Greets,

Also my first Mercedes. I am flying to Houston next week to take delivery of a 1995 300D diesel with 148K miles. I had the car inspected by a dealer and my brother in law checked it out also so I am pretty confidant it is a good car.

Minor things the dealer picked out that will not be corrected by the time I get it are minor leak in trans oil pan, differential bushings, heater valve leaking, drag link shock leaking, and left CV joint boot broken.

I plan on running B100 in this car from the get-go. I'm making it myself but will be using commercial stuff (hopefully!) on the 1800 mile shakedown cruise from Houston to home. Few things I picked up that I have questions on:

I assume the fuel filters are easy to replace. Is it a good idea to get a fuel/water separater? Should that go in place of the primary filter?

How hard is it to clean out the tank strainer? Does the tank have to be empty?

Anything else I need to examine/be aware of when I see the car for any final negotiation? I've read about the GP harness issues...

Thanks and looking forward to many good miles in my new Benz!!

Andrew

Congrats on the new ride.
(1) both the prefilter and fuel filter are easy to change. Just make sure that the fuel filter is full of fuel when you install it.
(2) I feel that a larger prefilter is beneficial, along with a water trap, but that's just me. I have been driving for over 50K without changing. (I have the filter, just haven't the 'round2it'
(3) Yes, the fuel tank needs to be empty to clean the strainer. From what I've heard, getting the strainer out is not that difficult.

__________________
87 300SDL - 215K Miles !!
99 F-350CC Dually PSD - 190K
86 300SDL - 189K
All on B-100

The tank does not HAVE to be empty, but when you take out the strainer, the fuel will come rushing out, so the less fuel the better. If your gauge is on E, count on around three gallons, and be prepared with a clean tub to hold it.

I would run out as much petrodiesel as possible, then when that is almost gone, put some biodiesel in the tank, then when that is mostly gone, take out the strainer.

This will mean that you will get biodiesel (which is like cooking oil) on your hands rather than nasty petrodiesel, which is stinky and unpleasant. You will almost certainly not have to replace it, as it can be cleaned with some degreaser and an old toothbrush.

You will need something like a 24mm allen wrench to get the strainer like if it is like the one on my 300TD, and you can make a tool out of a bolt and nut combination, turned with a visegrip. Do a search on 'tank strainer' and you will find lots more info on this job.

Be careful while you are under the car. Use jackstands and chock the front wheels

__________________
Semibodacious Transmogrifications a Specialty

1990 300D 2.5 Turbo sedan 171K (Rudolf)
1985 300D Turbo TD Wagon 219K (Remuda)

"Time flies like and arrow, yet fruit flies like a banana"
---Marx (Groucho)

If the car has never been fed a diet of commercially prepared bio dont be surprised if you get some leaks from the orings sealing the plastic fuel line and delivery valves.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

If the car has always been on petro diesel picking up the car 1800 miles away from home is not the time to introduce biodiesel to the system. It will loosen up anything in the fuel system and you may have to change filters out several times or worse on the drive home. To add to that you may indeed develop bad fuel leakage that kills the engine if the old hoses or o rings do not like the biodiesel.

I would wait till in my own neighbourhood before switching over. You do not really need potential problems on busy freeways and interstates in my opinion. Others opinions may vary of course. This is not an anti biodiesel type thing. I would not do it although you might get away with it. What is there to gain?

Your post was not exactly clear about if that rear cv boot was going to be replaced before the drive home. If the lubricant has gotten out it is almost a must.

Changing the part or axel out in a controlled situation is always cheaper than towing off the interstate or whatever and paying through the nose for someone somewhere to do it.

Waiting for the part in a remote place and finding a business not too busy to change it in a couple of days can be a challenge as well. Maybe not what you wanted to hear but needed saying for your consideration anyways.

Hate these situations where the individual says but nobody mentioned that.
Do have a pleasant drive home. Wish I had reason to go on an extended drive right now in the nice weather as well. Great you had the vehicle checked out by a dealer as well. So many buyers really regret not having had it done. They would not have purchased the car if they had.

I agree with Barry, 1800 miles from home is not where I would start using B99. If you have to use biodiesel, I wouldn't use more than B20. Once you have driven the car for awhile, you will be able to tell when the secondary filter is starting to clog, or at least I can. Although it is easy to change, I prefer to do it in my garage, not on the side of the highway.

I use B99 in my truck and car so I'm not against biodiesel.

Chris

__________________
1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

I agree with Barry and Chris... wait... get home first.

__________________
1983 300D-Turbo - Deep Blue w Palomino MB Tex (total loss in fire 1/5/09 RIP)
1995 E320 W124 Polar White/Grey Mushroom MB Tex
2005 F150 Supercrew - Arizona Beige - Lear topper
1985 Piaggio Vespa T5 - Black and Chrome

www.cphilip.com

x4 (or whatever) on not running bio-diesel on the trip home.

__________________
I am not a post whore, I am a car enthusiast.
86 190D 420k and counting

You can do a search here to look for common problems with the '95 E300D, but the top three (in no particular order) would probably be (1) glow plugs sticking and breaking off when removal attempted; (2) AC evaporator going bad (a real pain to replace because of it location - buried deep in the dash); and (3) the bad insulation on the wiring harness which becomes brittle and falls off causing a variety of electrical gremlins. It may also be the case that the fuel lines and orings may begin to develop some leaks if they are the original. Having said that, this is a good car and as long as it is in decent shape you will be happy with it. If the above problems have not been encountered by previous owner(s) then you will likely have to face one or more. Just keep that in mind. If you are a DYI mechanic then you can deal with these if you have some time. Otherwise those jobs will cost you. Use all of these and any other existing problems with the car as a tool to bring down the price.

I have the same ride and I enjoy it quite bit. Just remember that this is a NA engine so you're not going to be enjoying any drag racing, but once she's up to speed she cruises quite nice. And quite far - the 24 gallon tank at a standard 30mpg will get you around 700 miles before you need to fill up again. And, unlike all the compact engines out there today - this one is nice to work on when needed.

My advice - take it for a nice long drive. Test the AC for more than just a couple minutes. Check out all of the electronics to make sure they work properly (seat controls, mirrors, etc.). Make sure it shifts smoothly. Listen to the engine to be sure there is no nailing.

Good luck. If all goes well let us know. I am planning on going to biodiesel as well. Making it myself - so we could swap notes if you do buy. This is a solid car if it's in good shape.

__________________
'95 E300D ("Tank") - 231,000 miles
'79 240D ("Biscuit") - 197,250 miles (Sold)
'83 240D ("Ding-Ding") - 217,000 miles (Death by deer)
______________________________________

"Back off, man. I’m a scientist” ~ Peter Venkman

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to email the seller(dealer) about repairing the CV boot. I'm fairly good with turning wrenches. Now I'm all nervous about running B100! I thought that any leaks from BD would be slower to manifest? Is 1800 miles too many for these O-rings that you mention? Where are these orings located that you speak of? Are they easy to replace? Should I replace them with viton orings? I'll run at least B50 on the way home

Go to fryerpower.com and look up the oring kit for the 606 engine.

None can say how fast they will deterioate; only thta they will due to differences in fuel type and additives.

You have six or so plastic fuel lines with an oring on each end; a shutoff valve, prefilter, fuel filter bolt, delivery valves x6 and one or two others as well. Some of the above require special tools I'd be willing to bet you don't have.

Where are you planning to get all this bio on the drive home? 1800/30mpg=60 gals or so.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

I'd run it on nice clean dinosaur diesel until I had it at home where I could experiment safely. Even if you have biodiesel experience, you don't have experience with this particular car. 1800 miles is a long trip, a person who wished to minimize the risk of a breakdown (like me) would definitely introduce as few weird variables as possible for the initial run.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

So you're in the "Alabama" territory of Pennsylvania like I am? Where abouts? Good luck on the drive, and ditto on easing the car onto biodiesel. Especially far from home.

__________________
1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

what special tools?

I think I've found at least one place that sells B100 in Houston, I'll add 3 5 gallon cans in the trunk. Found a place in GA also

Powerpig has plenty of experience with this. He has also driven a lot on grease between MS and VA in his grease car. He might be able to give you some good tips on where to get it along the way.

Good luck.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles