A classmate of my daughter has an 84 300SD that he says they are going to junk. I have no history as yet on the car other than it has sat outside unused for at least a year. I don't know if it is a wreck or what. It was a teenagers car so I have no illusions about it.
I am tempted just to look at it but since I have only my 123's as a reference, I wanted to get some car specific feedback on all the other lurking issues that this model is prone to.
Thanks
Andrew

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1981 240D 143k 4 spd manual -SOLD

2004 VW Jetta TDI 5 speed 300k -still driven daily

Mostly inferior interior mounting points and different vac plumbing. But nothing serious. The door lock system is isolated by an electrical pump in the trunk, a good idea.
Go have a look.

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83 SD

84 CD

also has power seats. Another pair of motors to keep operating.

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John Schroader
bio burnin' 83 300D, '83 300 SD, '79 240D
"I've never met a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else" Ben Franklin
"You cannot permanently help a man by doing for him what he could and should do for himself" Abraham Lincoln

Three motors, that seat is heavy!

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83 SD

84 CD

And it has one more vacuum pod in the ventilation system to deal with.

But there's good things too...

Electric oil pressure guage.

Vented rotors.

More legroom in back seat.

Yes, electric seats, but with memory so you can have two people use it without too much hassle.

Other than that, pretty much the same as a 300D. Many parts will swap over, but since it is wider and longer, the suspension, trim and interior parts are pretty much unique. Same things as W123 to be aware of in suspension, tranny, engine, etc.

My opinion, the extra effort is worth it. I like my 300SD more than my 300D. But I'm an old guy, and stuff like the extra legroom, memory seats, make a difference to me.

YMMV

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mjk

'84 300SD 119KMi (Liesl der Diesel)
'84 300D 326KMi when the oil left (former parts car)
'82 300SD 253KMi (new parts car)

84SD's are pretty nice, I have one and that sucker keeps chuggin away despite all it's been through. the interior is roomy and the seats are nice. It would be an awesome Travelling car

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Sounds like you could be getting into a bucket of worms

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Go look. Check the normal stuff. Add up what needs to be fixed to bring it to your minimum requirements then decide. Every time I think my SD has something serious wrong, it turns out to be simple. Wish that were the case with the over valved Ram. Unfortunately, VP is how Dodge spells injection pump. Ouch.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

it's a larger version of the 123, if you know everything to check on a 123, you'll be fine with the 126.
of course you can take pics and ask all the questions you feel like of us!

the underside of the hat tray can RUST.
I looked at one car with my friend, and the guy kept saying it was a solid car... I popped the trunk, and suck my had under the hat tray and chunks of rust fell into my hand... bad business.

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I picked up an SD through a family member, they had no idea about the car really. I was told it was a decent car. I committed to picking it up. Short of the story, I carefully investigated once it was home and discovered hidden rust issues far beyond what I was willing to deal with. I have since relegated this one to 'parts car' status. I now have an SDL and some of the parts will interchange.

For the right price you could have zero risk.




The VP44 is the Achilles heel of the early 24 valve ISB. I had an 02 and replaced the VP44 twice over 230K miles. ouch !

Fantastic truck and well worth the replacement hassle of the IP.

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83 300TD (need rear wiper assembly dead or alive)
84 300SD Daily driver
85 300TD almost 400k miles and driven daily.
98 E300D *sold
86 300SDL *sold and made flawless 10 hour journey to new home.

That rust reminds me of the rear window seal that can dry out and leak and cause rust inside the trunk.
Pull back the flexible panels covering the inside of the trunk by the rear wheel wells...
Cheapest fix is a flowable silicone like "crack cure"
A lot of glass shops won't touch the laminated rear window.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic