1984 300TD Diagnostics results... Plz Help! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

digieditny · #1 09-22-2010, 08:47 PM

Hi everyone. I recently just purchased a 1984 300TD. The car is beautiful. A little slow but runs great! Only 1 previous owner. I took it in for diagnostics test thinking that it will need minor repair but then I got the bad news... Let me just say that going by their reviews, this place is known for good thorough work.

Click below to look at the report.

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/7633/carproblems.jpg

$3000 is the total for all the work.

Now my questions are... Does the costs seem right? Is all this work necessary? Can I get it cheaper? Recommend anyone in NY area?

I was told by the mechanic that there are 3 major things that can happen. I'm not sure if he was exaggerating... He said that the steering damper and the center link (could be the upper control arms. can't remember) needs to be changed because if they break, I could lose control of my wheels and have a really bad accident. 2nd... He said if I don't deal with the transmission mounts, that the transmission can suddenly fall off... 3rd... The engine can also fall off if I don't do the work. He said that he recommends not doing the work and reselling the car. That broke my heart!

Is it possible to get the parts from ebay or other sources online and get a self employed mechanic to do the work cheaper?

I'm not sure if I'm willing to put in another $3000 in it. If it was half that, I would do it in a heartbeat. The car has obsolutely no rust and is cosmetically in great condition.

Any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated! I was feeling so good about this car... Such a shame. I want to CRY!

Digieditny

Yak · #2 09-22-2010, 09:36 PM

The invoice is a nice list of things to repair, but I don't think it's as dire as painted by the mechanic. His prices are way on the high side:

$9 per quart for oil? You buy quality oil for significantly less than half.
$10.50 per air filter support? $3 or $4, depending on style.
$185 each for an upper control arm? $75 each
Replace the oil pan? Did he give a dire warning, or is it just dirty?

Gotta place to work and some tools? You can do most of this yourself.

Yak · #3 09-22-2010, 10:01 PM

UCA how-to: How To: Upper Ball Joint Replacement, step by step with pictures. W123

Motor mount how to: http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/OM617MotorMounts

Plenty of info here. Just start searching and reading.

digieditny · #4 09-22-2010, 10:01 PM

I live in Brooklyn so space is limited. I can work on it on the street since luckily I live in a neighborhood where there lots of mechanics. I'm sure I can do the filters myself. Not sure about the other stuff... No tools yet... but am willing to purchase. Recommend? A ratchet set enough? ha... Totally newbie.

I was also looking at the mercedesource.com and was thinking about buying their "Mercedes 5 Cylinder 617 300D 300TD 300SD Physical Exam Kit
Check the Health of your Diesel Engine Yourself " to check compression. What do you think about this?

http://**************.com/node/5899

He said the pan was badly dented. He said the previous owner must have hit something that dented it.

I'm taking it somewhere else for a second opinion. What do you feel is the most important thing to get fixed. I want to make sure the car is safe to drive.

Thanks

digi

digieditny · #5 09-22-2010, 10:05 PM

Thanks for the links! Not sure if I can do the control arms on the street though. The engine mounts look easy!

sixto · #6 09-22-2010, 10:09 PM

The engine oil pan is composed of a main aluminum section and a lower ferrous metal section. It's likely all you need is the lower section which is neither expensive new nor difficult to replace. Depending on how it was hit, though, you might want an experienced eye to check the oil pump pick-up.

Sixto
87 300D

Yak · #7 09-22-2010, 10:11 PM

Is a basic summary of the discussion: you've got oil leaks, your steering is loose and your motor/tranny mounts are shot?

Based on his list I'd look at fixing the oil leaks or the steering first. Steering for safety, oil for longevity of the engine, depending on size of leak and diligence about checking oil.

The only one I'd really look at a mechanic for might be the oil filter housing. That's a PITA. I'm not sure it's a $300 PITA, but it's probably not something you want to try on the street with limited tools.

vstech · #8 09-22-2010, 10:18 PM

10.35 isnt bad IF the shields are installed too. just mounts its pricey. you really can do most of this yourself with parts from here, and get MUCH better prices on parts, and be SURE you are getting quality parts!
and this site is the best for assistance when you get stuck!
many mechanics explain what is wrong by giving worst case scenario's to explain what the failing part can do. shops charge what they feel they can charge. if you trust the shop to do the work and you can afford it, by all means spend the moolah.
if you want the same quality work, and you wanna buy some tools, we can help you get your car in tip top shape.

digieditny · #9 09-22-2010, 10:37 PM

Thanks so much for all the great help! Tomorrow I'm going to go get a second opinion about the work. So I think I'm gonna ask him to do the oil filter housing, The steering, and the leak. Then I'll look into doing the rest of it myself.

Sound good?

digi

BoiseBenz · #10 09-22-2010, 10:54 PM

I should have skipped my US Navy helicopter certification and PE engineer license and gone into stone-age MB mechanics. I could retire by Tuesday.

Labor:
What is the shop rate, $750/hr?
Air Filter/mounts 0.25 hr
Oil filter ?
Oil pan? For brownie pan maybe 0.5 hr. For main aluminum casting and pan much more--rarely the issue.
Steering damper and control link maybe 0.75 hr.
R&R engine and trans wtf???

Parts:
Air filter mounts are $2 from Uro or $6 from MB.

Oil filter is $10 from aftermarket (Mahle, etc) or $15 from MB.

You can't pay $9 for oil even from Redline.

The oil pan is about $20. It's basically a brownie pan.

There's only one transmission mount, and it's about $15.

There are two engine mounts, and they're about $20.

YMMV.

tangofox007 · #11 09-22-2010, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoiseBenz

I should have skipped my US Navy helicopter certification and PE engineer license and gone into stone-age MB mechanics. I could retire by Tuesday.

From the looks of the parts prices, it looks like marketing is the place to be, not mechanics. I would like to sell a few truckloads of transmission mounts for $214 each!!! Not to mention a few oil pan gaskets at $48.50.

vstech · #12 09-23-2010, 08:21 AM

to give you an idea... I just got through adjusting a customer's valves, IN HIS DRIVEWAY, replaced the V/C gasket, and replaced the Utube seals, and all the air cleaner mounts WITH new shields, 153.35 total.

vstech · #13 09-23-2010, 08:28 AM

you can do the steering easily yourself. all you will need is an alignment. and 125 is a crazy price for an alignment.
have you seen the leak yourself? it's not common for the oil filter stand to leak. it DOES happen, but have you SEEN it yourself? clean everything up and verify what they are saying.
3K for general service is very pricey!

Stretch · #14 09-23-2010, 08:44 AM

If you need to check prices for parts why not click on buy parts at the top of this screen?

As I'm often "here" I usually do that as a starting point.

digieditny · #15 09-23-2010, 08:52 AM

I did check the prices at the top. I can't believe how much cheaper it is from what the price I was quoted. Unreal... It's really annoying to find out that they're trying to rip you off.

Seriously? I can do the steering myself? From a scale from 1 to 10, how dificult is it? Is it possible to do it on the street or will I need to lift the car up? Where can I find instructions?

Digi