Hello everyone,
Where could I find a rebuild kit for my 1983 300sd? I am looking to give it a good work over to relifen it. I know that replacement engines are cheap and I do have two engines that I could put in the car but I want the experience of rebuilding an engine. This is just a thought. The car runs fine but I am thinking of rebuilding an engine on one of my junkers and building it up. Thus, I could just take out the engine I have and throw the other one into my current driver.

THanks,

DK

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1983 300sd 253,000 + 13,000 (10,000+ on veggie and biodiesel)= 266,000
1983 300sd 390,000 (Leaky windshield seal) Known to me as the shower car. Parts car now!
1 junk 300sd Watch out for the skunk that lives underneith it!

What do you want to replace... Pistons are at least 1k for a set.. the oil pump is pretty spendy as well..

decide which motor you want to rebuild, then pull it apart. get the FSM and check the clearances on the cylinders and pistons. check the surfaces of the crank, and the cam. order a rebuild kit from the buy parts link at the top of the page. If you need pistons or cylinders, you will need to take the block to a shop and have the old liners removed, and new liners installed and honed. Pistons will need to be pressed onto the wristpins. everything else you should be able to do on your own to the block.
The Head should have all valve faces checked, and the guides checked and replaced, NOT KNURLED!!! if they are worn. then you can reassemble it.
John
I am getting ready to do just that to one of the many parts motors I have available to me.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

So there isnt a set rebuild kit for the engine? What I mean is gaskets, o-rings, and the such. I will need to take apart the motor and see if I need to send out the head, check the valve clearences, and see how much the pistons are worn down. I just thought I would do the prior research before I get too far into the project.

DK

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1983 300sd 253,000 + 13,000 (10,000+ on veggie and biodiesel)= 266,000
1983 300sd 390,000 (Leaky windshield seal) Known to me as the shower car. Parts car now!
1 junk 300sd Watch out for the skunk that lives underneith it!

Performance may have "kits".

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Jim

Yes, Performance has kits, but I'm sure that Phil could put together the same package of parts and maybe for less money.

That said, buying an "engine rebulid kit" before disassembly is a mistake IMHO. You just absolutely never know what you're going to find when you tear apart an engine. Exploratory surgery is mandatory.

It is highly likely that you will need pistons, rings and a rebore, or some here prefer to retain the original pistons and sleeve the block to standard size. I personally am not a fan of this approach due to the extremely stressful life that a diesel piston lives.

I have rebuilt a few of these engines and have even reused the crankshaft and bearings when they are in good shape, by carefully marking the bearings and rods making sure that everything goes back in its original position.

At the very least you will need to tend to the pistons/cylinders and do a valve jobe including new guides. It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be able to simply rering without seeing to the cylinders/pistons.

Good luck,

I've not rebuilt a MB, but I'd have to agree with Larry. Call someone like Phil and have him price all the parts you would need if everything were bad. Then when pulling apart the engine and inspecting your situation, start crossing off the items you don't need.

Cheap replacement engines? Where do I find one in Texas and how much is cheap? What kind of money are we talking about here?

They're talking about junkyard engines for about $500, or so. A good remanufactured long block is in the $5000 - 7000 range.

You say the engine ran fine? No oil/coolant consumption? No excess blow-by? Started up fine on a cold morning? If that's the case you may not even need to touch the bottom end. I'm finishing up a rebuild on a spare motor out of my first car that was wrecked and boy are these motors easy to work on. All I did was pull the head and send it to a machine shop. They told me all the valves were still within spec and just replaced the exhaust valve guides. I'm replacing the t-chain, its tensioners and guides, as well as the tensioner for the oil pump chain. Also I'm replacing every single gasket and I removed that stupid rear bolt on the ip for future timing adjustments.

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Seth

1984 300D 225K
1985 300D Donor body
1985 300D Turbo 165K. Totaled. Donor Engine. It runs!!!
1980 300SD 311K My New Baby.
1979 BMW 633csi 62K+++? Dead odo