All you 617 owners...UNITE! Leave your tips HERE

[Putty]

This is you chance, you 617 diesel owners! All your tips can and will help a small helpless diesel owner struggling to own his Merc! He needs to repair and restore his diesel and will buy a TOYOTA if he cant...I dont want this to happen...STOP HIM! Leave your tips here!

FOR A 1985 300SD

1. His air cleaner has broken the little tabs...how would you repair?

2. He needs his fuel and vacuum lines replaced...I could use a diagram of how these are run in the car.

3. How can I replace or repair his seats!? Theyre gray leather.

4. Can I get a tutorial on fixing power seats? Some idiot tried a while back and failed!

5. Lets talk SMELLS of mold...where would you start?!


Any help would keep a toyota where it belongs...on a lot!

[H-townbenzoboy]

Originally Posted by Putty

This is you chance, you 617 diesel owners! All your tips can and will help a small helpless diesel owner struggling to own his Merc! He needs to repair and restore his diesel and will buy a TOYOTA if he cant...I dont want this to happen...STOP HIM! Leave your tips here!

FOR A 1985 300SD

1. His air cleaner has broken the little tabs...how would you repair?

2. He needs his fuel and vacuum lines replaced...I could use a diagram of how these are run in the car.

3. How can I replace or repair his seats!? Theyre gray leather.

4. Can I get a tutorial on fixing power seats? Some idiot tried a while back and failed!

5. Lets talk SMELLS of mold...where would you start?!


Any help would keep a toyota where it belongs...on a lot!

I would start by doing a SEARCH!

[turbobenz]

for the mold remove the interior and clean all the carpets. it will look great afterward trust me

[300SDog]

Jeeze yeah, dysfunctional power seats is reason enough to ditch the Benz and slide into Toyota *****box instead. Nevermind horrible complications of replacing fuel return lines and air cleaner housing. Plus the horrible dilemma of cutting back rubber elbow vac line connection fittings 3/8" for tighter fit.

Mold of course is the tie-breaker, tell yer friend to drive the Mercedes Benz off a cliff and start over with something more reasonable like a Neon or Carolla.

[JimmyL]

Pretty much this entire forum is the database you seek. You just have to become one with the search function. Put in your work mister!
On another note, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a Toyota. Many of their gasser engines go every bit as long as these Mercedes, and I bet the cars as a whole break a lot less than these.
The wife's Toyota van has been the best vehicle we've ever owned. Problem is it doesn't Klack........
Did I mention to hit the search feature? Live it, know it, love it....

[bustedbenz]

Doesn't hurt to be just a little bit supportive in cases like this... with that in mind, here goes. Answers interposed amongst the questions.

Originally Posted by Putty

1. His air cleaner has broken the little tabs...how would you repair?
No idea

2. He needs his fuel and vacuum lines replaced...I could use a diagram of how these are run in the car.
Somewhere in the DIY links there should be a directory of vacuum diagrams. Temporary repairs for both problems, as mentioned earlier, would be to snip the ends and re-attach everything - if it seems to need it. I've been there before... main thing is if the engine shut off is working, the rest becomes cosmetic and on the back burner to-do list.

3. How can I replace or repair his seats!? Theyre gray leather.
Only options for repair are to pay a determined and brave upholstery shop through the teeth to do it... or go to a junkyard and find replacement seats that are in better condition. They're out there, you just have to look .Temporary repair includes slip-on seat covers.

4. Can I get a tutorial on fixing power seats? Some idiot tried a while back and failed!
Start with checking the switch functions (to see if the switch itself is working), and checking under the seats for obstructions. Then, just start tracing back through the system finding bad motors, etc. Seems cosmetic if it's in a drivable position.

5. Lets talk SMELLS of mold...where would you start?!
Coming from where? Inside? Through the heating system? It makes a difference... mold smells from the HVAC/heat are trickier. if it's the interior, just give it the most elbow grease you've ever put into a cleaning job and then leave the windows open for several hours on a nice breezy day and go from there.

Any help would keep a toyota where it belongs...on a lot!
Keep two to-do lists. One of them for the mechanicals, the other for the cosmetics. Don't give up - but don't stress out over the cosmetics (mold smells and seats not working) until the mechanicals (vacuum lines and fuel lines) are repaired completely. Far easier to get them reliable than to get them perfect.

[winmutt]

I got your tip right here.......

[300SDog]

Originally Posted by JimmyL

On another note, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a Toyota. Many of their gasser engines go every bit as long as these Mercedes, and I bet the cars as a whole break a lot less than these.

Nah, y'all never see 1980's Toyotas on the road. Truth is recycled steel they use for sheetmetal disintegrates in less than 20 yrs. Also crummy paint makes em old waaay before their time. Never seen one with half-assed comfortable interiors. You ever spend all day driving Toyota cross country?? Done this myself with daughter enlisting in military service a few years ago, Toyota beats the driver to death literally leaving me with aching knees and sore back from crummy seats. None of em handle well either, mostly suffering understeer. And lots of weird stuff like sideways mounted engines combined with weak trans-axle drivetrains make em DIY PIA's.

The wife's Toyota van has been the best vehicle we've ever owned.

Must be the wife and not the car. Otherwise difficult to believe anybody could happily step from daily driven 4-spd 240D into Toyota van.

[turbobenz]

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Pretty much this entire forum is the database you seek. You just have to become one with the search function. Put in your work mister!
On another note, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a Toyota. Many of their gasser engines go every bit as long as these Mercedes, and I bet the cars as a whole break a lot less than these.
The wife's Toyota van has been the best vehicle we've ever owned. Problem is it doesn't Klack........
Did I mention to hit the search feature? Live it, know it, love it....

Until you get in a crash and die

[bodyart27]

If it is the air cleaner bracket, and one of the arms has snapped, you have to buy another bracket. From what I have read, welding doesn't hold up as well as a new bracket. It's a rather expensive part (~$100) for the amount of times it will break during the lifetime of the motor. I suspect you can get more life out of one if your motor mounts are up to snuff, the engine shocks are up to snuff, and your rack damper bolt is adjusted properly on the back of the injection pump (do searches on those items). All of those items help reduce top of the motor shake which cause the the bracket to snap.

Also, if you are going to do the bracket, go ahead and buy new three new rubber mounts and the heat shields - those at least are cheap!

[blackestate]

If this is a CA MODEL, I just used a small strap around the air cleaner bolted to the location that the brackets were bolted. Paint it black and it will match in ok.

[zeke]

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Pretty much this entire forum is the database you seek. You just have to become one with the search function. Put in your work mister!
On another note, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a Toyota. Many of their gasser engines go every bit as long as these Mercedes, and I bet the cars as a whole break a lot less than these.
The wife's Toyota van has been the best vehicle we've ever owned. Problem is it doesn't Klack........
Did I mention to hit the search feature? Live it, know it, love it....

Don't get me started on the 'Yota Matrix we owned as our first family car....
Baby seat didn't fit in the back seat, cheap interior, cheap exterior, gutless engine, sloppy automatic transmission, and the WORST sight lines EVER! The main reason we sold it within 6 months of buying it was both my wife and I had close calls with merging into cars in the blind spot on the passenger side. How a little car like that can have blind spots that consume a F320 is beyond me.

There is no way you will see those cars or thier sisters (new Corollas) on the road with over 150k on them - no way.

I think Yota trucks are still pretty high quility (though they are making the big ones on the south side of town here in SA ).

Oh well, owning that Matrix started us on the path that ended in our family owning two w123's, so they have THAT going for them.....

[Ether]

Here are a few links that could be helpful.

1. His air cleaner has broken the little tabs...how would you repair?
http://catalog.worldpac.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=2AS0NVVKN2AS0NW2MI&year=1985&make=MB&model=300-SD-002&category=All&part=Air+Cleaner+Bracket



3. How can I replace or repair his seats!? Theyre gray leather.
http://www.worlduph.com/
http://www.gahh.com/

[jkoebel]

I love my '83 240D, and I bought it specifically (sold an '03 Civic Hybrid and bought the Benz + other stuff) but, it *is* just slightly more than I'm willing to put in. Tools, time, uncertainty as to whether it'll start/run/overheat while carrying something and strand me, fuel economy miserable (20 mpg), have other hobbies, etc.

Once my car dings 300k miles, I'm gonna park it as a hobby car and buy myself an 02-03 S-Class, or an 05-06 E-Class of some sort. Or maybe just a current-year C-Class. (planning on buying a new one in 2010)

[Tim Irwin]

He'll want to find the source of the water that is creating the musty smell. Do a search for leaks and you'll find lots of things to look for -- sunroof drains, windshield (front and rear) seals, etc. Once you've found that, pull and thoroughly clean the floormats and the floors.

I somehow talked my wife into letting me buy a 300D to supplement my Miata as a daily driver. I love the Miata, but 2+ hours/day in traffic is not its forte. My criteria? Cheap (<$5000), 25MPG or thereabouts, comfortable, reasonably quiet, plenty of headroom, and has some style or identity. Cars that fit -- old Mercedes (primarily diesels), and...?

Now as long as my wife (who's been surprisingly understanding so far) doesn't pay too much attention to the credit card bill that's coming this month, I should be OK. It turned out that the one I bought needs just about everything that a 300D needs by 120k miles.