You'll not find any better cars on the road than the 123 and 126 MB's, they have more refinements than the earlier cars and none of the flimsiness of the later cars. They are the last of the chrome and steel cars designed by engineers, not marketing guys. My wife and I have owned 14 Mercedes over the past 40-years, but have not replaced the 300CD and 300SD because MB hasn't built a better car since - some of the newer ones are quieter or faster accellerating and have cup holders, but that doesn't speak to their build quality or their longivity. We bought the 300SD and 300CD new and have properly maintained them over they years, so they will most likely outlive us.

__________________
Houston, Texas
1984 300CD 235K miles, Elvira, one owner
1987 300TD 180K miles
1974 TR6 78K miles Sarah Jane, one owner
OBK #27

Yutahay...

Please note your problem might be seals and not the downspouts. OK, mine are three 85's, W123 body styles. If the 77's were fabricated the same, here goes:

1. Set up to make life easy: a) Turn the steering wheel left, all the way over to the stop; b) Open the hood way up to the vertical position; c) go over to the hinge on the left (N.America driver's) side.
2. Note that the hinge and hinge spring sit in a long narrow sheetmetal "boat".
3. Look at the lower end of the hinge pin where it connects to the side wall of the boat. Inside the boat below this point is the first downspout. It is shaped as a cat's eye opening. It's about an inch long and leads to the interior of the engine compartment.
4. From the lower end of this downspout, say two inches below, two inches inboard and maybe one inch aft, you should see the second opening for downspout #2. This downspout leads through the engine compartment wall and down into the wheel well.
5. Now bend down and look inside the wheelwell. Feel around on the rear center of the well and you should find a four inch long tube-like plastic structure, running vertically. This is the downspout #2, proper.
6. If either are clogged, rain or wash water can build up and flow into the vehicle interior through rust perforations or bad rubber bulkhead seals.
7. Use safety goggles before attempting any cleaning.
8. Start from above or below and clean the two downspouts with a toothbrush, vacuum with rubber nozzle, compressed air, or, best, a nylon grass trimmer line. The objective is not to scrape off any protective paint or other material.
9. For interior engine areas, sand, prime and paint as necessary.
10. In the wheel well I cut off the cap-like bottom of the plastic downspout to facilitate getting all the crud out. Check behind for rust perforations. If perforated, disassemble and go into the car under the dashboard and pull out all the carpeting and plastic to see where the hole may be.
11. MIG weld in a new patch. On the interior, do Para 9. In the wheel well, ensure the welding bead seals all around, de-slag/scale, prime, and apply quality undercoating.
12. Doing the same on the passenger side requires turning the wheel over to the right stop, removal of the battery and the battery tray (check for corrosion). Note that since the battery is there, acid sometimes accelerates the bulkhead perforation process. If so, do a Para 11.

I have added checking these four areas to my periodic maintenance list during every oil and filter change (2,500 miles).

Hope this helps. Forward any more questions. There are several threads on water in the interior and what to do. This is just my solution to the problem I had.

Good luck! Pay it forward!

__________________
FRANKNBENZ

1985 300D "Old Blue" 265,000 (parts car )
1985 300D "Gray Ghost" 245,000
1985 300D "Silver Bullet" 160,000
1975 914 VW/Porsche "BC Car" 125,000
2010 Prius "Shocking!" 60,000
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The seals, I assume you mean the front windshield and gasket, has been replaced a year ago so I am ok on that.
Thanks a million for your detailed explanation of getting to and cleaning the water outlets, I will get to that if the rains ever stop in Houston, it has been raining nearly every day for about 3 months now.

Vahe
240D 77/350K

Well FWIW, I am pretty new to the concept of a 20 year old car, but I have found it great.

Like many here I could afford to buy a brand new Mercedes and drive it for the 5 years or so before trading it in for another. Of course with that model all the money is spent on depreciation (likely 60k-80k on a S class).

I opted for the 86 300 SDL. I actually lucked into it, I saw it on the side of the road near my house. I need a car to take me to the airport and back as I was taking a job as a consultant. This fit the bill perfectly. Ironically, I took a different job but I love the car non the less!

As for the repairs, I guess I am a bit odd, but I take it to the dealer. I pay a shop rate of $85/hour and I speak personally with the mechanic. I might pay $80 for an oil change and $120 for a radiator flush. Now I know that were I truely frugal I would do these things myself, but hey I am lazy, and having them do it costs only marginally more than if I went and bought all the stuff to do it myself. Plus, I don't have to deal with all the mess of used fluids. I would rather pay to have it done now and cruise around in their rental cars than spend my weekends working on maintenance. Now if something really bad goes wrong (head, engine, transmission) I might be game to do that myself.

I bought my car in very good condition with 153k on the clock for 6750. I put 1700 in it so far for mostly prevenative items including the timing chain (800), Transmission flush, brake flush, raditator flush. I also have $250 into the AC (R134 ).

I figure that I can get 150k more miles out of this car easy. That would be more miles than I have ever put on a car. More importantly it will take 10-12 years to do. Based on the 5 year new car model that would be 120-140k in depreciation.

Finally, the car is an absolute dream to drive. The car seems to always put me in a mellow space. Those knuckle heads that cut me off don't seem to bother me so much when I drive the SDL. I also find that the car is very comfortable.

I wish you luck, I am sure you will find all the info you need here (I do).

__________________
86 300 SDL - Vesuvius

96 SL 500

Assumption is the mother of all screw ups.

Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke