Prior to owning a 240D (auto) all I read about them was how painfully slow they were etc etc.
Now I own one (1981) with 268,00 miles! on it.(that's a lot of miles)
I wonder if it's all hooey
Mine seems to have no problem with hills, it accelerates just fine and does well on the freeway. True I won't win any races...but I'm not into road racing

Has anybody else noticed this?
I've owned a 300D and a 300TD turbo, It's true the turbo has a good deal more omph. But I haven't noticed the 240D lacking in power at all..and I live in a hilly area , some of them very steep and long. It seems to eat them up

Also I've always wondered why 240Ds seem to look smaller even though I know they're the same size as the 300Ds

Well, you evidently got a fairly well maintained one it seems. My 240D would hold it's own on hills but I found myself not doing any accelerating.

How about pictures?

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

Well
Compared to my mom's echo, most of the W123s I've driven aren't exactly drag racers, But I've had no problem getting up to freeway speed on the on ramps etc.
Perhaps it's been mechanically well-maintained..it was pretty rusty inside
I had to fix/replace all the floor board outside edges aft of the cross member the front seats mount on (including the rear mount (I built a new one for the drivers side))
It has some rear wheel well rust(outside and bits various other places...not too crucial yet.
Here she is, she's a pretty colour!
And hopefully has another one or 2 hundred thousand miles left in her, provided she holds together

Attached Thumbnails

 

These 240D`s are great cars and nothing to thumb your nose at. they aren`t the fastest thing off theline, but once up to speed, will hold their own. I agree on the steeper hills don`t expect any acceleration.

Sounds like yours has been maintained and things are up to spect. usually the auto are slower than the 4-spd manuals. If you ever put a 4-spd in yours, better hold onto your hat.

Here is a good story of a 240D race. Hang on for a good laugh.

240D, a gift to son?

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

They aren't that slow. I think most folks who rag on them don't own one.

Also where are your front seats in the picture you posted?

Heeeeeeyyy that's my car, though yours is probably less rusty by the looks of it.
Sharp eyes on the seats, they were out as I was fixing the floorboards.
I didn't care for the 20km seatbelts it came with.....
It's all fixed up and they're back in and it's on the road.
Still a few more things to attend to

I have to agree. My 240d had one cylinder that was way down on compression (post-unheated WVO use by the previous owner) and it still was perfectly adequate for urban use. Onramps required forethought.

The real-world difference between an average NA 300d and a 240d isn't huge. I have test driven 300d cars that were down on compression and they were way worse than my 240d. Which was an automatic.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

As the owner of an automatic 220D on which the kickdown switch isn't currently functional, I am envious of the accelerations you 240D owners can achieve.

If I had designed our interstate system, all freeway on-ramps would be downhill.

That story is just priceless...

Dual 1.5'rs HA!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!