My 87 300D Turbo to Veggie Project Vehicle - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

bob_98sr5 · #1 07-30-2007, 04:27 AM

Hi all,

I'd like to introduce myself to the community. My name is Bob from the San Gabriel Valley area in So California. I'm also a moderator of a Toyota truck forum called UltimateYota.com, a site dedicated to Toyota truck and SUV enthusiasts, so yes, I do know a thing or two about searching first

I picked up my blue, 20 yr old 87 300D Turbo about 2 weeks ago. It is an ebay purchase from a guy out in the midwest---no discussion of pricing as invariably, someone will say "You got ripped!" and i dont want to hear it (b/c frankly, i think i got a good deal

). This is my first Mercedes and my first diesel vehicle, so this is a brand new world for me. I have every intention of turning it into a WVO vehicle as I strongly believe that this is something worthwhile for many different reasons.

I've had about 10 days to really look over the vehicle, and for the most part, I am satisfied with the purchase and the vehicle. As I do not have a very big garage to work in, I took it to a local shop (who I did not like but will remain nameless) for a diagnostic, and they provided me with the following:

1) the belt tensioner is misaligned and the belt shock (dampener?) is worn
2) the suspension bushings, tie rods, etc need replacing
3) tires are bald (i knew that already)
4) shocks need replacing
5) 1 headlight has a tiny hole in it and plastic knob that secures it from the top is missing
6) AC vents are all broken
7) rust damage underneath the bottom edge of the driver's side. the area that i am speaking of is the area where you can jack up the vehicle (that hole). rust seems to have damaged the entire length. i'll need to examine the rust issue more this weekend.
8) small leak in power steering pump

there are some other things i discovered:

1) there's green coolant in there! i'll be replacing it with the mbz orange coolant
2) the nimwit who owned this car before painted the rim's center mbz logo black. i am guessing the father handed down his mercedes to little johnny who attempted to 'personalize' it with a can of black paint

3) busted driver's side visor. it just flops back and forth. i unscrewed it and the plastic support is broken in half. grrr...
4) it's been repainted. nice of the ebay seller to notify me late of htat fact. but it was not a terrible job (some run off and a slight orange peel). but i'm glad he had it painted b/c i certainly would have not or bought one that needed to be painted).
5) Antenna is not working and the bezel nut is torn.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things, but thats what i remember. On a positive note, here are the things that surprised me about the condition of it:

1. the engine runs well, but i think it can be improved. the belt is squealing and i do beleive it is b/c of the tensioner and/or pulley issue.
2. there are no tears in the seats whatsover.
3. everything electrical does run well
4. the AC blows cold---but it does not blow cold like my Toyota or Lexus (10 yrs old and 5 yrs old, respectively). wife says her family's 300D's AC ran just as cold as mine, so she says "its normal"
5. its quieter than i expected. i heard horror stories about diesels, but i'm pleasantly surprised.
6. i believe the trap oxidizer was removed. i have searched this place like mad for a pic of the TO, but no one posted it! i recall someone saying its a huge cylinder looking thing and "you'd know if you had it", but i dont think i have it
7. the original, metal fan is still attached. i believe i read someone's comment that if you still have metal, you'll need to replace it.

So here are my plans in order:

1) Get the tensioner related issue solved asap. i dont want to lose the engine b/c of this
2) change the coolant
3) perform a diesel flush and other engine-related tasks such as an oil change, fuel hose and filter replacement, etc. i want to get the engine in good shape
4) tranny filter and fluid replacement
5) Suspension

I am going to tackle this one by one (obviously). I need to make sure that this vehicle is road worthy and worthy of spending the additional money on the WVO conversion. i have the sources of oil (3 places) secured and I'm in the process of building a WVO filtering station in my tiny garage. that said, baby's gotta be in good shape before i make the additional investment!

Now I've done a quite of bit of research in the past few weeks, but I'll definitely need to ask you guys for advice and more detailed info. And that leads to my next question: are you guys ok if i keep all my questions in this post? Or should I add to existing posts? For example, the tensioner issue: there are definitely more than a handful out there. should i just add to those? I know every forum has its own unique culture and way of doing things. i just want to do it the right way.

also, I am a big believer in documenting and contributing back to the community. i would love to add some articles to your already awesome wiki. i've done quite a bit for the toyota 4runner community at my own personal website, www.4runners.org.

Anyways, as I said, I'm new to diesels and Mercedes. I hope you guys can help me and I'll return the favor as well.

Sorry for the first long post! oh yeah, how could i forget? pics:

Thanks and I look forward to your advice, comments, etc.

Bob

Matt L · #2 07-30-2007, 04:40 AM

Looks good. Hopefully that rust you mentioned isn't a real problem.

You asked for comments, so I'll give some. Forget about WVO conversions. If you want to burn waste oil, turn it into biodiesel. You will need new lines for either, but your pump and injectors will be much happier with that than with WVO, no matter how much you filter and heat it the latter.

My cars only get D2, but that's my choice.

#3 07-30-2007, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt L

Forget about WVO conversions. If you want to burn waste oil, turn it into biodiesel. You will need new lines for either, but your pump and injectors will be much happier with that than with WVO, no matter how much you filter and heat it the latter.

My cars only get D2, but that's my choice.

Ditto 100%.

Don't butcher another good car in the name of the WVO fad.

daw_two · #4 07-30-2007, 07:14 AM

biodiesel is the way to go! No engine mods; no trunk mods; no mods at all!!!! And these old diesels just LOVE biodiesel. And the only filtering required is thru a window screen.

Magoo · #5 07-30-2007, 01:46 PM

As far as the posts go- don't Hijack existing threads. Start a new post or thread for each specific issue. That way the next guy can find it with a search.
Good luck with the WVO project.

Mojool · #6 07-30-2007, 01:56 PM

welcome to the forum. if you bought the car with the intention of converting to wvo i say do it (i have, and will again). it's not a difficult thing to do, even though i'm sure your car is a bit different than mine '83 300Dt (w123). there are purists and those that choose to do exactly what MB recommends, and that's fine. but i like to experiment and the like (and sure, it may ruin my motor (even though the verdict is still out on wvo conversions, as they are so new)). seems like there's not too much wrong with your auto though. i'll look forward to more of your posts in the future! cya

LUVMBDiesels · #7 07-30-2007, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daw_two

biodiesel is the way to go! No engine mods; no trunk mods; no mods at all!!!! And these old diesels just LOVE biodiesel. And the only filtering required is thru a window screen.

I agree... MB and the Engine Manufacturers Association does not recommend straight vegetable oil due to viscosity concerns. They recommend biodiesel.

Look around for a local coop and join it.

Jadavis · #8 07-30-2007, 03:02 PM

I LOVE that color. My 87 300D is Grey with Black leather.

As for biodiesel and WVO...

http://www.fryerpower.com/store/page11.html

(Shameless self promotion! PS I buy from Fastlane when ever I can. I sell stuff they don't carry.)

bob_98sr5 · #9 07-30-2007, 03:55 PM

guys,

thanks for the comments, though i was not expecting so many people recommending biodiesel!

when i was mulling over the *why* re biodiesel and wvo, there were clear reasons why i did not choose the biodiesel route:

1) availability---closest station is...well, not even close
2) marginal cost savings and in some cases, more expensive. i can get diesel for $3.05 whereas i've read biodiesel is $3.29

the big pro, of course, is the minimal mechanical modifications on a biodiesel vehicle.

assuming that there are no long term negative effects of using properly filtered wvo, the advantages of a wvo system for me were:

1) availability (if you have a good oil source)
2) i can filter it w/o expensive equipment in my garage
3) significant cost savings (vs. biodiesel and regular diesel)
4) two tanks (increased time between fill ups means more time to make clean wvo)

anyways guys, i'm pretty set on wvo, but you guys did make me think.

question: for those of you guys who recommended biodiesel, how many of you have done so and what has your experience been? are you close to fueling stations?

that said, i still have much reading and research to do on wvo. but going forward, i'd like my thread to be less of a biodiesel vs wvo thread and more about the build and hopefully, garnering advice on some of the maintenance i plan to do before making the plunge on the wvo system

thanks!
bob

#10 07-30-2007, 05:21 PM

Nobody said go BUY biodiesel, we said CONVERT the WVO to biodiesel.

bob_98sr5 · #11 07-30-2007, 10:53 PM

Forced,

Easy there. Despite your status as a long time member, there's no need to get excited re CAPS. i don't think I said anything that pissed you off, did I?

That said, based on the feedback here, I'm going to do some more research on biodiesel re local laws re biodiesel processing. I live in a condo complex and let's just say i have a very Nazi-like old couple that loves to report the most minor infractions.

Anyways, going to the garage to familiarize myself with the engine

Bob

#12 07-30-2007, 11:32 PM

Sorry, I wasn't trying to yell I was trying to highlight specifics.

RichC · #13 07-30-2007, 11:43 PM

.

Hello, bob_98sr5

Lots of people here have lots to say about WVO.

But they have never used it, and cannot prove any harm it has caused.

I have tried repeatedly to get anyone to give me any good solid evidence of any problem caused by the use of WVO.

So far nothing !
Absolutely nothing !

You may want to check these guys out.

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums

Lots of people with a good deal of experience with alternative fuels.

I am RichC there also.

I do really like mercedesshop.com, but you just cannot seem to talk about alternative fuels here without lots of problems.

Welcome to the forum, and
Have Fun
RichC

.

bdgr · #14 07-30-2007, 11:51 PM

I use b100 in mine, no problems at all.

I really wish that every thread about WVO wouldn't get hijacked by people who have made a religious issue out of it. I don't run it, but it's an interesting subject and I know plenty of people who use wvo carefully and have done so for a long time.

If it's what you want to do, do it. It's your car.

oniondip1 · #15 07-31-2007, 12:51 AM

Just to add a couple cents to the WVO discussion...I am in the middle of replacing my injection pump due to WVO related problems. My Bosch shop told me that the innards of my pump were varnished and subsequently pitted beyond repair by vegetable oil. The kit was installed by the previous owner and many miles were put on the car using WVO. In my opinion, the biodiesel route would be better. It can be done in a garage as well.

A little more work now on the fuel may save you from large (injection pump large!) repair bills later.