Well, My Dad handed me the keys to the 1 owner 300d! Some things need fixed, HELP ME!

[kbenjamin0106]

well after 2 years of missing my 300d, my dad handed me his keys and said son, im getting old and its gonna be your mercedes now. SWEET! My car now, 93 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe GAS HOGG... 60 bucks a week.. Im done with that thing so the benz will be my new daily driver now.

CAR: 1983 Mercedes 300d Turbo Diesel - 140,000 original miles

Following things i need help with:

Brakes:

How do you replace the brake booster with the master cylinder? i have a rough idea but i dont want to tear it all apart and be like well im stuck...

Are the brake pads and rotors a simple unbolt and replace?

Engine:

It still has the original glow plugs and injectors, she seems a little sluggish and will just glow plugs help with performance?

Turbo feels like it isnt kicking in like my other 85 300d i had. but still pushing 10 pounds of boost, hooked my boost gauge in it.

and yes i did the ALDA cleaning, i also increased the ALDA, helped alot cause it was sooooooooo slow before.. something is robbing performance soo bad.. and i don't wanna say transmission or anything...


Thanks Guys!!! i plan on beginning on the brakes today so i will be on here lookin around and replying pretty quick. and let me know if i need any special tools because i currently dont have any for mercedes.

[bsmuwk]

glow plugs are for starting. brakes are simple w/ basic hand tools. why do you want to replace the booster/master?

[lefrisbee]

Are the brake pads and rotors a simple unbolt and replace?

It still has the original glow plugs and injectors, she seems a little sluggish and will just glow plugs help with performance?

and yes i did the ALDA cleaning, i also increased the ALDA, helped alot cause it was sooooooooo slow before.. something is robbing performance soo bad.. and i don't wanna say transmission or anything...

Pads and rotors are pretty simple. No surprises there.

Glow plugs won't help with running performance. After the engine is warm, the glow plugs don't do anything. If the car starts and runs well for the first few seconds, then your glow plugs are fine.

It's a bad idea to mess with the ALDA as the first step to fix performance issues. If there are other issues going on with the car, giving it more fuel will only mask those which might turn into a more serious issue. I suggest checking the obvious and easy things that affect power, such as the fuel filter.

[okyoureabeast]

Try bypassing the overboost solenoid. If you follow the boost line it will lead to what looks like an L shaped boot on the firewall. Then it leads back to the ALDA.

Simply disconnect the two lines and bridge it with a connection of some sorts.

I bypassed mine and the acceleration off of the line is incredible. It just doesn't feel like my honorable diesel car anymore.


What other maintenance items haven't been done? Things like fluid/filter changes, valve adjustment, rust repair, etc.

It sounds like you're on summer break. The best time to completely disassemble these cars

[kbenjamin0106]

The mechanic told me my MC can be leaking internally into my brake booster because it is showing signs of external leaking also, the car starts up alright i mean it isnt crisp as i believe it would.

It was a bad idea to touch the ALDA, but literally i was stumped on what else it needed.. I would have to imagine my intake is full of gunk and is it possible i can take it apart and clean it out by hand and possible clean the turbo by hand as well?

[kbenjamin0106]

Originally Posted by okyoureabeast

Try bypassing the overboost solenoid. If you follow the boost line it will lead to what looks like an L shaped boot on the firewall. Then it leads back to the ALDA.

Simply disconnect the two lines and bridge it with a connection of some sorts.

I bypassed mine and the acceleration off of the line is incredible. It just doesn't feel like my honorable diesel car anymore.


What other maintenance items haven't been done? Things like fluid/filter changes, valve adjustment, rust repair, etc.

It sounds like you're on summer break. The best time to completely disassemble these cars

Well actually i just graduated highschool so yea its a good ass break let me tell you and now i got a 300d again! ive been scared to bypass it because i read over boost can screw something up but i might as well try now

[kbenjamin0106]

The car has no rust, valve adjustment never has been done, fuel filters were changed every year, the tranny fluid needs done cause it has over 70k on that. the power steering filter never has been changed and it just needs soo much... and ill be doing it all because im only 18 and i feel that im more smarter than the mechanics around here with it. cause i started off at 15 years old working on these things

[barry123400]

Well I spent the better part of my life troubleshooting non automotive things. Make a list of maintenance things to do that generally are related to your complaint. After they are completed your problem may be gone or at least you will know what it is not causing issues..

Any effort that avoids a road breakdown is well worth the effort at todays costs. Valves not adjusted for at least 70k deserve attention first of all.

Sounds like your dad basically just drove it as long as it would run.Many of these cars are treated that way. So you will have a general accumulation of things to deal with I suspect. I could make a list if it were my car that was pretty extensive. Do you have an accurate real total miles this buggy has aquired?

Your list may be a little different depending on that. I am not sure of any of the accumulated milages on any of my four diesel 123s. One may be pretty close to accurate but even that one is uncertain. I have never seen a series of cars with the true accumulated milages usually a real unknown.

Lets see, school student, perhaps limited available financial resources, been there done that myself. Auto salvage places can become your friends and are part of a right of passage as well as a major learning experience that can last a lifetime.

Today even with lets say a higher disposable income than ever I still regress to old habits. This would not have been likely without the original right of passage. The dollar is not worth much so get the best practical value you can for it.

Learn to priceshop and negotiate. Nothing wrong with what we used to call scrounging either. It is almost a lost art form. Best of luck or coincidence but always remember in general we create it ourselves.

Best of all for your purposes is this excellent site. Almost all the answers to not only your needs but every other users as well are here in the archives. I rate it as the premier support system for this brand and type.

I also agree it is better to learn to do it all yourself over time. The edge you do not have compared to a real experienced mechanic is the intuition that he develops over the years.Plus his experience of getting through thousands of jobs quickly. Or just call that experience.

There today in general are so many issues with paid for service I tend to avoid it. It was not always this way.

[kbenjamin0106]

I first began tearing apart things and putting them back together since ive been a young kid. If something would break i always had the urge i know i can fix it, sometimes it worked out and sometimes it didnt... and when i was younger, i wasnt as educated as i thought i was when it came to it. Then i began tearing down dirtbikes and small engine things, lawn mowers etc.. its surely a good thing to be proud of and i always felt good when i have completed fixing something.

To be honest my dad did drive the thing til it began to crap out, its still a daily driver to this day! with the problems in it... and i meant the transmission fluid hasnt been changed since 70K haha i **** you not those valves probably never seen an adjustment... I belive the exact miles are like 144,000 and is fully functioning. My dad told me he ran kerosene alot in it probably causing all of these problems... the car sat in 3 or 4 years in the 2000's and began to get on the road again.

Now when it comes to financial things, ive already been handed the cash to fix everything that needs done and if i need more then it wouldnt be difficult to obtain

Originally Posted by barry123400

Well I spent the better part of my life troubleshooting non automotive things. Make a list of maintenance things to do that generally are related to your complaint. After they are completed your problem may be gone or at least you will know what it is not causing issues..

Any effort that avoids a road breakdown is well worth the effort at todays costs. Valves not adjusted for at least 70k deserve attention first of all.

Sounds like your dad basically just drove it as long as it would run.Many of these cars are treated that way. So you will have a general accumulation of things to deal with I suspect. I could make a list if it were my car that was pretty extensive. Do you have an accurate real total miles this buggy has aquired?

Your list may be a little different depending on that. I am not sure of any of the accumulated milages on any of my four diesel 123s. One may be pretty close to accurate but even that one is uncertain. I have never seen a series of cars with the true accumulated milages usually a real unknown.

Lets see, school student, perhaps limited available financial resources, been there done that myself. Auto salvage places can become your friends and are part of a right of passage as well as a major learning experience that can last a lifetime.

Today even with lets say a higher disposable income than ever I still regress to old habits. This would not have been likely without the original right of passage. The dollar is not worth much so get the best practical value you can for it.

Learn to priceshop and negotiate. Nothing wrong with what we used to call scrounging either. It is almost a lost art form. Best of luck or coincidence but always remember in general we create it ourselves.

Best of all for your purposes is this excellent site. Almost all the answers to not only your needs but every other users as well are here in the archives. I rate it as the premier support system for this brand and type.

[barry123400]

I was never given assistance. Actually by not giving it my parents did me a favour.Today I am happy about that. I am just grateful that they both stayed together and raised a fairly stable family and encouraged learning.

Today we give our children money when the are finished school. This is a real tricky thing to do without causing damage. I have to wonder if our parents were smarter than us.

With these cars saving money on repairs is always good. It allows the further expendatures with less pain as they occur. Today I would willingly pay for all those experiences.

You may have your bread buttered on both sides if you apply everything well. You are building your self confidence and abilities as you go along in your fashion. This is really great.

I have to deal with people that have no abilities and zero self confidence to do anything. I do not condem this but they should have a very high income level and usually do not. Or if they do still have large debt all the time. So even with high income levels they are poor.

They usually owe more than their total asset values. Loss of a job or sickness and many other things can finish them quickly.

It is much like the story of two people getting divorced and both walking up the road with nothing. They in common when they were still married actually had nothing based on a balance sheet to start with so nothing financially has changed in reality.

Young guys like yourself actually getting their hands dirty is a relief to me. There are not enough of you now. Combine this with the smarts and you can have the world by the tail.

[kbenjamin0106]

I always refused help because most of everyone that i know of are lazy and refuse to help me. My family is very happy and giving as long as you treat them well. Mine both have been together since i was born and no divorces... All it is these days is divorce and children are faced with a hard, hard working future.. As of me, my dad has been in the dental business for over 40 years with his own business since i was able to go that direction and make more income then any friend i knew, i own a cadillac, dirtbikes and i have no bills to worry about.. everyone i know at my age is barely having any spare cash cause they have so many payments..

giving children money isnt wrong when you have a healthy family status and then when i become older as he always says, dont put me in a nursing home and forget about me. i will take care of him until that unforantute day comes, hope to god it doesnt anytime soon but this mercedes will be something to surely remember him by and i would like to hand it down to my children if i keep it. And a 1 owner 300d.. your not going to find that much at all.

Most of everyone i know isnt afraid to work on their on car, hah my cadillac oh my i hate working on that just because theres so much dang electrical components causing the dumb check engine light on... THATS WHY I LOVE MY MERCEDES, no light but its good in a way cause it would tell you something is wrong. on these you dont know until that bad day comes and something fails.

You sure make alot of good points barry, the future society is just about ruined and it hasnt even begun... i still have alot to see...

Originally Posted by barry123400

I was never given assistance. Actually by not giving it my parents did me a favour.Today I am happy about that. I am just grateful that they both stayed together and raised a fairly stable family and encouraged learning.

Today we give our children money when the are finished school. This is a real tricky thing to do without causing damage. I have to wonder if our parents were smarter than us.

With these cars saving money on repairs is always good. It allows the further expendatures with less pain as they occur. Today I would willingly pay for all those experiences.

You may have your bread buttered on both sides if you apply everything well. You are building your self confidence and abilities as you go along in your fashion. This is really great.

I have to deal with people that have no abilities and zero self confidence to do anything. I do not condem this but they should have a very high income level and usually do not. Or if they do still have large debt all the time. So even with high income levels they are poor.

They usually owe more than their total asset values. Loss of a job or sickness and many other things can finish them quickly.

It is much like the story of two people getting divorced and both walking up the road with nothing. They in common when they were still married actually had nothing based on a balance sheet to start with so nothing financially has changed in reality.

Young guys like yourself actually getting their hands dirty is a relief to me. There are not enough of you now. Combine this with the smarts and you can have the world by the tail.

[JimmyL]

Originally Posted by kbenjamin0106

..... and ill be doing it all because im only 18 and i feel that im more smarter than the mechanics around here with it.

anybody else get a kick outta that??

[tbomachines]

Before going and tearing apart the brake booster, make sure that the MC is in fact leaking into it. BB = big bucks

[kbenjamin0106]

Originally Posted by JimmyL

anybody else get a kick outta that??

Jimmy, in my area, ill take my dads mercedes somewhere and they are like wow you know about these more than i do... and they dont see me again because 1 id rather do it myself then someone who never touched a old mercedes or rarely works on them.. its all about the stupid plastic pieces of crap on the roads these days. and like i said ever since ive been 15 and ive been on this forum for days and read and read and educate myself in making my self confident to work on it. and really theres not much to it when you have the basic wrenching knowledge! hahaha..

my slogan i use all the time " if you put your mind to it and you will be very successful and accomplish anything"

im very capable on working this car, mercedes diesels are my favorite and since i was a baby ive been in this car. i have pictures of me when i was i wanna say 5 or 6 standing beside it. NOW ITS MINE!

[kbenjamin0106]

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Before going and tearing apart the brake booster, make sure that the MC is in fact leaking into it. BB = big bucks

The way its leaking now is right at the end where the MC meets the booster and right under that. i have a 50/50 chance i think...

Does anyone know if the booster will be hard to pull out and replace, will i be able to find all the bolts and slip that thing out?