1982 300sd

[sarahsnot]

im new to the MB world! i have just purchased a 82 300sd with 223k or so miles. im not sure if she is supposed to shift the way she does. from 1-2 she "kicks" into gear and she shifts mostly smooth after that but lateley she has been revving up a little higher than normal to shift. she also smokes a bit. the color of the smoke seems to be a bit blue. the oil hasnt really dropped im the 350 miles i have driven her. any suggestions?? im going to change the tranny fluid tomorrow hopefully that help thank all of you for replying Sarah

[Diesel Giant]

Welcome to the forums!

You may have a vacuum leak that is causing the malfunction.

[d.delano]

Originally Posted by sarahsnot

im new to the MB world! i have just purchased a 82 300sd with 223k or so miles. im not sure if she is supposed to shift the way she does. from 1-2 she "kicks" into gear and she shifts mostly smooth after that but lateley she has been revving up a little higher than normal to shift. she also smokes a bit. the color of the smoke seems to be a bit blue. the oil hasnt really dropped im the 350 miles i have driven her. any suggestions?? im going to change the tranny fluid tomorrow hopefully that help thank all of you for replying Sarah

You have the typical vacuum leak/modulator/Bowden cable adjustment transmission problem. It is minor. Vacuum softens the shift, and is adjusted via the modulator valve on the side of the transmission. The Bowden cable on top of the engine controls the shift points. These two items have simply come out of adjustment, and/or you have some little rubber vacuum pieces to replace. They crack and leak vacuum over time at the connections.

If it were me, I would change the transmission fluid and filter, and change the oil with a good diesel-rated oil like Chevron Delo 400. You MUST use oil for diesels, and it really doesn't matter which one when it comes down to it just as long as it's CI-4 rated for diesels.
I would do those two things first before I drove it another foot.
Blue smoke usually means burning oil as you already know. If it's not burning any, it's not blue smoke, it's black. So- after you give it an oil change, you should adjust the valves. Don't know if you want to get into all that, indy mechanics or the dealer will do it for less than $200. You MUST adjust the valves. If you do not, and continue to run the car, you will do damage to the valves. So get it done somehow. It's a super easy DIY but you have to know how, and this forum's got you covered. Just search around.
After you perform these minor tasks, go out and run it on the highway up a long hill, wide open, to burn out some accumulated carbon. That might cure your smoking issue if you're sure it's not using oil. A diesel purge may also help alot.
What you have done by buying this car, is ensure a modicum of maintenance responsibility for yourself. I'm not talking extensive rehabilitation, but it ain't no Toyota. Still, it won't give you much trouble if you do the minimum to keep it up, and you do it on time.

[Jkid]

Congrats sarahsnot (sarahs not or sarah snot?). I bought my 82 4 months ago and I've put about 8000 miles on it so far. It definitly grows on you, it's like driving a big easy chair. You'll most likely have a bunch of small things to repair and maintain, but luckily it's very logical and straight forward to work on, and this forum is a wealth of information. I burn about 1 qt. of oil every 1000 mi - prob. not too bad. Def. do the air filter/fuel filter changes (all mine were black) and diesel purge. Make sure you keep everything REAL clean when you do the tranny fluid (no lint!), it's probably really dirty underneath the car. Check the timing chain stretch if you do the valves too. My valves were REALLY tight. There was no gap at all on most of them. I'm not sure what that was doing to the valves, but it can't be good. I've got the same problem with my tranny shifting, I'll be tackling that next.

[sarahsnot]

well luckily my boyfriend goes to diesel mechancis scholl and i have been to automechanics school aswell. they let me go into the shop and work on the car with jesse! today we are going to change out the tranny fluid and filter. when i bought the 300 sd the oil was changed that day or so he told me. i still feel like it would give me a good peice of mind to change it my self. i got a vaccume diagram off of this forum from phantom (thank you sooo much) it makes every thing easier.i have noticed some rubber fitting that need to be replaced and the white hose that goes from the central plug to the Y was completely broken! thank you all soo much for the advise i really appreciate it!