|
|
|
#1
|
||||
|
||||
Getting discouraged...
I picked up an 82' 300D for $500 locally this spring. I like to work on my cars, and I knew it would be a project-mobile. It's also my DD(my 93' ranger cooked at 200k), and I LOVE the 20-26MPG(was getting 7-13 in the ranger)
Here's the trouble, the rear end has decided to kill itself and I'm starting to question if I should finish restoring the Benz, or just swap the engine/tranny into a small suv(90s Explorer, Tahoe, Jeep, etc.) The new/good: 15" alloys&tires front pads stereo & speakers rear shelf 200W inverter battery engine tuneups rear window seal front windsheild custom hitch only 201k 20MPG towing or in town 26MPG highway new radiator(PO) The bad/to-do: rear axles rear diff mount(rubber) rear wheel bearings rear brakes rear coil springs(hopefully taller beefier ones to deal with my tools/towing/future svo) dash pull for: -heating/ac (do I have the evil servo?) -instrument panel lighting seating is uncomfortable after 30mins(I'm 6'2") bodywork for rust(wheel well corners) hood is bent(flipped back into the windsheild) trunk is bent(PO pried open with crowbar) paintjob needs ignition cyl need trunk lock cyl needs fan shroud(though I do like the excitement under the hood when it's running) injector nozzles & balanced front right brake cyl I can do the repairs myself, but I'm getting a little discouraged here. Do you guys think I should try and finish the repairs or just swap the engine into an explorer/tahoe/ranger/s10 ?
__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment Last edited by Simpler=Better; 07-08-2008 at 04:53 PM. |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
I sincerely hope you have a Pick-n-pull near you...
if not, forget the car. you should not have the dreaded servo. that ended in 81 rear is an easy swap especially if you have bad axles too. just pull a set from another car. have fun... or sell it. or tow it to a crusher... 450 is easily recovered from a benz.
__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
The kiss of death in your list is the rust and the paint job. Unless you're going to do this work yourself (with mediocre results), the cost is more than the value of the vehicle.
With an older M/B that has been poorly maintained, it's very possible to spend $5K or more on parts.........even if you do all your own labor. This is not a sound decision financially. It's much better to buy a $5K vehicle with pristine paintwork.........one where the PO has invested all the money in parts. As for swapping the 617 into one of the $hitboxes.........the work involved is significant and the benefits are questionable. The body is horrible from a Cd standpoint and the resultant fuel economy isn't worth the effort, IMHO. There is an old adage that runs around on this forum..........perfect for situations such as this one: There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes-Benz. |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
ya, these are a dime a dozen. find a better candidate. swap all the new stuff and those wheels (drool) over, and have a MUCH better car. and sell the $$hitbox and recoup your outlay. offer it up for 250.00 and know you got the better end of the deal. that new radiator and the wheels are well worth 500.00...
I don't know how the hitch was installed, and if you can swap it over or not, but it looks like you put in in, so you would know that. if you tow a lot, look for a nice wagon. that SLS REALLY is nice. ... I do have an 83 going up for sale soon... TD, turbo, REAR SEAT! and it needs some of the things you have already on your "parts car..."
__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
I've been welding since I was 14, the bodywork will only be time consuming for me. As for painting, we've done a car or two before that got my approval(then again, my friends say I should be on the red&green show )
As for the hitch, I built it and it is over engineered(weighs around 50lbs) I really like the 617, despite it's paint-shaker tendencies. I think I'll start looking for a new car/donor body(I really miss 8" of ground clearance measured from the rear diff) My little brother has no problem driving around with a "broken" car(his DD is a 91 Hyundai....don't get me started) How long do you think it will take for the rear axles to catastrophically fail? Right now they don't have boots, and one clicks only when hot. Also, I have a full shop at my disposal starting this fall: mills, lathes, you name it (right now I'm on an internship down in RI)
__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
I don't see a picture of it. So I don't know what others are going off of. Some of the statements make me think its the rear CV joints/half shaft assemblies that need replaced. Anywhere from $70 to $300 each. The hood and trunk seem to be junk yard items. Rust you mentioned wheel wells. Is it just in the wheel wells or elsewhere? Frame? What would be the killer. But I would agree that you can pile in a bunch of money into one. I bought mine for $1600, and have probably $5k or more into it. Still, I think you can put that into any car with a bunch of years on it.
Tom |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
Photos!
For some reason, the camera I borrowed only hot in black&white; oh well. Here are some shots of the rusty areas(if it looks like it could be rust it is-trust me)
Here's some of the good: and the stuff that doesn't quite fit:
__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment |
#8
|
||||
|
||||
wow! clever job whoever did that inverter in the ash tray.
In Michigan we consider that rust "starter" rust. Personally I'd probably fix it up. The more of these we take off the road the less there are out there!
__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life- '15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800) '17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k) '09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k) '13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k) '01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km) '16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k) |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Bah! I'm driving around with a 240D in much worse shape from a corrosion standpoint. Just fix the essential stuff, or a little more if you like and have the cash, and continue driving until something expensive (and mission-critical) breaks.
__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar. 83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles 08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles 88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress. |
#10
|
||||
|
||||
Thanks! It still needs a led to tell me when I'm silly and leave it on with the door closed(It's wired to the battery)
Quote:
How rare are the 4.07 rear ends? I might as well swap to get lower rpms on the highway(3200 at 70mph now)
__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment |
#11
|
||||
|
||||
With all of the body issues you describe, I would find a new car. Or a new car with a blown engine and swap them.
__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg 1995 E420 Schwarz 1995 E300 Weiss #1987 300D Sturmmachine #1991 300D Nearly Perfect #1994 E320 Cabriolet #1995 E320 Touring #1985 300D Sedan OBK #42 |
#12
|
||||
|
||||
The Coupes are so pretty, but small
The Wagons have a body 'only a mother could love', but are so much more useful and fitting to my lifestyle(College, travel alot, live out of car from time to time) How powerful is the SLS in the wagons? Will it cook an automatic transmission if you use it like a manual, and let off the gas between shifts? Also, which differential should I be looking for to get the best highway mileage(and worst acceleration)?
__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment |
#13
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#14
|
||||
|
||||
2.88 was available on the w123 and w126 diesels in '85
__________________
RRGrassi 70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car 13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete. 91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K 90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K |
#15
|
||||
|
||||
You've got some pretty good rust in the rockers around the jack holes, and rear corners. You need to get under the car and poke around, not just look, at the undercoating, particularly around mounting points and welded seams, to see if there's any real structural underbody rust, thats the big worry. I had less visible rust on my 80, but underneath it oozed orange stains from the seams, had bubbles around them here and there, it finally advanced to a point after driving it 2 years that I noticed the handling and behavior of the car was changing noticeably in bad ways, so it's parked now. I had $500 invested in it and ran it 2 yrs, still has a lot of good useable parts for my other car, not a bad haul.
BTW, you might want to carry a small hyd jack in the trunk with you, I think the factory jack will be useless to you at this point should you have a flat....
__________________
Chris 64 190D R.I.P. 80 240D W/617 engine -for sale 82 240D -for sale |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|