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  #1  
Old 09-25-2012, 10:30 AM
jay_bob's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Buying a 1987 300TD

Well if you have been following my saga on the suspension damaged 240D you know what I was up against on that car. I have decided to sell that car so pm me if you are interested. It currently resides at vstech's up in Charlotte.

Anyway between vstech and mbselect I have something new for my son to drive. If you remember from last summer I'm lining up my 4th 87300TD!.

Before pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109979853052997951295/White8702#

Here's a couple after pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102106351327485959886/87300TD?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPX6uMemvuK0zQE&feat=directlink

mbselect has done an awesome job rebuilding the front end, just a few more tweaks to the hood and it will be good as new.

I am hoping this works out better for him as a dd to high school and back. He really needs the space, he plays the tuba and his younger brother plays the contra bass clarinet, and it will really come in handy for carrying those instruments back and forth.

I am picking it up tomorrow from mbselect, then off to vstech's for some more TLC this weekend before bringing her home.
Replacing the vacuum pump
oil/transmission/cooling service
replace glow plugs
fix the air conditioning

Then my son can go back to driving himself and his brother back to school again. My wife and I really got spoiled not having to do the carpool thing this year.

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #2  
Old 09-25-2012, 12:09 PM
vstech's Avatar
DD MOD, HVAC,MCP,Mac,GMAC
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mount Holly, NC
Posts: 26,832
you're lucky in that respect... my daughter goes to school an hour before her little sister... I gotta carpool...
__________________
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!
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  #3  
Old 09-25-2012, 01:07 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: CC, TX
Posts: 771
looks nice
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1987 300TDT
1981 VW MKI Caddy 1.6 diesel, waiting on engine swap
1983 D-50 Power Ram 4x4 "Mitsubishi" 2.3 turbo diesel
assorted gas powered crap and motorcycles

RIP: 1984 300TDT, 1982 300TDT, 1984 190D 2.2, 1992 300D 2.5, 1987 300TDT, 1982 Maxima LD28, 1983 Maxima LD28, Isuzu C223 P'ups X3, 1983 Holiday Rambler 6.2 Banks turbo diesel, 1984 Winnebago LeSharo 2.1 TD, 1985 Allegro 6.5
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  #4  
Old 09-26-2012, 12:06 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
mbselect and I sealed the deal this morning, I am excited! More pics to follow after I get her all cleaned up.
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #5  
Old 09-29-2012, 09:52 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Update:

Got up to Vstech's this morning and started to work on the car. It has a few issues, none are the end of the world, nothing more $$ and time can't fix...

- We thought the belt tensioner was causing a cricket-like sound under the hood. Well the tensioner bearings were pretty worn but it was not the problem. Turned out it was the air conditioner pulley, we had about .25" of play on the pulley. The pulley was floating back and forth on the clutch housing and rubbing against the front of the clutch. This is what happened to my 87 sedan I sold, threw a belt. Only his ac compressor let go and shredded the belt. We caught mine in time. 603 owners take heed, if you hear the crickets, don't put it off!

- Pulled the intake, those 6mm socket head screws are a pain especially the very last one for #6 up against the firewall. The intake is full of black goo, not constricted, but reaaaaly dirty. Contemplating EGR delete. John going to try carb clean dip and see if that cuts it. That black goo is the most awful grimey messy stuff. Mike Rowe dirty.

- Changed the glow plugs, fortunately they all came out without a problem. We had a problem where it would not start smooth, I think #1 was not firing. A couple had spotty electrical connections and the element were covered with a thin layer of carbon. 6 new Bosch plugs, hope that fixes it.

- Changed the vacuum pump for a new Pierburg unit. Old one hadn't thrown its bearings yet but better safe than sorry...

I got to get back in touch with Phil Monday morning, need more part$$...
We will try again next weekend.
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Last edited by jay_bob; 09-29-2012 at 10:33 PM. Reason: forgot we did the vacuum pump
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  #6  
Old 10-11-2012, 12:41 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Update, after multiple trips to John's place I think we are about to turn the corner on this car and get it on the road...I have spent just about every spare moment the last 2 weeks I have up in Charlotte.

Replaced the belt tensioner, spring, shock, pulley, the whole thing. I think we have repaired or replaced every moving thing on the front of the engine except the crank pulley and the power steering/sls pump.

Discovered the alternator had bad bearings but good output. Took the alternator to a local electrical shop, they pressed in a new bearing and bench tested. We swapped the regulator because the brushes had less than half life left.

Found out the hard way that the condenser on a later W124 will not fit a 1987 W124 (not sure where the break point is, I suspect somewhere around 1990-1991). The hose ports are wrong on the later condenser and interfere with the radiator support. John had one on a parts car that fit.

Installed the new ac compressor. WHY did M-B decide that the hose retainer had to share the same bolt as the one that can not be put in after the compressor is in place, because it interferes with the wheel house Trying to balance the compressor, the hose bracket, the bolt all at the same time no fun.

Discovered one of the rubber bushings on the transmission cooler lines was gone. There was a hole rubbed in the cooler line and it was weeping ATF. JB weld to the rescue.

Replaced the old, cracked, capped dash with a pristine blue dash from a donor 300TE parts car. Looks beautiful.

Fixed the headlight wiper/washers. New blades still available from Pelican $25/set of 2.

Replaced gauge cluster with the one from 300TE, my cluster had odometer stopped at 210k. Replacement cluster odometer still works (well it passed the drill motor test) and shows ~189k. Need to do Sixto's economy to boost gauge mod and make a label that says Diesel Only to cover the Premium Unleaded Only. Luckily in SC 10 year old and older cars exempt from odometer disclosure so no worries with the DMV on that.

Fixed OAT display connections (my car had 4-pin, with LCD black death, donor cluster display works but is a 5-pin, swapped connector bodies and added VSS wire from X53 distribution block).

Changed all the bulbs behind the dash, got every illumination and caution light working.

Reversed all hacked up audio wiring, removed Pioneer aftermarket stereo, and installed Becker 780 from 300TE. Call me crazy but a modern stereo just looks wrong in these old cars.

Replaced the rims, PO had brand new Yokohama tires on mismatched aftermarket rims. Sourced 4 original rims and transferred tires over.

Fixed auxiliary fan running all the time, found shorted sensor S25/5 on top of thermostat housing. This is the combo sensor that puts aux fan on high speed and also inhibits a/c compressor operations. Luckily John had one on parts car.

Still to do:
Install ac condenser, radiator, belt, and 11-blade fan
Install new dryer, evac, leak test, charge ac
Fluid service (oil, coolant, transmission, brake fluid flush)
Rebuild shift linkage (changing gears is a guessing game)
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #7  
Old 10-11-2012, 09:28 PM
vstech's Avatar
DD MOD, HVAC,MCP,Mac,GMAC
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mount Holly, NC
Posts: 26,832
yeah, she's coming along nicely! the dash cleaned up really well, and the AS303 is phenomenal looking!
don't forget to bring a spray bottle so you can take some home with you for your seats and such!
I'll try and get your condenser blown out and installed tomorrow or saturday! (still pretty busy though!) as soon as time permits, and my wagon is back stable on the road again that is!
__________________
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!
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  #8  
Old 10-16-2012, 10:16 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Almost got it ready! Actually drove it around the block Monday.

I had a fan blade impact to the radiator that caused a small nick in the tank. This was from the 9 bladed fan. Happened while the car was on a test drive, it was a new fan.

We installed the 11 blade fan and noticed it had much more room.

Of course this is causing a coolant leak. Got to swap the radiator.

We also found that the water pump is chirping. Hopefully the front of the engine will be quiet after this gets replaced.

And the aux water pump is not working. Got to see if it is electrical or pump shot.

More fun, glad John has a vast reserve of parts.

Oh and the passenger side motor mount collapsed. New mount on the way from Phil.
Anyone have experience swapping one of these with the turbo in the way?
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #9  
Old 10-16-2012, 10:22 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
Control Freak
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Oh yeah 1 more thing...
If you swap the instrument cluster from a gasser you have to trade the tach assembly from your Diesel motor into the other cluster.

The tach from a gasser when applied to a Diesel is all wrong. It pins out at 7k as soon as you crank the engine.

Just because the plug fits does not mean it will work.....
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #10  
Old 10-16-2012, 10:30 PM
scottmcphee's Avatar
1987 w124 300D
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Edmonton, Canada
Posts: 1,539
Mounts can be done with turbo and exhaust all in place.

Consider doing BOTH mounts and the tranny mount all at same time to get the correct engine alignment / geometry in place.

While you're under there check flex disks and driveshaft center bearing.
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Cheers!
Scott McPhee

1987 300D
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  #11  
Old 10-16-2012, 10:48 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
Control Freak
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Car was in a minor front end collision, MBSelect did the initial repairs and swapped the driver side mount but not the passenger side.

Did not think to check the rear mount, will check it out when we are under there. Engine definitely listing to starboard...

Flex disks starting to show signs of age, it's on the list after I get over the shock of all the parts I have bought in the last month.

Got any tricks for the mount replacement, it seems awfully tight down there...
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #12  
Old 10-19-2012, 04:57 PM
jay_bob's Avatar
Control Freak
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3,941
Update

We swapped the motor mount on the right side, it's not as bad as it looks. Get the front up on stands. Support the motor using a large block of wood (we used a 2x10 about a foot long, oriented front to rear). Using a floor jack carefully position the wood on the oil pan, be careful you are totally on the flat part of the pan only. Gently raise the engine just enough to relieve tension on the mount.

Now get beneath the car and loosen and remove the Allen head bolt on the bottom of the mount. Then remove the four 13 mm bolts that hold the mounting arm to the engine block. The mount and arm should just slide out to the rear.

Now bring the arm into the light and check for cracks or damage. Mine had accident damage and a missing heat shield. Also the upper bolt was bent very badly. Fortunately MBSelect had another arm, bolt, and heat shield.

After the world's most excruciating wait for FedEx the new motor mount showed up yesterday afternoon. John and I got it quickly bolted back in and the motor lowered back on the mounts. Now the top of the cross pipe is flat to the ground.

Found out the aux pump motor was seized. Luckily the one John got from p-n-p worked.

When we filled the radiator we found it was beneficial to raise the front of the car on stands and fill from the detached upper radiator hose. We detached the heater hose at the intake manifold and poured in coolant to the upper radiator hose into the block until coolant ran out the heater hose port then hooked up the hose again. We unplugged the aux pump and jumped 12 V to the connector to help circulate the coolant into the heater core. (Pin 1 is + or the pump runs backwards)

Found out the water pump is ok, it was the water pump pulley being slightly out hitting the balancer. We used a press to push the pulley hub back square and all is well.

Took it out for a test run, it is running great.

Still need to do the following
- tweak hood alignment
- bleed brakes
- fix speedo, the gasser speedo reads low by a lot (shows 25 when doing 40 according to GPS) I swapped the Diesel speedo back in but did not get a chance to drive it. John thinks the cable or trans gear is bad but the speedo does not jump around at all, it rises smoothly. It is just seriously off.

Hoping to have it home this weekend...
__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech
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  #13  
Old 10-20-2012, 12:30 AM
vstech's Avatar
DD MOD, HVAC,MCP,Mac,GMAC
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mount Holly, NC
Posts: 26,832
I'm totally convinced that the problem is either in the trans, or the cable. I've confirmed, gasser and diesel have the same rear ratio. and a 40% reduction in speed readout would equal something like 1.8:1 ratio... none exist...
__________________
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!
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  #14  
Old 10-20-2012, 02:02 AM
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by jay_bob View Post
Replaced gauge cluster with the one from 300TE, my cluster had odometer stopped at 210k.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vstech View Post
I'm totally convinced that the problem is either in the trans, or the cable. I've confirmed, gasser and diesel have the same rear ratio. and a 40% reduction in speed readout would equal something like 1.8:1 ratio... none exist...

124.193 - 87 300TD has a 2.65 differential

124.090 - 85+ 300TE has a 3.27 differential

124.290 - 87+ 300TE 4-matic has a 3.29 for an automatic transmission

looks like just about a 40% difference between the diesel and gasser differential ratios.



With the incorrect higher differential ratio a lower output speed at the transmission where the speedometer gets it's signal for any given MPH would occur. For every 3.27 revolutions the rear wheels turn the driveshaft and transmission output shaft only needs to turn once, same with the correct ratio for the diesel car for every 2.65 revolutions the driveshaft turns once. For any given time and distance over ground the 3.27 will turn the driveshaft less revolutions than the 2.65 will assuming the same size wheel circumference. The speedo cable as a result will also similarly turn less revolutions over that time and distance, and the speedometer will register a lower speed.

Probably best to recheck your confirming info and the math before doing anything to the transmission or the speedo cable?
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  #15  
Old 10-20-2012, 09:46 AM
vstech's Avatar
DD MOD, HVAC,MCP,Mac,GMAC
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mount Holly, NC
Posts: 26,832
... a higer ratio speedo hooked to a lower ratio diff, would raise the indicated speed, not lower it.

__________________
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!
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