Well I just went and looked at what I thought was going to be in instant buy. Wrong!!!

The car is a nice champagne color (rare I guess... haven't seen it often. Definitely not gold, or silver but somewhere in-between) with a black interior. I could do without the black here in H-town, but it's in respectable shape.

Anyway, we go look under the hood and there it is; the mysterious cali emissions system. Bummer!! All I know about that thing is it's a pain in the butt, and it scares me.

Here's the bottom line; can I remove it? If so, at what cost? Is it tied to any other system that could be weakened by it's removal?

Could be a good car.... Needs work... I dunno. I'm on the fence. The car has 191k on it and has the Lovecraft veggie system in it. If I do buy it, that thing will be de-installed straight away! Anybody in the market for the kit?

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

The lovecraft thing would make me run just about as fast as starting fluid in the glove box. It better be cheap...

I've never messed with a Cali version so I have no idea.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

California emmisions stay away from that.85s have a hateful tach.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Besides the trap ox everything else with the cali emissions package is not a problem. The WVO kit would scare me off more as well.

-Jason

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Dangit...

Yeah, it's definitely had WVO in the engine. The secondary fuel filter has gunk oozing out the top...

So how cheap would it need to be, you reckon?

The blow-by is mild. Starts up with minimal glow (I like to try and start the car within 1-2 seconds... It seems like if the car starts with minimal glow time the compression must be pretty good.) and drives well... Antenna, vacuum locks, sunroof... all works.

You guys know a good deal when you see it. Maybe I should hold off on this one...

Slim pickins in H-town it seems! I'm just not in enough circles I suppose. My main circle starts with a "cra" and ends with a "igslist".

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

How come?

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

HAahahah!!

I saw one listing recently that said the old diesel had "brand new spark plugs installed"! One can only hope they meant glow plugs.

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

A hateful tach...? Don't all the w123's?

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1989 300E 144K

If it were absolutely gorgeous, in near perfect show room condition with 190k, and documentation since new I would pay no more than 3 grand for it because of that kit and live in fear of engine and IP issues. If its average, maybe half.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

'85 tachs are different from the rest, and are more evil. If it goes down, it takes your AC with it.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Whoa whoa whoa!! I thought 85's were supposed to be the ultimate justice! How often do those tach systems go all evil?

She's good with $1500, but I think I'll offer about $1k now that I've seen it in person.

The interior is one of the best I've seen. All the felt around the door rubber is intact. The plastic molding that usually shrivels up around the window is still perfect. Most of the wood is 100%. The backseat looks like it's never seen a booty. The first-aid kit is even there. Just needs a cleaning and some drivers seat spring repair.

The exterior is about 7.5/10. There's a small push-in on the driver's side rear door, some scratches on the hood, and a small rust bubble on the front lip of the hood; dime sized(not open yet... still hard). One peel, quarter sized, just near drivers handle. Great color. Never seen it in person before.

Needs a little front end attention, but the steering feels tight. Oil leaks. 5-6 drips a minute; needs immediate attention. AC needs charged, but works.

EDIT: Front bumper pushed in 1.5 inches on left side... caused right side to bump out 1.5 inches.

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

I own an 85 cali and have to say that replacing a fuse on an OVP is a lot cheaper and easier than replacing the typical tach amp failure on the previous models in order to get the tach working.

As far as the emissions stuff...it really isn't that bad, and all 85s have the bulk of the systems, less the trap-ox (hopefully converted to ox-cat)

I would never buy a car with a lovecrap system on it, unless it was for the body and interior.

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1985 300D cali 190K

http://mercedes.thatchermathias.com/mw300d.jpg

Noobie alert! What's the OVP? And ox-cat? Wha? EDIT: DISREGARD. Searched. I am now informed.

Lovecrap for the lose... another vote against it.

The current owner had the system installed. She says she only put about 5k on the engine with lovecrap. She then started reading about how it negatively effects the ol' benz and had it bypassed by her mechanic.

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

well, I found the DIY for the Cali to Fed conversion... seems reasonable. It's just a matter of finding the parts and getting it done I suppose.

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

Speaking as the 3-years owner of a 1985 300D (W123, OM617) California version, the car is better off with the trap catalyst removed. Someone on this forum makes a replacement straight pipe "for testing purposes only." About $200. I had a machinist/welder make one for me; as a one-off it was more expensive but works well. The car has better performance and fuel economy with the trap cat gone. You can also swap the entire exhaust system with a Federal system and get rid of the trap cat that way.

The other emissions stuff on the '85 is the same EGR crap that several earlier years had and just as easy to remove or bypass. Mine is in a box on the shelf and the engine is better off without it. Easy job. The EGR amplifier (which lives, with the OVP, behind the passenger right kick panel, of all places!) cannot be removed because the tach signal runs through it and then to the tach. With all of its outputs removed, however, the EGR electronics does nothing and so can be ignored.

The Over-Voltage Protection (OVP) relay was first used in the 1984 W210 models. It protects the electronics if the alternator's regulator fails by blowing its built-in 10 Amp fuse. The tach in this model goes through the EGR electronics which I have never heard of failing. Tach problems in this model are almost always caused by a failed OVP or the sensor at the flywheel. The hard part is learning that the OVP lives behind a kick panel.

The '85 has some advantages such as a slightly later-version transmission with 1st gear start, a torque converter with a higher stall speed, and a higher-ratio rear end so the engine doesn't spin quite so fast at freeway speeds (earlier models were made with the 55 MPH speed limit in mind).

Because of the position of the trap cat next to the exhaust manifold, the turbo must sit higher, so the air cleaner must move forward to clear. The '85-CA air cleaner does not have the problem with broken mounts that the older models have. It has a better cold air intake system due to the position of the air filter. The filter element is larger and more expensive (about $40 on-line) but that is the only difference in cost of annual maintenance.

The 85-CA does not have an oil drain from the air filter canister to the oil sump -- all of the blowby is sucked into the turbo air inlet. Although that could mean slightly increased oil usage, in reality it means no mess under the car from a leaking oil drain tube.

Bottom line -- don't let the '85-CA stuff scare you away but do be careful of the veggie conversion.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970