. Apparently, The only reliable and safe way to stop a runaway is to discharge a CO2 fire extinguisher into the air intake.

Search on "runaway" for more information.

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Alan the Radio Guy
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Amateur Radio Station N7CEU
1985 300CD 199,000 and still rolling

ok another question... if it possible to take out a turbo from a 300D and drive or is there a lot more to the job than just taking out the blower?

I don't know why you'd want to do that, the turbos last hundreds of thousands of miles. I'd guess most outlast their engine in these cars. It would be harder than just disconnectiong it too, the IP would need to be changed I would guess, different intake........ Even if the turbo did go out these aren't very expensive to replace at least compared to newer turbos on newer cars or trucks.

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1985 300D Turbo ~225k
2000 F350 (Powerstroke) 4X4, SWB, CC, SRW, 6spd ~148k
1999 International 4900, DT466e (250hp/660 ft/lbs), Allison MD3060 ~73k

Actually the turbo on the 617 engines are relatively problem free and rather rare. When they do occur, the turbo has decent access for removal and is not that difficult to service. If the oil has been changed on a regular basis, the turbo should be in good shape.

Now if the previous owner drives up a big hill everyday and DOESN'T let the turbo cool for a minute or two, then the hot oil can cake inside the turbo lines. That will take out a turbo.

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

If it siezes its okey to drive. And I've seen temporary fixes of blocking off the oil feed line to the bearings.

Buy a non-turbo 300D / TD and be happy...

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Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

Used turbos aren't that much...........you are worrying excessively about nothing.........

Worrying about turbo failure = waste of time

Worrying about gettign bad fuel = a more worthy thing to worry about, and far more likely to happen.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Probably more durable than the transmissions, and the transmissions can last 250,000 or more!

Best Regards,
Jim

The only problem you could have with an '85 is if it is a CA emissions model with the original trap. The traps were prone to disintigating and pieces would fly into the turbo vanes and destroying the turbo. Fortunatley MB had a recall and fixed the problem for free but there are still a few car out there.
Best thing is to avoid the CA model altogether.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

You are worrying about a non existant problem. Just use a good diesel rated oil and keep it clean. Your turbo will last just as long as the engine.

If it blows rebuilds are about $600, and used ones can be had for far less.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have a spare turbo with only 50K miles on it for an '85 CA model.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012