Evening all, I'm still a noob/lurker, but looking at a 300D once again and may have finally found just the one.
Ok, after a long hiatus and searching this forum, I found a 300D with a good body and color combo, which is quite unusual in my area.
It is an 87 300D. Here is the rundown:
-Trap Ox is long gone, thank god.
-Runs well warm.
-It has 280K on it, so that is pretty high mileage.
-It is kind of grouchy to start cold. Injectors haven't been cleaned anywhere in the service it doesn't look like. Though at this mileage, I'd sort of think compression, but what do I know. No idea on glow plugs...or if the batt had enough voltage to heat the glow plugs adaquately/crank it fast enough...seemed to.
-80K on tranny done by a reputable shop. Feels good, shifts smartly and firmly when you want with no slip or letting off the gas. I only have W123s in recent history to compare it to, but it feels good.
-Climate control is wacked. No idea here. Doesn't seem to do much of anything I ask.
-Door locks work very well...no idea if the vac line was replaced or what.
-Chassis bushings were done, so it drives pretty smartly for so many miles, but I'm not totally sure what is up and what I should look for.
-Haven't done a compression check, but I'd kind of wonder at so many miles if the engine is a bit worn. Looks to use OE oil filters and the oil isn't all that grimy and not sludgy, but very black and nasty looking. I'm not sure if that looks promising, but my sense of checking for oil crud in diesels is poor/non-existant lately. I seem to remember they turn it black and nasty smelling fairly quick, but again, I have no idea.

What else should I be looking for in this beastie?
What special tools will I need to maintain it decently myself and what jobs should I delegate to a shop due to tool cost?
What is a reasonable cost/amount of attention required? A volvo 240GL or 940 turbo has been about as complicated as maintaining a tractor and costs a similar amount...I'm guessing an older W124 benz is going to be some multiple greater than 1 in this department..hopefully not greater than 2. The volvos take mostly oil and gas and I spend about a weekend every 3-6 months doing any seals that need doing and all the little things they need and they just work, so the volvo takes maybe $2-500 every 6-9 months and is good to go maintenance wise for a rough idea. The non-turbo volvo takes virtually no money or time to keep on the road...slow but no fuss and reasonably fuel efficient and comfortable. Am I being silly to daily drive a high mile W124 and expecting it to need 3-700USD in parts and a weekend of my time every 3-6 months?


I've mostly repaired 617 powered cars, so this is a totally new kettle of fish. The 124 gadgetry scares me a bit, but this one, apart from the climate control and a couple pieces of plastic, seems fine.

Thanks in advance,
-J

Look for the obvious:

replaced vac pump
original head or updated
anything missing
fan clutch/aux fan switch
any other rubber
struts and shocks
oil leaks on the sender, front main, small oil pan
radiator and associated lines

Not much needed to service aside from a full set of metric tools

Give it a good glow (12-20 sec) and see how it starts. I just installed the extended GP kit and it works excellent on the 603.

Climate can be all sorts of bits on the 603. Klima relay, Speed Sensor, Climate Head, etc, etc. Start with the basic tests and move right along. Pretty simple.

The 143A alt is a good upgrade on these. Rebuilding the PS pump is a few hour job. Glow plugs are pretty simple too honestly.

That cost seems reasonable every quarter until you're satisfied with how everything is coming along.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Thanks, you just reminded me, the PS pump is new.
The vac pump, as in the thing driven off the timing chain? I think that has been done fairly recently.
I know I should search, but where is the number found on the cylinder head? It should read 14 or 22 or some such no?
For the fan clutch, my hick-tastic way of testing them is to let the car idle and paint a reflective stripe on a blade and record its relative motion to the pulley with the car stationary at highish idle as the water temp increases. If it locks up progressively and responsively, it works fine. If it doesn't lock or is on/off and lazy it is tired.

So, I'm probably looking at an additional outlay of maybe a grand to make the climate controls and other bits happy? I think it could use a diff mount, since it clunks on take-off/decel some and there is no record of that being done that I can see. The PO seems pretty straight up, so I feel reasonably good about buying a car from him. Finding one in a nice color in this era tickles me...I'm not a fan of beige or gold on tan. Even this car is a bit old-manish, but I just want a reliable older DD that I can relax in.

Quick way to tell is if it has four rivets on the case, then it has been updated for the vac pump. It's more of an issue to me than the cylinder head.

The typical lifespan for a radiator is about 8-12 years, anymore and you can get issues. Just factor in about $300-400 for the parts (including all the hoses and thermostat)

Heads range from 14, 15, 17, 18, 22. I think there is a 19 but don't recall. I have a 17 and 18 in my garage still. Car has a No 14, doesn't worry me one bit. Why? I have a new radiator. New fan clutch. Updated plastic OM606 fan. And a new, lower temp aux fan switch (RED is the best).

Climate units aren't too spendy reman, I think sub $200 new. If you're a junkyard dog like myself, you can get ones for cheap. I got a reman for my SD @ $9.

Could also be flex discs as well as center support causing the clunk issues.



With the issues at hand, the car isn't worth more than about $3k to me MAX. I've seen 200k cars go for $25-2800 around here.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

heh, yeah. Merc diesel land sounds like volvoland sometimes. The original rad fails hugely or slowly at 8-10 years and people wonder why and complain about plastic tanked rads. I am content to replace a rad or a hose or two if they haven't been done recently and throw a t-stat in it. Aluminum volvo heads on the iron blocks do the same...they sometimes crack or warp if you cook the snot out of them. Big deal. Don't cook them and they work fine.
How costly might it be to get a used head to have about? Are injection pumps ever a failure point (very spendy for most I'd guess)? Or can one just throw some cleaner in it once in a while and a filter and call it a day?

One more question: is the water temp gauge compensated in any way or does it really record actual engine temp? The engine seems to run ~190+F, which is rather toasty, but I gather "normal"
It sounds like another go at the car is not a bad idea. Lots of miles, but the price is within your price guide for sure.
Do the W124 cars have any tinworm issues like the W123 regrettably does so badly in the frozen north?

Yup, if you severely overheat any motor (gas or Diesel) bad things happen...

I've purchased complete drivelines to get updated heads and vac pumps. Just depends. I think the typical price of a used, updated head is $800-1200. Something like that. Original No 14s are going to be cheaper.

I haven't seen any out of the ordinary IP issues, minus typical wear. Injectors are more of an issue with high miles. If you shop, you can get Made in Germany nozzles for about $20/ea.

The gauges in there actually do work! Sender is in the head from my recollection, behind the IP lines.

190°F seems a bit on the high side, could have plugged A/C condenser or rad going, maybe fan clutch. FYI - this motor can use the updated OM606 clutch or the OM103 clutch. I have the 103 on mine. My usually cruise temp on the freeway and city is just a tick over 80°C.

"Tinworm" ?

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Tinworm==rust.
Thanks again, I feel like a dork whoring my own thread before I go to sleep.
At cruise it settled down to cooler temps it seemed. It does seem a little alarmingly warm.
I'd wager the clutch is made by aisin like most fan clutches. If that is the case, you can probably get several different types of heavier duty flavor if you so desire. I had an HD clutch in the volvo for summer use that worked well. Different car, but they tend to get tired ~150-200K miles.

Ah rust. Check the usual spots it can accumulate... bottom of doors, fenders, quarter panels, etc. My 380SE is a rust bucket in some spots. Once the 240D is finished, that's the next project.

It's easy to see if the fan clutch works. Just give it a spin with your hand and the motor off. It should be fairly stiff, if it freespins... well... ya know it's dead.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

The fan clutch is a Behr, and can be found around $100.

If the clutch isn't leaking fluid and doesn't have significant play, it is likely good but it is hard to tell. The clutch never spins the fan at full RPM, it is limited.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff