Yup, go ahead and call me a fool! I bought this '87 300D without looking in the overflow tank. Looks like the Exxon Valdez came through there. Assuming this has an early cylinder head - where's the number on 'em? - any ideas on where to find a good, used head?? There's still the chance (however slim) the guy will give me my money back, but I'm going forward with the assumption that I'm going to have to fix the thing....

Jay.

__________________
On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er

Confirm the cargo on the Valdez before replacing the head. Was it carrying ATF or engine oil?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

It'd be pretty funky lookin' ATF! The car runs pretty good, otherwise....

Jay.

__________________
On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er

Could be a gasket issue, if you're really lucky.

Casting number is above the #2 injector, 603.xxx.YY.zz where YY is the casting number.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Could be residual oil from a previous head gasket failure. Flush the cooling system with diswashing soap solution. You might have to do it a few times.

The conundrum if you need a head gasket is whether to replace only the head gasket, do a valve job or replace the head while it's off.

Sixto
87 300D

Sixto, we all know about your "while I'm in there" compulsion ;~)

It can easily double the cost, ... the reason I have so many projects in the planning stages.

As an Engineer, I had to learn to say the hardest two words: "good enough", when it met the customers' specifications (including Mercedes-Benz). I still have difficulty saying that when I work on my cars though.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I learned that working on government projects

Seriously, an added complexity in this situation is that the car is new to this owner and the PO appears less than forthright. Do you risk a bigger problem driving it as is for a while to generate a to do list, or slap a head gasket on there to discover more reasons to pull the head?

Sixto
87 300D

Is this a car that was on CL lately? Is it a blue one with chromed wheels? I've seen a few recently for relatively cheap.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I got ahold of the p.o. I feel better. He says his kid accidentally poured some oil into the burp bottle while doing an oil change?? Sounds plausible. Why would it be black, though?? I'm going to put the pressure tester on it sometime in the next couple days.

Like I say, the car runs pretty nicely. It needs motor mounts in a bad way. The rear suspension is a little loosey-goosey, but looks pretty easy to overhaul. The parts are cheap. If it does look like the gasket is compromised, I'll take the head in to Bearing Service. See what they can come up with....

I've poo-pooed these cars way too much. Many apologies to anyone I may have offended in the past!

Jay.

__________________
On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er

yeah, right. that was the best he could come up with?

__________________
=-=-=-=-=
1987 300TD 231,000
#22, afterglow, plastic fan, euro lights, alternator upgrade, cluster housing update

Plausable, I suppose.

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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!!!

I find that suspect since he would have disclosed that BEFORE the purchase...."oh and by the way...."

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Because he's lying to you.

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Corey

'83 240D, 190kmi

I don't think the guy intentionally sold me a car with a bad head gasket. It goes like a raped ape, doesn't smoke and doesn't use much oil.

Is the gasket bad? Seems pretty likely. 14 head. He's the second owner, has had the car for 15 years, and it gets driven a lot. Th head gasket has never been replaced since he's had the car.

I screwed up. Plain and simple. I'm gonna' keep driving the thing for a little while and decide whether I want to take the time to pull the head. I'll fix the rear end, replace the motor mounts and - provided I can do it without pulling the intake??? - replace the delivery valve o-rings and crush washers. Maybe then I'll just sell it as-is and cut my losses. Worst case scenario, I'll part the sucker out. It has a recently rebuilt transmission that'll sell for half what I paid for the car.

__________________
On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er

People do stupid things like that. It won't take to much effort to find out if he's a liar or not. I imagine if the test comes back dire he will be shocked.

__________________
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!!!