nah pretty sure thats orginal motor and thats how the w140 diesels were badged

It should probably say turbo on the other side, but my big concern is the blackness of the reverse light on the driver's side... probably from lots of oil burning :eek:

-Jason

all the w140 diesels dont say turbo and the blackness is the lens from the inside

Besides you can drop a 606 in there, when you have lemons make lemonade

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.w124performance.com/images/SuperTurbo/W140.134-OM606/1993_300SD_OM606_swap3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.w124performance.com/images/SuperTurbo/W140.134-OM606/&usg=__ED-CGhgWDjR4A5r81Qi1d6VI8Ic=&h=960&w=1280&sz=265&hl=fr&start=14&um=1&tbnid=5vdJYrk0QaxWDM:&tbnh=113&tbn w=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dw140%2B300%2BSD%26hl%3Dfr%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:fr:official%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1

good gad Watson!! Excellent observation, but at 260k don't you think there would be some residue? Or is this a definite sign of a rod going bad?

Go back and look at this one I posted earlier. It has the same oil stained rear. And bears the same DEALER LICENSE PLATE TOO!!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1994-S350D-Diesel-350SD-Rare-Find-Runs-Great-Loaded_W0QQitemZ140376267964QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item20af13dcbc

http://www.cartechnyc.com/s350d2/3.jpg

I love my W140 with the 3.4L engine, it's great and oh so smooth and comfy!

steve a

The early pre-facelift W140 cars just said 300SD, the later ones were badged S350D or S350 TURBODIESEL, it just depends on what year. The one shown in the photos is either 92 or 93.

It also apparently has a problem with one of the reverse guide rods, is missing the right front tow hook cover and the long lens that covers the reverse light has fallen off on the passenger side...as they sometimes do.

steve a

Well at least it's from Texas, so the body is likely not to have rust belt exposure.

Any other W140 candidates?

steve a

Looks like the tires are wearing on the edges. Alignment problem?

http://www.cartechnyc.com/s350d2/8.jpg

Probably its an old W140 with a bunch of miles on it.

All old W140's are going to be needy, probably needs a grand or so put into the front end.

As a side note that car, which has some oddities to it, has the rear sunshade and the rear door roller blinds, you can see them in the pics.

steve a

I have to say, my dad has a 93 300SD. It was kept immaculate inside and out by the PO. He bought it with 140,000 miles and immediately started looking for another engine for when it was time. He got lucky and came across a documented crate 3.5 and dropped it in (nightmare).

That is THE nicest car I have ever driven, and I really love cars. It is also the same color combination as the 140 in the previous posts.

Another coonsideration -
Here in Virginia (and probably other regions as well) pre'96 (Pre OBDII) diesels are exempt from emissions inspection.

Otherwise, I'd avoid any automatic climate control vehicle. I prefer to keep my old cars simple!
Based on the 4 W123 diesels (3 240Ds and one Euro 300TD)
that I've owned in the past four years, if I could select the best combination of durability, and reasonable comfort & performance, and cargo capacity wasn't a requirement, my choice would be a solid-body 77-85 Euro 5-speed 300D with manual heat & AC. For cargo-haulng, my choice would be the same equipment in a Euro TD. Next choice, and one much more likely to be found in the US, would be a well-sorted, solid-body manual-shift 240D.

Happy Motoring, Mark

A friend of mine likes W140 gassers, he currently has a couple. They are nice cars, but they don't really appeal to me and they are very complex. He is constantly messing around with the automatic door latch mechanisms. If I wanted something that complex, I would by a new benz, I like my old cars simple.

Markho,
I own a '94 S350D almost identical to the one you posted from ebay. Most comfortable car I've ever owned! I've had it close to 3 years and it's close to 210k on the clock. Mine doesn't smoke, use an excessive amount of oil thought the turbocharger oil line leaks alittle. It does have ac problems, the Bose amplifier needs overhauled and now I'm starting to hear one of the rear half shafts moan. THe front end is also starting to shimmy abit. About what you'd expect on a 4800 lb car with that many miles. But try and find a 16 year old car with paint and interior that's held up as well as these do. Mine lives out in the Texas sun on the coast to boot. Hope this helps.
Wayne

what a shame these are really sweet looking cars. I keep looking at these years and realizing the motor issues according to this thread :confused:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1993-350SD-MERCEDES-BENZ_W0QQitemZ130367294807QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item1e5a7f0d57

Ehhh
 

I've found that the best place to find diesel benzes is craigslist. I wouldn't even try with fleabay. My .02..

Flea-Bay
 

That one , if it's from Florida , it has rust . period .

It's also a rod bender so unless it's engine has been rebuilt , it's a $1,500 klunker

Lastly , you'd trust a used car salesman who cannot tell if a car's been re-painted ?! :eek:

Give me a break .

Avoid 1987 300D.








Leave them for me.

Too many miles for my taste.
Too much money ($7,200.00)
White color, non-stock wheels, and tinted windows - all undesirables too.

Were I to have bid on the car, I'd have had to; 1) see it, drive it, get it on a rack, and 2) talk to the previous owners if possible and go over the records and parts replaced list - all with a fine tooth comb.

Yes are these good cars? I love full size units!!!1

Perhaps avoid all diesel 124s for the same reason (me).

I noticed a couple post to AVOID all diesels 1991-1996.

I thought the 1995 E300 Non Turbo was known as a super reliable car, although kind of slow?

The <'96 124 cars (all years) are very reliable if not neglected nor abused, moreso than the later cars IMO. I'm not as fond of the late-'90s cars. Model changes depend on which model you're considering, the 201 bowed to the 202 in '94, the 124 ended in '95 and '96 E-class was the 210, and the 126 ended production in MY1991 and was replaced in '92 by the W140. IMO none of these successors were as reliable, but all were more refined and had more features.

Whomever told you to avoid '91-'96 is incorrect but realize that you're deep in the land of opinion with this question, 123 people usually don't like the later cars ('86 up), 616/617 people don't usually like the later 60x engines, ... until they own one.

Ok, thats what I had figured. I had heard wiring harness and a/c evaporator are problematic in 1995 E300. But besides that pretty reliable cars. I have heard of head gasket issues and transmission issues around 150k, but I dont think that is the norm for these cars? Or can you pretty much expect to have head gasket and transmission issues around 150,000 miles in the 1995 E300?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions :)

Depends on how you feel about your car catching on fire.

Why would it catch on fire? Diesel catch on fire?

anything except water can catch fire... and water can too if the right chemicals are present...
I believe what mutt is alluding to is the wiring harness issues that were inherent with those vehicles...

Wiring harness has been changed (updated) @ the dealership on the car I am looking at. Besides that point do you consider the 1995 E300 a car to avoid or a desirable reliable diesel that many would want to own?

I'm not familiar with head gasket problems on that car, but have read that glow-plugs can stick in the holes.

The only 124 diesel that got the beefier 733 transmission is the '87, but again I believe that miles to failure vary widely as it only takes around 17hp to cruise on the freeway, all of its 150hp to get there at times, doesn't shift on the highway, ... my transmission goes through the gears twice on my 150mile drive to Michigan.

Use/abuse/neglect have much more affect on these cars' transmissions. Also, if the car was left un-driven for an extended period, this can cause irreversible seal shrinking, no amount of Viagra will save it, ... use it or lose it.

If I couldn't drive a 61x car, I wold probably just skip to the CDIs.

I dont think many caught on fire, many had wiring harness issues.

I've not heard of one catching on fire, no, the sky is not falling. However I have read here about at least one 123 catching on fire, more that had a meltdown that could have caused a fire, early 126s which burned, ... so by that account should we avoid all cars before '86?

I told you that nobody likes a car later than his own here, opinion warning!!

When I was 21
 

It was a very good year.

F. Sinatra

A 617, will make life a breeze.

True, most people are going to buy the newest car that they like. Owning an old car is a PITA, I wouldn't do it if there was something newer that I liked better.

Don't take advice regarding later MB's from this forum, they regard the W123 as the best MB ever made.:rolleyes:

Actually, the best mass produced sedan ever made. If there was something better, I would own one.

(trolling, trolling), ... c'mon, someone's got to bite.

Mine came from 'flea-bay' but I think I got lucky. Was also unusual that it was in Wyoming, up next to SD by Mt. Rushmore. Yep, out in the sticks. Flew there and drove it back to L.A.

I've had a lot of interest in the bigger diesel sedans, but after this thread I'm a little gun-shy. The early 80's are a little dated, and the later ones were problems and expensive to repair/maintain. At least that's what it sounds like here.

I better hang on to my little german taxi cab...
The interior is as flawless as the exterior. :)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...D/DSC03252.jpg

W140's has the dreaded AC evap leak

Haven't heard the reasons? Suppose one might be computers and stuff that came after and read about quality going away or not the same at some point.
Guess the early S class (1st gen?) w126s are right there with the 123.

I actually like the 115/116 and the 123/126 diesels. IMO, the 115/116 is a little primitive and the 126 is a little too complex. The later cars are much to complex.

This is ridiculous!!! Blatant trolling! Where are the moderators when you need them?

Anyway, I own an '83 240D and '95 E300D - a 123 and a 124 - both great cars because both come at the end of their production runs (well, not really true of the 240D, but last imported that year) so that means all the "bugs" were worked out, right? So why is it that I am working on them all the time? Oh yeah, they are old cars that need attention. What is this I keep hearing about the "turbo" option on some of these cars? I wonder if that is worth checking out? :rolleyes: