Just acquired 1987 300sdl with problems…. Need advisement - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jayq · #1 03-31-2012, 06:16 PM

Hi all,
I’ve been browsing through these threads for the past few days, lots of good information from some very knowledgeable folks.

I just recently acquired my dad’s 300sdl, 260,000mi. My parents were the original owners and it was my dad’s daily driver until about 3 weeks ago. When I say acquired, my dad has now parked it in the front of my house as he no longer has garage space for it at his house. He just purchased a 2012 350glk after getting tired of having to deal with the sdl’s recent problems. I am posting here to ask for some advisement on how to proceed with the car. I’d appreciate any and all opinions on what is realistic. Basically I’d like to have the car fixed up but not sure if it’s worth it.

Here are the known problems:
1. The car still drives but, my dad gave up on the car after it began suffering transmission problems. This only started happening I’d say within the last year at around 250,000mi maybe. Specifically, at times, it doesn’t upshift from a stop. This will happen seldomly (maybe 1 in 3-5 times), but appears to be increasing in frequency lately. When it happens, I pull over for a second, put it in park, then put it back in drive, then it is good for the rest of the trip. We had it checked out at my dad’s mechanic, a Mercedes specialist here in San Diego and he said he couldn’t replicate the problem. He said he dropped the transmission pan and checked all the vacuum hoses but said everything looks to be in good condition. When the car is running fine the transmission does shift, but to me feels slightly jerky as opposed to smoothly.
2. After it had been left here at my house, I gave it a good cleaning interior and checked out the engine. I was depressed to find oil in the coolant reservoir. I asked my dad and he was not aware of the condition, so I am not sure how long it has been like this. We took it have it checked out at my dad’s mechanic again and he said it was headgasket, but advised my dad to continue to drive it and that it would still be ok. That is was basically not worth it to fix it and he also mentioned that he didn’t think he had the tools to perform the job any longer as it had been many years since he had to do such a job. (He services mainly newer Mercedes nowadays). He only flushed and refilled the coolant.
3. Even before the transmission and headgasket issue, the car did have quite a number of leaks, both motor oil and transmission fluid. My dad accepted this and just made sure to keep up with the oil levels and have the oil and transmission fluid checked and changed regularly. For me, if I am to keep this car for the long-term, I would like to address as many of the oil leaks as I can. Leaking oil on the driveway or in the garage is not fine, in my opinion. I mean I understand it is an old car but I’d like it to be in as proper working order as it can be.

Condition otherwise:
Like I mentioned, my parents were the original owners and I know the full history of the car from the beginning, I was in elementary school when my mom purchased this vehicle new. The car has been oil changed and serviced regularly. The car has always started right up, it has never left us stranded anywhere. The car is a Southern California car that has been garaged all of its lifetime. So there is virtually no rust and the body and paint is in good condition. There are no major dents, although there is some paint peeling on the trunk lid, it appears as some acid or something was sprayed on it. The interior is in ok condition, there are some cracks in the dash and a few cracks on the front MB-tex seats. Other than that everything in the interior: AC, radio, sunroof, clock, gauges, and all electronics are in good working condition. Only thing that is not working is the air doesn’t come out the center vent (I diagnosed the problem years ago to a cracked vacuum pump gasket, but had no way to access it to replace it).

Things that have been recently replaced:
New tires
New battery
New AC compressor and converted to the new Freon
New engine “stop button” valve was replaced (car wouldn’t shut-off with key)
New ignition tumbler replaced (key would no longer turn in the ignition)

Some information about me:
I am somewhat mechanically inclined if given thorough complete instructions, but I have not ever performed major engine work. In addition, I work full-time and my job requires me to travel 50% of the time, so I am not able to devote too much time to working on a project right now. My daily driver is a Nissan 350Z, so it would be nice to have a 4door vehicle as a spare car.

If I can find a knowledgeable reputable shop that could/would do the work (Our mechanic that we have been going to for years, doesn’t seem to want to work on it). I think I have some money to put into the car, if it is worth it.

So I’m basically asking what is the best way to go?
Just Let it go? (If I were to, I’m not sure how to sell a car with engine and transmission problems, so donating it would probably be how I would go, as I don’t have the time to part it out and sell it piece by piece.)
Or try to have it repaired? (If so, any recommendations on where to take it or if you think I would tackle it on DIY, complete and I mean very detailed instructions on how to work on it). What other things would need to be considered for replacement/repair.

Also, how much do you think all in all it would cost to have it running right and would that be better spent just getting a used other car?

Thanks in advance for reading my rather large posting. I know it is long, but I wanted to frontload as much information as I could to help you make an informed opinion on the matter. Looking forward to your responses.

BTW, I also been watching some of the YouTube videos put on by mercedesource, I wish this shop was local to San Diego. He just purchased a 300sdl as a project car.

Thanks again,
Jay