Having owned an 240d with auto. I can confidently say i will never own another one. 4 speed is a bit more manageable but a 300d turbo blows both away. The 240d auto is the only car i've owned where you really need to manage your speed, think twice about changing lanes and learn to fear hills.

__________________
1983 300 Turbo-"Nora"
1983 240D Auto "Lucia"-slowest on earth-1st love
1985 300 Turbo-Blue Goose-slowly plucking parts

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...ly15/mbsig.jpg

Something to consider is they almost always have the 300d wheel and tire size.. p195.. Originally they call for p175.. larger wheel/tire combo make them look slower on the speedo (going 70 will actually show as 65 on the speedo with the larger tires)

"Fear hills".

Quote of the day!

__________________
1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

I love my 240d's though.. my little cousin just got my 83' he REALLY wanted it. it is a slick looking car and I put keyless entry on it.. something about the w123 chassis the steering is tight and firm on the highway.. and i would get 27-30MPG in that 240d.. even with 300k original engine.

I don't mind getting on the freeway it's not bad at all when the engine is operating temp a cold engine however takes forever to get to 60! There's a very large hill going eastbound 80 from where i live and to get up that sucker you want to get the 240 up to about 75 before you hit it and if you're doing 60 by the time you get to the top you done good! hit it going 60 and you're doing 45 by the top hahaha

attached is my (recently sold to little cousin) 240d 300k original engine beauty

It just made it to 301k a day or two before he got it...I have no trouble pushing her up to 75 (correct tire size p175 so correct speedo reading)

...The Devil is in the details ! .

I made a point of putting the correct 175 size radials on my '82 240D because I learned long ago on the 1960's that tire size is critical when dealing with small engines .

I love my pokey old 240D Slushbox, if I had to choose only one M-B Diesel to keep, it'd probably be the 240D Sedan .

I can always ride my Moto if I need to go fast .

Uphill slow .

Downhill FAST ! .

Mileage First, safety last ! .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Hahahaha love it... coincidentally going down that hill on 80 is probably the only time I could hit 85-90 with ease in the 240d!

I mention the tire size because prior to this 240d I've had 2 others, both with the 300d wheels and tire size! figured that could be what makes the 240s seem slow on the highway. I've always like the rear diff ratio on the 240.. they are so peppy around town, I usually pass people, even in the 240d! My 95 e300d with om606 feels like a rocket ship after driving the 240 for a while hahaha

FWIW, I don't often exceed 60 / 65 MPH in it as I never like to over speed any engine .

A few times I put on the Garmin and had at it, way out in the Desert where it was flat and windless .

83 MPH is the absolute fastest this '82 240D Auto will go ~ I'd never try that going down hill .

When fully loaded with five adults and their luggage it eventually reaches 60 and I just cruise it there across the Desert or down to San Diego, R-12 charged AC cranked up to 'icebox' and smile at all the newer cars broken down along the side of the road....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Ya know the blow by cap thing is kinda crap from what I understand, more comp would also create more blow by, mine will take the cap off sometimes, doesn't burn any oil at all I'm 3,000 in and has not budged on the dip stick