hi, just to refresh your memory, i was checking out an '82 240D manual 4 speed in Santa Cruz last week. i'm in Minneapolis, MN.

got a verbal agreement ($3200) on the phone with a confirmation written out via email. then had the car sent to rick's mercedes in santa cruz the second time to change the three belts and just have him look it over. all is well.

Friday-got a friend in on the idea of driving back 2000 miles. got my two one-way tickets to San Francisco, signed up for AAA, got maps, snacks, some extra tools and such as recommended by you guys. and i'm off, Sat.

Sun- the car looked great ! everything clean as described and better. everything works as he described, cruise, a/c, rear defrost, ect. there's a little rust on a couple of spots which i'll take care of later. and we are on the road. this is the first time i've ever driven a 240d !
its great, she's a little slow like i thought. but the cruising is better than i thought. we cruised at 75-80 most of the time.
donner pass was a little difficult. that's where i changed routes from I-70 to I-80. it took us three days driving to get back.
i'll post pics asap.
all was smooth except when i broke one of my brand new belts at 85 mph, the alternator belt. we noticed the lights within a few miles because that's when the engine started to heat up. pulled over, and saw the broken belt. didn't understand why this is happening beccause its brand new ! maybe it was too tight ? going to fast ? it was a gates brand, 9405 i think.
we could drive but one mile at a time, then coast and let cool. next town was 5 miles away. back on the road the next day.
the only other event was the last day when we were about 400 miles from home, i saw a small rubber line coming out of the glow plug not installed. it left a trail of fuel all over the underside of the car.
here's some numbers:
total miles: 2,068
miles/ miles per gallon average:
353.5/ 27.4
324.7/24.6
355.7/ 32.2
247.6/ 23.8
292.3/ 23.6
312.6/ 24.6
173.9/22 (installed rubber hose back on with this last stretch)

i'm a little disappointed with the mph averages. i wonder if there's something that's off or not tuned.

but it was a good trip on a very nice car. couldn't have done it without your comments and suggestions, thanks !

How much oil did you have to put in along the way? I imagine your fuel mileage was influenced quite a bit by the hilly terrain you were in. If you averaged around 25 mpg, I would think that is pretty good?
Jim

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1979 Mercedes 240D (Sold to a neighbor last year,now I have room for a new one,looking for a 300D this time)
1980 Mercedes 240D(bought for a parts car, but I have fun driving it!)

oh yeah, the oil.

it was about 2 quarts for the 2k miles.

here's some pics of what i found in the glove box as we drove. the hand written summary is from the 1st owner corresponds to shop service stamps. the envelope filled with receipts is the from the PO. i'm the 3rd. i'm very happy to have the history of repairs !
replaced items such as shocks, a/c, valve cover gasget, ball joints, timing chain, windshield & gasget, rear window & gasget...

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some more pics.

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Nice pictures, you should have met "ForcedInduction" at the continental divide and had your pictures taken together! I bet that was a very enjoyable trip! I just bought a 1979 240 D on Sunday and I have been having fun driving it around for the past few days. Doesnt idle quite right so Im going to try some diesel purge. Glad to hear you made it back to your home space in one piece, although you did have to deal with a few "issues".
Jim

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1979 Mercedes 240D (Sold to a neighbor last year,now I have room for a new one,looking for a 300D this time)
1980 Mercedes 240D(bought for a parts car, but I have fun driving it!)

That's awesome, great pics! Hope you had a blast.

That's not the glow plug you're pointing at in the pic, it's the injector. The hose that came off is the return line, and is low-pressure (why you didn't have fuel everywhere!). Very common maintenance item.

My guess with the belt is that they tensioned it too tight, perhaps expecting it to stretch slightly after installation.

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1973 280 - Current Project Car
1979 240d - 100% Stock
1982 380sl - 100% Stock
1985 190e 2.3 - Heavily Modified

coadman- yeah, they are fun to drive. you have a rebuilt engine, right ? how is that on the automatic ?

return line did dump fuel down the motor and back under the car. i'm surprise i didn't smell it on the road.

what's a good repair manual to get ? i need to learn some of this stuff. also, where to find parts ? i need to look into replacing the rubber gasget at the roll down windows.

nice 240. you are making me lonesome for a 240.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

They are truly an awesome little car to putz around in. I would love the 1 or 2 week drive across the nation somewhere, but my spousal apparatus wouldn't see the humor in me burning a couple weeks vacation for such silliness.

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Buy the service manuals. They come up on ebay at times. Haynes manual is helpful too.

Kevin
1979 240D manual
1984 190D manual

I've been waiting to see this!!That's great, an adventure to remember for a lifetime. Did you make it home without a trip permit of any kind., we are wondering...Is picture #3 of Donner Lake in Calif, it looks like it, I'm down the hill on 80 from there (your uphill side). Looks like the weather co operated with you pretty much. GOOD JOB getting the car, it's proven to be a keeper.
A Craigslist success story. Probably the cleanest and most rust free 240 around your parts.

Once you have the car run in properly, it will feel like an old shoe, and you'll really love driving it. They are slow, compared to most cars around, but you will develop techniques of driving. And your friends here will help you out with the problems if they come.

Good going! Glad the car has a good home. As time goes by the purchase price will be less and less significant, as you enjoy the car.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

what service manual are you referring to ? it sounded like they are not Haynes ? any tips on where to find parts ?

JimB.- yep, Donner Lake on a perfect day with a nice car. that's a nice area to be calling home.

My wife is [supposed to be] the primary driver of our 240d...though she's constantly accusing me of trying to steal it from her.

Which is totally accurate, of course.

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1973 280 - Current Project Car
1979 240d - 100% Stock
1982 380sl - 100% Stock
1985 190e 2.3 - Heavily Modified

My 83 240 looks almost identical, last fall I ran 700 miles through the hills of Pa. on 100% biodiesel and got an average mpg of 28.5 top speed averaged about 72 to 75. I was expecting a little better. Next week , the wife and I are off to Florida, round trip in the 240 will be about 2700 miles . I'll be running 100% bio until I empty the trunk of all the cubies I can stuff in her. I'll report back when I return with mpg #'s and anything interesting The pic of me with my 52.5" 42.8 lb. Barracuda Pending IFGA line class record taken on light tackle spinning outfit with 20 lb. monofilament line. 3 weeks in Florida recovering from minor surgery , back home for 1 week now on the way back with the wife and Benz , ain't life grand????

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'83 240D 264k on 100% biodiesel/ 31mpg
83 300D 217K the $800 gem
'82 300D 267K the new WVO project car finished and driving for free
International tractor B275 on B100
Ford 555 backhoe on B100
Sargent 25 ton Rough Terrain crane on B50

biobenz240d- nice catch! that looks like alot of fun !

the PO said if i keep my speed down and cruise, i should get better mpg. he had 3-34mpg at times, cruise at 65. i think we did do some some at 80.

for repair manuals, what else besides Haynes ?

online part store, anyone ?