I saw this car on Ebay. Seems like GSXR tipped me off to it, but as of this writing (Dec. 25th) I can't remember for sure. It was advertised as a parts car, but when I went and saw it in person, it wasn't really that bad It has Lots of new/recent parts and repairs. Everything works well, except for a few minor electrical things like glow plugs and seat and window switches. Considering that this model is rare to find for sale here in Utah, in any condition, I decided to bid their minimum bid but was not going to bid a penny more. Nobody else bid. I think, listed as a parts car, few people found it. The hit counter only had something like 30 page hits. So I bought a $500 Mercedes. Whether or not I keep it remains to be seen. I ran the VIN# on the Russian site. I then edited out the x-tra info, so It's not so confusing and hard to read. VIN WDBEB28D2MB496236 Model 250 D TURBODIESEL Chassis 1241281B496236 Engine 602.962 Transmission 722418 03 051071 Order# 0 0 704 44044 Model Year 1991 Dealer United States (USA) (704) Interior MB-tex mushroom (175) Paint 702 - smoke silver metallic 75 (Unknown code) ie, call it a 300D, intstead of 250D, they'll never know??? Options 221 left front seat, electrically adjustable 222 right front seat, electrically adjustable 240 outside temperature indicator 280 steering wheel (400 mm dia.) and gearshift lever in leather trim 340 additional 3rd stop lamp 412 electric sliding roof with tilting device 420 automatic transmission, floor shift 430 headrests in the rear - auto platzing 444 tempomat (cruise control) and airbag 467 central locking system and instruments with english lettering 491 USA version 524 paintcoat preservation (Clearcoat?) 531 automatic antenna 543 sun visor with vanity mirror, illuminated, left and right 551 anti-theft warning system 570 folding armrest front 588 automatic climate control and electric window lifters (front and rear doors) 593 heat-insulating glass, all-around, heated rear window pane (single-sheet safety glass) - tinted strip 600 headlamp wiper/washer 611 courtesy lamps for front and rear doors, with W124 - (W202 front doors only) 639 elimination of first-aid box and warning triangle (Dang Nabit!) 640 15-hole light alloy rims 673 high-capacity battery 757 Becker radio Grand Prix 2000 - USA 801 Change of year of model, last figure shows new model year 814 active bass loudspeaker system I'll be using this thread to post updates as I diagnose what appears to be a head gasket problem. One cylinder seems to be getting Anti-Freeze into the combustion chamber. I kind of still have my fingers crossed that its something easy, but I'm prepared for the worst. I'll be pulling the head. This is the first time I've attempted engine work as extensive as head gasket replacement. Before this, I've only been inside an engine to do valve adjustments, or valve guides. I figure, with all you great people helping me, it should be easy. Or...in the worst case scenario I'll totally mess up and have to buy a used engine. Oh yeah, I did replace an entire engine once, with the assistance of Bro-in-law and his extensive tools. In VW Rabbit, took us 1/2 a Saturday. By the way, that Rabbit was only a couple hundred dollars and it turned out to be pretty good car once I put another $900 or so into it. Once I've repaired the head gasket, and had time to get to know all the good and bad points of the car, I will decide whether or not I will keep it for a few years, or sell it. I'm in no hurry to get it finished, but would like to have it up and running by Spring. This can't be all that hard. What could possibly go wrong? Hooray for cheap Mercedes!

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

You have pretty much the same car I do. I look forward to reading your postings. The more you learn and write about it, the more I learn. Thx!

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1993 W124 300D 2.5L Turbo, OM602.962
2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2.4L DOHC
2002 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC
2005 Toyota Prius, 1.5L

http://www.fuelly.com/sig-us/40601.png

Whatever you do, use the MB tool to remove the head bolts. I tried the cheap-o Autozone tool, and it snapped off in one head bolt. 9 months later, I am still trying to get that ONE LAST head bolt out. PITA...

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

Pulling the engine out of a rabbit is a lot easier then pulling one out of a benz (Heck the last time I helped with that we lowered the engine out then used the engine hoist to lift up the car over the engine!)

-Jason

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

2013 Fiat 500E. 20,000 miles, 80 miles at a time.
2012 Passat TDI. 95,000 miles. More space, power, and fuel economy than the Benz
2004 Touareg V10 TDI. 150,000 miles. One of 450.
1999 Jetta TDI. 310,000 miles.
1992 Jetta ECOdiesel. 156,000 miles. 1 of 48. Sold.
1991 Jetta ECOdiesel. 430,000 miles. 1 of 700. Sold to VeeDubTDI, totaled in front of our house

I (my son) has a 1990 version of same car. I have not worked on this one except for two jobs - GP replacement and Blower Fan replacement. I will be interested to follow along and contribute where I may.

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Dionysius

A USA delivered 250D? *blink*

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1987 300D Sturmmachine
1991 300D Nearly Perfect
1994 E320 Cabriolet
1995 E320 Touring
2001 Eurovan FOR SALE
1985 300D car, sold and missed.
OBK #42

All of the 300D 2.5Turbo cars come up this way. It's what the rest of the world called them.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Yeah I think they were banking on the reputation of the 300D name in the US for all those 123 owners who were looking to trade up to the "new" 300D. It also could have been that 250D was too close to 240D and they didn't want people thinking it was the low end car.

Anyways, the 124.128 is a great car. Fuel efficient while being quick enough to get out of its own way. It's also a post-revision 124 so you get the new convenience and comfort features. EDS can be a pain, but when it's sorted (or removed) it's great to drive.

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Dale

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...MG_2277sig.jpg

1990 300D 2.5 Turbo -155k
2000 E430 - 103k
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel 4x4 - 11k
2014 VW Passat TDI SE - 7k Bro's Diesel
2006 E320 CDI - 128k Pop's Benz

Pre-glow - A moment of silence in honor of Rudolph Diesel

MBUSA always did that, higher numbers lead to a high-end expectation, the same reason that the Audi 80/90 was the Audi 4000 here, and the Audi 100/200 the Audi 5000, ...badge engineering at its finest.

In the US they just put badges all over the car like ABS, Turbo, Fuel-Injection, etc. to sell them. Oh and my favorite: the Chevy "Eurosport" lumina. We were always wondering when Mercedes would offer a model with fake woodgrain on the sides, chrome bumpers, wire wheel hubcaps, whitewall tires, and a big Amerisport sticker on the side.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

After teaching Mom, sis, girlfriends, etc. all about Mercedes and BMW's model numbering systems, they go and get sloppy on me. Now-days, they ignore it completely. ALL THAT TIME, WASTED

I would rather they called it the 250D - everywhere. Mercedes started doing this back in the 60s, though, so I guess the system never was pure.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

When my car came off the tow truck I backed it down the hill from just above my driveway, then pulled forward about 4 car lengths where I parked it. It sat there in front of my garage for weeks, including some very cold weather. It's been as cold as -2F and many nights in the single digits. There are some glow plug issues and I have been unable to start the engine till today.

On my failed attempts at starting there's been a lot of engine cranking. I wonder if that might have contributed to all the oil? I have a new set of Bosch glow plugs ordered. They're made in France, hopefully they'll last. My Cuisinart has done very well!

My glow plug light is off durring pre glow, then it lights for a minute or so. A recent post explains what that means very well. Since the glow plugs all look very old, I'm replacing them all. I found plugs on Ebay for $10.50 each.

A few days ago, I moved the car into the garage. Since it's uphill and I didn't have a helper, I decided to push it with the rear bumper of my Chrysler. At 2 AM on a snowy night. I've been gently warming the car to see if I could get it started once more. The battery was weak so I gave it a full charge. I finally got the car started today. It ran pretty well, but there were copious amounts of smoke coming out the tailpipe. It attracted a lot of attention from passers by. I expected to hear sirens soon.

As I sat in the driver's seat running the engine, I thought the engine sounded pretty good, except at idle where there was a bit of nailing. I could hear the turbo whine when I revved it a little...sounded normal.

All in all I let it run for about 1 minute. When I got out of the car, I was not surprised to see a lot of smoke, but when I walked towards the back of the car I was surprised to see oil splattered on my driveway. It was a lot of oil. I'd say at least a cup or so, and I bet there's probably more inside the exhaust system. By the way, I checked the oil yesterday and discovered that it was a little over 2 quarts low on oil. I added oil till it touched the bottom of the second red plastic bump.

The cooling system was almost full. I didn't believe the overflow tank, so I removed the upper radiator hose. Water didn't exactly gush out, but I could only get about a cup in the hose before it overflowed. So it very well may have been burning coolant, but now the major problem is oil.

I'm not sure if this means I was mistaken about the antifreeze smell from before, or if I have a newly expanded problem after months of sitting.

I had been considering putting some Bar's Leak in it so I could drive it for a few months. That way I could at least get the safety and emissions done. I thought it would be nice to be able to get the car licensed.

From what I've read in other threads, no such luck. I have to pull the head.

Sounds almost the same: 92 300d Oil in Exhaust Problem

I've also spent a lot of time reading GSXR's posts and viewing his website photos. He's got lots of great information on 602 etc.

From the 200 feet or so I drove the car I got a feel of how nice it rode. Very tight and quiet. Transmission shifted smooth and quick. The worlds shortest road test! My 240d feels like a wet sponge in comparison as it goes through the dip at the bottom of my driveway. Still has the original shocks and stuff, though, and it's 31.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

oil out the tailpipe and lots of smoke (white?) would incline me toward a blown seal in the turbo perhaps. At least that's the first place I would look.

Aside from the problems you might have / find I personally think this is one of the Benz cars I would be most inclined to own. I have seen perhaps two in my area for sale in the course of 10 years. I think a manual trans version of the 2.5 would be great.

steve a

I thought of the turbo seals too. But this is a huge amount of oil to come out in only one minute of running. I know the car has 20/50 oil in it, so I suspect attempting to start the car in very cold weather might have further degraded an already weakened head gasket. I'm no expert though, so all suggestions are much appreciated.

Cleaning up the oil off the driveway today was no fun at all! Our high temp was 17F and my driveway gets little sun this time of year. (none, in fact, where the oil was) The oil was almost the consistency of molasses. Kitty litter wasn't doing a very good job. The garage has a rather putrid smell still, 36 hours later.

The day I checked out the car the smoke was different than yesterday. It did smell like burnt antifreeze. (My car has the green stuff in it.)

It is a nice car. I really like the seats. Firm but comfortable.

The sellers said they were going to remove the sound system they had installed, so I was a bit surprised that just the head unit had been removed. The Becker GP is in its spot, but not hooked up. I haven't checked into what it needs to work, but it has no power to it. There is a large AMP and it has MB Quarts speakers in it. I have no idea if those are any good or not. I may take the Becker out all together, like they did. Hopefully the wiring isn't messed up too badly.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!