Okay folks, got a question for ya'll.

My wife and I are going cross country in April, Portland Or. to Philly Pa.

We want to drive, take our time and enjoy the scenery.

The plan is to take a UHaul 4X8 trailer, plus our Yakima rack/cargo topper.

We've had a '76 240d for some years now and its quite tired. I want to buy a vehicle that will do the trip AND be something we can have for some years.

So, I'm thinking a 300d might work? It has some extra power and the auto tranny has an external cooler (is this true for all models??)

I'd love to get a 240d manual, would this work as well?

I know its gonna be slow going especially over the mountains. But is there any reason this might not be just fine? We won't be towing too much weight, its a small trailer, and there will be some resistance too from the topper but it seems these old diesels are tough enough to do the trick.

Probably we'll take a week to get across, stopping to see some friends/family along the way.

Whatcha think? I'm just looking for heads ups, you know, like if a 240d just won't cut the butter then thats cool. But for example, if a 300d might work, is this the case for all years including the first models (say, a '76??)??

thanks!

mark

Hi Mark I understand the first W123 300ds were not so good (617 performance cams) So I guess there is little difference between a normally aspirated early 300D and a 240D.

If you want the "fastest" 300D go for a turbo.

Whatever you do though I'd make sure that the cooling system is in top notch condition - and you may want to consider an additional cooling fan if it is going to get hot.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Where will you find another 76 that's not as tired as yours? I think the biggest issue with another old used car will be getting it all sorted out before you start. I've never had issues with my 83 300D turbo but I've not added a trailer or a topper. Never had a lack of power but I can't speak from experience with the extra load or resistance.

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Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/296386-fs-1-owner-83-mb-300d-turbo-rebuild-parts.html

I think I would not buy a 240D for pulling a trailer. They have a hard enough time pulling themselves over mountains, and adding a trailer is just going to make it worse. I can't really speak to how well these cars will pull a trailer, but I would think you would want a turbo 300D, so any 300D 82 or newer. I believe all the 123's and later chassis have trans coolers, if they are autos at least. My 240 manual trans has no trans cooler.

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Problems with american rebranding of model numbers.

here 300d means 3 litre straight six, and the n/a version will pull a house down, renowned as towing cars, PROVIDED YOU DON'T CANE THE LIVING **** OUT OF THEM, provided they were well maintained in the first place.

Here people have used w124 300d's to tow a ton and a half of trailer carrying another w124 for several hundred miles in single journeys.

I know of one instance of one w124 towing a 6 ton gen-set on a two ton plant trailer half way across greece, and greek hills are steep and greek tarmac is like glass.

You must however watch this, excellent towing advice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvkYCapb31w

Well I don't mind going slow over hills. The only big pass we go through is Idaho/Montana, then its pretty flat across the country.

So.....do most think that the w115 chassis 300d's and early 123 300d's might not work? Or, might they work except they would be slow?

I don't need to go fast, I feel like a turbo engine might not be necessary in the end especially as they typically go for more money.

The last poster mentions the 124's.....what are these? And, what are the main differences between the early 300d's and later ones?

mark

LOL , truly worth a look

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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"

Here's the trailer : http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=UV

Its a pretty small/light one.

thanks!

mark

A W124 300D n/a would tow that all day at 100 mph

this sort of thing is a fairly common sight around here

Fog?

As the owner of a 240d Manual shift... with a pretty strong engine...
I would NOT suggest that for doing what you have described.....
If you know a town well... as to things like the on ramp convergence distance allowed by the design of the highways.. that is one thing... because you can avoid those without enough ' running room' to integrate with traffic if you encounter a heavy fast flow...
but going blind across the country loaded ... not good.. that one extra cylinder.... OR another cylinder PLUS the turbo... could mean the difference between life and death.

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/10414-help-i-need-check-stretch.html

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

That trailer is pretty small but it has significant wind resistance. On an American interstate folks will be running from 70 to 85 depending on where you are. Running 70 might be ok but I would keep a careful eye on the engine temperature. If it begins to rise I would back off on the speed. You won't hurt the engine as long as it does not overheat but the tranny might get fried without an auxiliary cooler.

If you were talking about short trips in state I would not worry but cross state travel with mountians could get dicey. In the mountains you would need to just use your gears to keep the engine working in its happy range. In mountains you will have a truck lane for really steep going. Again, just keep an eye on your temperature and keep it from getting too hot.

Personally I would avoid a roof carrier because of the extra wind resistance.

And I would not get on the interstate pulling a trailer with a 240d at all. around town or short intercity trips would be ok on the 2 lanes.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I've pulled a trailer over the Rockies in Colorado a couple of times with my 85TD. I wouldn't do it with a 240d or 300d NA. On one trip the boost controller line blew off and I barely made it up Vail Pass. Turbo617 is not a problem. Make sure you get the proper hitch. I wouldn't pull that Uhaul trailer with a bumper hitch. If you're pulling the low profile U-haul it shouldn't be bad. I probably wouldn't pull the full height versions due to wind resistance.

Those English camping trailers are considerably lighter than US models of a similar size so don't be fooled by those pictures.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

This is important to note; the bumper shock absorbers and spare wheel tub are not designed as a load bearing units. The proper factory hitch bolts to the chassis frame at the bumper mounts.