1995 E300 search questions - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

rrgrassi · #16 01-14-2009, 11:34 AM

The dark painted cars do shine better though! I like the darker ones. White is too common for me. But in the summer at least the paint is cooler to touch. The interior is blast furnace no matter what color though during the summer. This is where cloth seats are better.

matthias08 · #17 01-14-2009, 11:55 AM

Well....

I am in love w/ the black on black. && by the looks of the snow here in ohio. seat heat is a must have.

but... if anyone wants the E300D. its stored in Florida.

no not beachfront where i'm required to park while i'm there...
but inland, freshly rinsed & waxed, in a covered, insured, climate controled, & hurricane resistant building. until march/april when all this gunk (snow) is gone.

beware. if i find a car @ equal or better of my 124 in black/black, red/black, or even white/black. i will jump on it. & my E300 WILL be forsale

&& no. i havn't cut the top off yet. altho i did kick a really large chunk of bondo out of my 240D's door last night

spark3542 · #18 01-14-2009, 11:58 AM

Feedback on the 606. Love it.

Hated the fact that the manifold covered everything, until I realized how easy it is to remove.

I had one glow plug change that was the nightmare (broke off..., drilling, tapping, slide hammer, more drilling, more tapping). Then learned that warm engine, plus lots of PB Blaster, plus torque wrench makes glow plug change painless.

There is a connector on the fenderwall to check glow plugs.

Engine is almost as tolerant as a 617 on creative fuels. 31k miles now on WVO/RUG blend, and no cold-weather-related fuel issues. (7 degrees fahrenheit today).

Love my black/black color, but I can imagine that in TX that may be an issue.

daw_two · #19 01-14-2009, 12:24 PM

Hey Jimmy.

I thought about you on Monday night.....I ran to Home Depot (I really prefer Lowes), but the home heat thermostat I wanted to buy is only sold at Home Depot.

I come out of the exit and start walking to my car (w126, silverish color) in the dim parking lot. LOW and BEHOLD, as I approach the trunk, I notice its NOT a 300SDL, but a 500 (or 560) SEL, then I look over a couple of more rows and spot Coda. I get in Coda and while waiting for the glow plug relay to "clunk" off, I spot another Mercedes.....the front says w124, so I drive over and it's a 300D 2.5 (turbo? -- don't remember). I bet it belongs to one of the workers because there were only about 5 customers inside the store.

I'll be happy to go back and investigate if you want.

equipmentjunkie · #20 01-14-2009, 12:30 PM

I like my 606 more than I anticipated. It delivers better fuel mileage than I expected with just over 30 mpg in the dead of winter and 33-34 mpg in the summer.

Last month, my car suddenly began to knock pretty bad on start-up with some of the aforementioned white smoke. Depending on temperature, the noise and smoke would clear up in a matter of 5-20 seconds. I figured it was a single bad glow plug. Therefore, I changed all my glow plugs in the past month. The job is a piece of cake once you take off all the other stuff surrounding them. It will go much faster the next time since I now know the procedure. I also took the warm engine & PB Blaster route. Nary a problem...other than me dumping a container of the valve cover fasteners into the dark chasm of my engine bay. I couldn't believe it but we found them all.

husk · #21 01-14-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Asking price is $6K, but that of course wouldn't be happening. Although, you never know with consignment deals. Could go either way on that one.
I wouldn't go above $5K on this one [and the first offer would be below that.

], mainly because I'd be buying a color I don't want, and would have to get a decent deal to make up for the arse whip of black. Black takes commitment which I just don't have for paint/dirt/dust etc...... Possibly being hard to find shows that it isn't a real high priority. It was way in back in another section of the lot.
I do like the fact that everything worked, and worked well and there were no drips of any kind under the car.
Will Mercedes give you service information on a car?? Carfax doesn't turn up any specific repairs, just has about 3-4 "service repair" entries. [they printed the Carfax for me]
They also said I could take it to a mechanic. With the glow plugs inop and the known wiring harness issues I guess I had better figure out where the relay is and check the wiring at that connector.
Oh, and another thing: At some point after I had pulled the car back up at the dealership and had turned it on/off a couple times to watch the glow plug light, the radio started making an ear piercing tone, a real electronic 'audible dog whistle' type of noise. Would go away when radio turned off, back to glass shattering when radio on. volume had no effect, neither did station changing. Don't remember if I turned the car off again or just on/off'd the radio but if finally went away. Weird. And loud!!!

BTW, they also had a W140 of the rod bending variety back in their lot. I was going to drive it too but it was dead as a doornail and I didn't want them to bother finding a booster. It was horrible rough paint and interior. Just a sad mess compared to what it used to be....... They said it ran. Nice stain under it!

**edit**

Here are some pics. I have 2 engine shots on my phone but can't figure out how to get them to my email. [borrowed Motorola Q since my phone smashed last week]

Wow the car looks clean, any motor pictures?

300SL24 · #22 01-14-2009, 03:25 PM

I like the color combo on that car. Only recently did I buy a 1995 E300D. It's green. I've grown to like the color. Initially I'd have prefered silver or black. But I'm appreciating the green.

husk · #23 01-14-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 300SL24

I like the color combo on that car. Only recently did I buy a 1995 E300D. It's green. I've grown to like the color. Initially I'd have prefered silver or black. But I'm appreciating the green.

Special Edition?

davidmash · #24 01-14-2009, 03:38 PM

We have had ours for 2 years now. It's white on white (which I hate). I would have rather had a dark car like my 190. The E300 is my wife's. So far it has been quite solid. Bought it with 63k on the ODO. The only issues we had were the fuel lines shortly after we got it and the wiring harness. The fuel lines leaked like a sieve due to the diesel mixture change too ultra low surfer. The A/C would crap out when it rained or went through a car wash. It was traced back to the harness and since it was replaced no issues. The car has enough power for me but not Mrs. Lead foot. She had a Volvo T5 and misses that POS. I grew up on a 240D so this E300 has plenty of power. Smooth ride, quiet and roomy. Just wish it was black.

I'm going to a MB club tech session on the 24th at Park Place Mercedes to change out the tyranny fluid, oil, brake fluid and coolant plus a few other odds and ends if I have time. It's so nice working on a car with a lift.

300SL24 · #25 01-14-2009, 03:43 PM

Special Edition?

Yep. It's a special edition. With the "special" wheels, leather seats, ASD, heated seats, 6-Disc CD changer, integrated car phone.

The ASD has come in handy here in Michigan, with all the snow we've been getting...

jcyuhn · #26 01-14-2009, 04:02 PM

The late 124 cars have darn good air conditioning. I have a '93 gas 124 and it has no trouble making the interior uncomfortably cold during August in Dallas. Mine is white exterior with a dark grey interior. Just get a good, heat rejecting tint (e.g. Llumar metallic) all around and use a windshield screen when parking. I'm not a fan of black-over-black myself, but when you want a one model year only special, you gotta value clean, well maintained, and priced right over your favorite color combo.

- JimY

JimmyL · #27 01-14-2009, 08:35 PM

There is so much good feedback for me in this thread!! I've very appreciative to all those folks who have contributed. Again, Husk has been awesome in his specific help during my search.
I like hearing about the later W124's having better AC systems, I must admit. And the value placed on a one owner car is hard to discount. But black on black in Texas????!!!!

It would really have to be improved AC!
I've read here that the non-turbo OM606 is a little more forgiving when extracting the glow plugs then the turbo version. So with the afterglow it is normal for the glow light to be on that 30-40 seconds?
I was laying on the IM and with my small led flashlight I could see the glow plugs. didn't look too bad if the IM was gone. No leakage at all from the top of the IP, but I could smell diesel. that could be totally normal though.
I liked the headlight wipers and the Bose stereo really did sound good. But it was Black.....
The lady was supposed to have the Dr. call me today, but I certainly wasn't expecting anything. And of course, I heard nothing. Was too busy to think about it too much until this evening anyway.
Will Mercedes give you the service history on a car, even if you are not the current owner? Can any dealership pull up the history regardless of the dealership of choice the PO had?
David, duly noted. Sounds like a nice car! "Grand Prairie; where our first name says it all!"
300SL24, green? Nice!
Ralphie, I'm gonna let you polish it for me. Often! [shouldn't there be a better way to word that]

JimY, good info, and a very good point!
daw, I appreciate you thinking about my car search. If it was a 2.5 turbo then it was a 90-93 and I've got my cross hairs pointed directly at '95. I've always had a soft spot for the NA......

curlytom · #28 01-14-2009, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

No leakage at all from the top of the IP, but I could smell diesel. that could be totally normal though.

I just got home and read this…I went out to my car, opened up the hood and sniffed around - nope, no diesel smell whatsoever; your car’s diesel smell could be a sign of a future leak…

b52rule · #29 01-14-2009, 09:39 PM

I have a black E300D...........real PITA to keep clean.

CHECK THE WIRING AND GLOW PLUG HARNESS!

Mine went down to bare wire, caused lots of problems and I had to have them replaced, $$$$$$$.

Bio300TDTdriver · #30 01-14-2009, 10:02 PM

When I had the dealer pull the VMI on my car, they told me they only do it for the owner as it contains the radio code. Which they could easily black out. I would ask the service writer at your local dealer if they would pull one for you.

Special Note: If you have one pulled on a 300TD, It says Model/Year 300TDT 1987. I guess a bottle of whiteout could take care of that.

If you can't get them to pull one, give me the VIN and I will try at my dealer. The service writer is a good guy and may do it for me.