Those long winded write up are irritating. They sometimes give the history
of Mercedes Benz, and the development of the Diesel engine, it`s longevity,
the million miles they will go etc...


And some of the words like the one above, engine made out of "Real Steel".


The TD and the American Station Wagons made in the 50`s both have
a similar silhouette, like the Fords, and the line of GM cars and others.
The 55 sold for $2557 and the TD sold for around $33K or something
like that.
Today the Chevy is selling in the $20K - $40K range where the TD is $3K
- $10K range. Iam not too sure the above TD will sell for $21K.









https://images.craigslist.org/00P0P_...t2_600x450.jpg












https://www.american-muscle-cars.net...nMZVaGwEsG.jpg




Too bad in today`s world, we have all these SUV type vehicles that all look
the same, and with bad visibility. Maybe that is why back up Cameras are
so popular.


Charlie

83 240D manual trans. asking $10K, but says they can sell up to $24K.



https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/cto/d/rough-and-ready-1983-mercedes-240/7286464295.html




Charlie

Wildly Optimistic
 

Oh, right : badly misaligned hood, peeling paint, doesn't even know it's M-B tex nearing the end of it's life and can't be bothered to vacuum the damn thing .

Another danm fool .

Was it P.T. Barnum said it? "There's a sucker born every minute. And two to take him." I try to not be a part of either group.

It has "Rough and Ready". Good title for the car, But is an
area of the "Gold Rush" of 1849 in Ca.


Charlie

I suspect in a few months to a year he'll be hoping someone ponies up his asking price of $3k. I've not driven a 240D, would like to try a manual someday.

Would love to have a manual in my 300D, but I gather one should get a Euro 3.0 liter version for a transplant. Not in a hurry to try it anyway.

The Lowly 240D
 

FWIW ,

I have an '82 with slushbox and it's O.K. ~ if you want to go fast, buy a different car, I love mine beyond all reason .

That being said, merging the freeway at 45 ~ 50 MPH and climbing slowly is not a whole lot of fun .

We have our 80 240D with a manual 4-spd and 383K miles.
Love the car, wouldn`t trade it for anything. I swapped the
3:69 Diff for a 3:58 out of a W123 280E, because I wanted the
150mph spedo. The 3:58 gears it up around 3%. With that
mileage she uses a qt around every 12 - 1400 miles.

Not driving her now, have her in the shop jacked up with the front
end taken out. Have all new lemforder parts to replace. New Springs
and the whole she bang.

Been driving my Bro in Laws 83 240 auto trans....what a dog. I see
now what all the complaints are about the 240. Just no acceleration.
And getting it into 4 gear is next to impossible.

My 80 will run circles around this POS.

I have some vacuum issues with the door locks iam trying to trace
down, and the L/F R/R windows not working.

The ideal car would be a 240D with a 617 engine and 4 spd. Then
you will have the manual heat/ac controls.
And if you can locate one w/o the sun roof, another bonus.


Charlie

My 300D is a study in contrast. Near cherry body, original a paint, cruise control works, 139K, good compression. But I'm still tracking down the vacuum leak. I can rarely get it to go into first gear. Need to be going up a steep incline in 2nd, then it might shift into first. The other gears can be weird as hell. Will often shift into 3rd at maybe 25 mph and then intp 4th at 30. It can be pretty slow off the line. Always in 2nd.

I'm hoping good vacuum will take me to square one so I can then address any other shifting issues.

Topic Drift : 240D's
 

I cheated when my central locking began to leak : I looked closely as I locked and unlocked the doors, the left rear door lock was slightly slower than the other doors so I lifted the carpet there and checked that door alone, BINGO ! a new vacuum chamber later they all worked great again .

Timing has a great deal to do with 240D power as do the correct valve adjustments .

In this little engine a tiny error anywhere will make a huge loss of power ~ I often discover the EGR valves are not fully closed and that'll do it and won't cause flat spots like in gasoline engines .

The first gear start depends on the year of the car (CMAC) ~ when new the shifted into second gear within 20 feet, that's too soon but helped the C.A.F.E. fuel mileage .

My current tranny issue is shifting too late unless I feather the throttle .

I made it *much* better by raising up the modulator pressure but I now want to do an actual dynamic road test as with the modulator vacuum disconnected it almost refuses to up shift .

Back to craigslist finds .

Bringing the tranny to optimum performance, including modifying stock settings, will present a learning curve for me. I would be happy if it would start off in first. It hardly ever does. What’s more, the auto shift moves from 2nd to 3rd long before the usability of second gear is past. I’m getting better and better using the stick as a bypass, but even that will rarely put it into first at any speed. Oh well, life is full of challenges.

If you're refering to the 84 300D it was never intended to start in 1st unless the kickdown is engaged.

- Peter.

First Gear Start
 

That is incorrect ~ the change to first gear start was made in U.S.A. models in mid year 1981 .

My late 1984 300TD graymarket also starts in first gear as has every single post 1981 W123 I've owned or driven .

Many here say that checking and adjusting the modulator's pressure with the vacuum pipe disconnected and the car running and in "D" gear is the critical first step .

I wondered about that, mine rarely kicks down, either with pedal fully down, going uphill, or using the lever. Takes a really steep hill for kick down to first to happen. It’s embarrassing when I’m in traffic, and just crawling up a hill. I was spoiled by years of an E30 with a five speed.

So I've heard many times. I've yet to find one where this is actually the case. That includes the last two automatics that I can remember test driving. 84 300D Turbo and 83 240D.

- Peter.