I think it is time for me to part with my 1987 300SDL. After over $5000 in restoration, I am ready to say uncle. Several months after replacing the entire top half of the engine (-22 head and all) I began to notice excessive blow-by and oil entering the vacuum tube at the intake manifold. I added a filter to the vacuum line and lived with an oil consumption of about one quart per 500 miles. The car runs very well under these conditions, as my acceleration and mileage is good (22 mpg city, 25 mpg highway). Lately, I have been experiencing interment white smoke. Occasionally, I get no smoke at all. After combing the forums, I believe the car needs two things. First the excessive blow-by indicates that a lower engine rebuild is in order. Second, the white smoke is due to a fuel delivery issue and everything has been replaced except for the IP. I suspect the IP is the problem because at around the same time an oil leak appeared around the L7 sensor on the top of the IP.

Other than those problems the car runs great. The transmission is perfect, the AC cold, and the interior very nice. I really like the car, but I no longer have the time or money to finish the restoration. So I am thinking of selling. Within the last 12 months, I’ve replaced the following parts on this car with new OEM parts.

Part Mileage
Front Grill 167000
Head Light Frames R&L 167000
Right Rear Door Stop 169000
Trunk Seal 167000
Radiator 173800
Water Pump 165000
Thermostat 171900
All Fuses 167000
Head -22 170000
Head gasket Kit 170000
Valves and Guides 170000
Glow Plugs 170000
Lifters 170000
Timing Chain 150000
Cam Shaft 170000
Upper Guide Rail 150000
Chain Tensioner 170000
Prechambers 170000
Fan Belt 168000
Belt Tensioner 170000
Belt Shock Absorber 170000
Air Filter 167000
Head Bolts 170000
Engine Mounts R&L 167000
Engine Mount Struts R&L 167000
Exhaust System 165000
#1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Fuel Lines 169000
Injectors 170000
Clear Fuel Lines (Two) 170000
Fuel Filter (Two) 177000
Monovalve 166000
Aux. Water Pump 170000
Shift Linkage Bushing - Rear 170000
Modulator Valve Cap 170000
Trap Oxidizer 165000
Turbine 165000
Vacuum Control Valve 167000
Vacuum lines - Engine bay 167000
Over Boost Protection Valve 167000
Vacuum Pump 170000
Washer Pump 170000
Washer Pressure Valve 167000
Washer Hose - Engine Bay 170000
Aux Fan Switch at Thermostat171900
Temperature Sensor 172000
Seat Belt Warning Buzzer 176500
Left Tie Rod Assembly 177000

Currently the car has 177,000 miles on the odometer. As you can see almost all these parts were replaced within the last 10,000 miles. The exterior is rust and dent free, but the clear coat is pealing in several places. Also, the sun roof cable let go the other day so the sun roof only pops up and down for the moment.

So the question is--what would be a fair asking price for the car? Would I get more if I simply traded it in for a new car? I am also thinking of trying ebay. Any suggestions?

My guess is that your SDL is worth less it's market value, the amount of money needed to make it right!

busy--

wouldn't that almost make it free to potential buyers? i think an 18 year old car(even a $60k MB) is expected to have some problems (the paint, sunroof) even with a moderate asking price; however, this engine wont come cheap!

Where is the car located? have you thought more about the asking price and/or sale?

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http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

That's really a sad story, Hal. I added up that list, in my mind, and came up with $9K worth of parts. This does not include the "turbine". If you meant another turbocharger, then the cost goes up again.

The time and effort you have done to return it to factory condition is immeasurable. I know this from personal experience with this one and I've not done half of what you have done.

You are in a quandry. If you disclose the issue with the oil consumption (as you probably will), then it becomes a mechanics special. Nobody but a good mechanic will take it on to determine what the issue is. Anybody else will have to assume that an engine change is in order. So, if the vehicle is worth $7K, if everything is in perfect operating condition, what would someone pay for it if they had to replace an engine?

Unfortunately, if I were to do it myself, I would need to budget $3K for this task. So, this immediately puts the value at about $4K. I would think that it will be difficult to sell it at $4K because it will take a very knowledgable buyer to see all the new parts and the value, and then have the knowledge and the skills to obtain and change the engine.

It's really a sad story.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

damn that list is enough to scare you away form buying MB!!

Believe it or not, that list is not unreasonable for an 18 year old SDL with 175K.

Hattie is in the exact same ballpark with his.

They get to a point when most of the mechanical components need renewal.

Some of those items were replaced before they actually failed, I'm quite sure.
This is necessary to improve the reliability, performance, and looks of the vehicle.

"damn that list is enough to scare you away form buying MB!!"
It is exactly 30 years that I am driving MB, the single lesson that I have learned so far is that "M" of Mercedes stands for Maintenance . I owned two S class MB's, the last one was 300SD 81, this car pretty much brought me down to my knees.
The SD was truely a beauty parked in my drveway but it had so many problems that just left me speechless. Transmisson was rebuilt 7 times and still not working right, endless vacuum problems, sunroof and rear windshield leaking, AC controls pretty much nonfunctional, the front end needed total rebuild and anywhere that I parked this car, black oil all over the pavement.
I sold the car for $650, and what a relieeeeeeeeeeeeeef.

Vahe
240D 77/350K

Thanks for everyones reply. I decided to put it up on ebay with a reserve of $2500. I plan on disclosing all the issues and will look for an informed buyer. If it doesn't sell for that price I may part it out myself.

If any forum member is interested, please let me know. I'll let it go to a forum member for $2000. I'll release the ebay ad on Tuesday. I live about 30 miles north of Atlanta, GA.

P.S. I wish I had a parts car like this when I first purchased my SDL. Just the -22 head and all its stuffings add up to way more than $2000.

Hal Scripka
1987 300 SDL 178000
1984 190D 308,000

Absolutely. I wish it were closer and I could own a parts car. I'd buy it in a second. I'll bet that you can get quite a bit more than $2K if you part it out. But, it's a significant amount of work............advertising, waiting, packaging, etc. And you have to be able to host a partially stripped vehicle for an extended length of time. The sadness of it would kill me.

And my '81 300SD with almost 285K miles has treated me good. I think I have a little less than 1k invested in the whole car (including purchase price) and it looks not half bad My dash isn't even remotely cracked!

I think some just take a fat wallet/time and others don't...

These are not Honda's some people sugar coat things but it comes down to this:

If you are afraid to drop a few bucks on a car do not buy a high end car of any make. MB, Jag, BMW, Rolls ect.

This list is actually pretty common for an SDL of this age.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Not very common for an SD of the SDL's age plus 5

Hal,

Have you tried running this with SVO ? MAybe with a blend of 80WVO/20RUG could help.

__________________
1992 300SD, 290K miles.

Hal,
Do you still have the vehicle? I checked eBay since just reading this thread and did not find it listed.
Steve

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Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

Man! Sorry to hear of your situation. Every aspect of it stinks. Since you're only asking for $2,000, is there a possibility that you could just store the vehicle till whenever you can get the sufficient funds to complete the restoration? Imagine after all the work you've done, if you could just push a little more with just a few thousands, maybe $4K more at the most, you can get the car in excellent shape. I currently have $4,700 into my 1995 S350. It was supposed to be fully repaired by now, however I hit a deer while driving my 300SD and so all my funds that were allocated for that project had to be used to repair my 300SD. Right now the car will have to wait until I have enough money to repair it. I wish you can do the same with your 300SDL. Looks like you've done way too much to give it up at this point.

Well as Brian said, good luck with whatever you decide.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver