1986 300 SDL Questions

[Nicko]

Hello, I have been looking for a diesel benz to convert to bio fuel. I have never owned a diesel car I have some questions. First,I have found a 1986 300 SDL with the 6 cylinder motor, it has 314 thousand miles. A private party is selling the car, I went to the mercedes dealer that has serviced the car, it has been well care for. My concern is the 314 thousands miles. I have heard that these cars can go for a million miles?? Is this a true statement? When I drove and rode in the car it had great power and acceration with no blow by. The transmission shifted fine.They are asking 3,000.00 for the car which is not alot of money, but I have heard that it is very expensive to have work done on them. Can I please get some feed back in reguards my concerns. First time benz guy.

Thanks Nicko

p.s. Are the 300 turbo or 240's better to convert to Boi fuel then the 300 SDL's

[Skippy]

Any car will go a million miles if you throw enough parts and labor at it. The ususual life span for diesel Benzes with typical care and use seems to be in the 3-400,000 mile range. Some go longer, some take a dump sooner. It depends mostly on the way the vehicle has been maintained and used.

Any vehicle with over 300,000 miles on it is going to have problems crop up from time to time. Shop labor is expensive, so if you are paying someone else to work on your car, this can cost a lot. If you do most or all of the work yourself, these cars aren't terribly expensive to keep up.

When you say bio fuel, are you talking biodiesel or SVO/WVO? I have yet to hear of any diesel engine having a serious problem running on biodiesel. I've heard mixed stories about SVO/WVO.

[LUVMBDiesels]

If you are buying a car with 300K miles on it, it will probably need suspension parts, transmission work and other things like that soon. Of course I just bought one with 290K on the clock so I am in for he same ride as you.

If the engine is running like you say, please do not pour veggie oil into it. Look for a local BioDiesel co-op to join or learn how to make fuel for yourself. There have been people who have run cars on SVO/WVO with no problem, but with the amount of work they have done to filter their oil and to modify the car, it seems simpler to build a BioD Processor and make fuel that will not destroy your injectors and injection pump. Just my opinion ad I know it will cause controversy, but that is how I feel.



Anyway, good luck with the car, whatever you do. Any pictures? How do the climate controls and cruise control work? Do all of the windows, sunroof, etc work OK?

Join MBCA (Mercedes Benz Club of America) and go to meetings. You will learn a lot!

[Hit Man X]

If you are just getting into Diesel MBs, I'd probably go with a 300SD if you prefer the larger cars. The 603/W126 combo isn't one to just drive without attention.

[Hatterasguy]

Thats a lot of miles, I'd look for one with half that.

At 300k miles a lot of pretty expensive parts are going to need replacement, if they havn't been done already.