New to me: 1987 300TD (woo hoo!)
 

Today I purchased a 1987 300TD which was posted on CL on Dec 15, but nobody pursued it other than myself. I have been with my family in Minnesota until yesterday, so today was the first day I could check it out. Here are the details. I have lots of questions for all of you, but will save those for later.

Here is my best knowledge of the car:


189,000 miles, white exterior (yea!), blue interior (not so yea!), #14 head but no evidence of cracks (no oil in coolant or coolant in oil, and upper radiator hose is soft in the morning before starting car), original tranny with new fluid, new radiator, new water pump, original fan/clutch, has 3rd row seats, new tie rod ends, new front rotors and pads, older rear rotors and pads, no obvious sls leaks, new vacuum pump (at least it has visible fasteners on cover), new windshield, all the windows work (although I had to help the drivers window up), AC not working, sunroof not working, rebuilt drivers seat with new mbtex, p.o. uses DELO 400 oil every 3K miles, aftermarket stereo (original is gone), new windshield, needs new tires, rear wiper not working, and unfortunately significant rust at the front jacking points.



The odometer checks out according to Autocheck (although records are limited). Autocheck claims 6 previous owners, but the guy I bought it from thought it was mostly one family who moved the car with them as they changed locations. The earliest registration event according to Autocheck was 1996, so I am not sure what to make of that. Given the replaced drivers seat, I suspect either the odometer was turned back or the car was heavily used as a MB Service vehicle and the technicians forgot to remove tools from their pockets before entering the car. I gambled on the latter.


Overall, a pretty solid car but without maintenance records for most of its early life. It handles well. 0 to 60 time was a slightly slow 14-ish seconds so I need to address the low speed acceleration. Once the turbo kicked in, it felt quite quick. The ALDA screw still has its cover on it, so I may look into adjusting that. I did a road trip to visit my mom on Los Angeles Freeways today. It was 272 miles on odo or 257 miles on google maps (no gps for me yet). It used 8.745 gallons (I really tried hard to fill it all the way up the filler neck before and after). That means it got a reasonable 29-31 mpg during 65-70 mph freeway driving. I paid $2500. I thought I was getting a steal until I saw the rust. Now I think I paid a fair price.

The photos below are from his CL ad. I will try to take better resolution photos down the road. Anyway, just wanted share the good news.

Nice find ... I'd love a white W124 wagon someday. Or any color W124 wagon, for that matter. :)

Several years ago, I test-drove an '87 300D, a kid in the neighborhood was selling for his "out-of-town uncle".
Compared to my tired, rusty $200 240D, it was a pleasure to drive. But the suspension felt 'squirrely', the passenger floor was shot, and the bottom radiator crossmember was completely rotted away! So I passed. The flaws I could overlook on my $200 diesel, I couldn't ignore when the price was $2700.
If your rust is very minor or just surface-rust, I wouldn't loose too much sleep over it.

Happy Motoring, Mark

that car looks wildly familuar. if it was ever registered in FL according to autocheck. I might know this one...

welcome to the 87TD club! I was with you on the car until you said rust... hope it is not serious!

pull the vacuum pump. VISUALLY inspect to see if it has covered bearings or not, and if not, be CERTAIN the plastic cage is undamaged before you put it back.
look the belt tension shock and bearing sets over VERY WELL. they can take out the head if they let the belt go on the freeway.

check the odometer against 20 consecutive mile markers on the freeway. you can post the part number on your speedometer and we can check to see if it's the correct part.

Yes, the car was registered in the following places:
Moorestown, NJ
Houston, TX
Denver, CO
Venice, FL
Milton, DE
Santa Maria, CA
and now San Luis Obispo, CA

Aquaticedge, are you a previous owner? That would be awesome if someone here knew the car. The current records/history of the car are very sparse.

Vstech, the rust is more than cosmetic, but less than catastrophic. It has rusted through at one jacking point, but the jacking tube and vertical support above the tube are okay. I will definitely take your advice regarding the vacuum pump and serpentine belt tensioner. You sometimes advise to change the old metal fan to a plastic 11 blade fan. If the car is staying cool according to the coolant temperature gauge, do you think this is still necessary. I am on a budget (both $ and time) and want to avoid too many expenses right away.

the reason for the blade change is the clutch for the aluminum blade fan is $400... the clutch for the plastic blade is $100... and the blade is only 28.00 AND the blade has better air flow and cooling for the weak motor!
if you still have the aluminum fan... the clutch is bad. it's always bad. change it.

I believe I know this car.....oo this is scary... nothing bad about the car. the guy who owned it literally had hundreds if not thousands of mercedes... I stopped counting mercedes titles at 110... there was atleast another filing cabinet there. all titles. one serious collector.... he had 3.5 TD wagons of the 87 vintage (his only favorite year of the wagons) I knew it might happen.... one of his cars showing up here maybe... just diddnt think it would happen this quick.

Sweet! The pics look nice, the white looks great and keeps it bearable in summer without A/C. All in all it looks like one that can go far. I'm impressed by the mpg. At those fwy speeds with normal traffic mine gets 27. I haven't seen 30s since I forced myself to go 55 on a flat drive from Yuma to San Diego. Enjoy

87 300TD 325k (white/tans)

Welcome!

Congratulations! I have been on the search for a 1987 300TD for a couple months now since I sold my 300sdl. Someday...

There were around 1300 of these built/imported in MY 1987, around 350 dealers who each had a white service wagon (most white over blue tex), plus the white ones sold into private hands (a popular color in sun-belt states), pretty hard to narrow it down based on color to the prior ownership. Would be cool to search owners if you could though. The fan is fine if the clutch is fine as mentioned above, will keep the car cool during hard-driving at 90+ ambient (been there, done that at extended full-throttle during testing). The clutch will spin the fan up when first started, then release and freewheel, until above setpoint (195F??), then spin the fan (loudly) again, limiting max. RPM of the fan to prevent it flying apart. Test sequence is in the FSM.

It is a heavy car, only 300lbs shy of an SDL. Still, you should see ~9second 0-60 when all is in perfect running condition. Sounds like an ALDA adjustment, or even oil clogging the switchover valve (purge with WD-40 or equivalent) and lines.

Congrats and welcome to the '87 TD club!

Thanks everyone for your positive words and advice. I am very excited about the car, and it seems to run really well. When I have more time, I will definitely post a few questions. But I want to review existing info on the forum before I waste anyone's time.

The contrast between an 87 300TD and a 68 220D is remarkable. My sister may purchase a new diesel MB GL wagon (she is in a different tax bracket than myself), so it will be interesting to see how remarkably different a new MB diesel is compared to my own. Thanks again for all the support. It is scary buying an old car when it is supposed to be our new family car, but the advice and help from this forum really makes it possible.

Congrats on joining the club of 87 300TDT owners. Keep an eye on the temp gauge as it climbs hills. My 300TDT has had a persistent overheating problem on long uphill grades such as Cuesta Grade that I haven't been able to cure after changing a load of parts. I started a thread on it 8 years ago. My 300TDT also has the original #14 head although I finally got a used #22 head from a junked 87 300TDT in Fresno.

Assuming the 189K mileage is accurate on the odometer that 300TDT was a pretty good price. My 300TDT was originally from Texas, and then it lived in Florida for a while until it finally moved to San Diego (La Jolla) where I bought it from a guy that worked as a VP for Intuit software. According to him it was the nanny's car. It has 185K on it and I paid 3500 for it, but I have put well over that amount into it.

The repairs/upgrades include: a new A/C compressor and charge of R12, new radiator, new coolant reservoir, new fan/clutch, new vacuum pump, new blower fan, new SLS valve, new SLS accumulators, upgraded to 94 factory radio, sunroof track replacement and wind deflector replacement as well as interior sunshade replacement, front end rebuild, Bilstein shock upgrade, CLK wheel upgrade (205/55R16), third seat leather replacement, B pillar reupholstery, new roller blind installation, central lock system vacuum pump upgrade, wireless entry system upgrade, rear window glass replacement, rust repair on both quarter panel windows, euro towbar installation w/ euro towbar wiring, factory leather steering wheel upgrade, antenna replacement, instrument cluster light pipe upgrade, VDO odometer assy upgrade, and interior cargo hook additions from later S124 wagons. (I think that's most of the items..) In process upgrades include 500E seats w/ factory seat heaters, factory after glow, and 150A W140 "S" class alternator upgrade all originally done by GSXR and well documented on his W124perfomance web page.

W124 Performance

Also in process is an upgrade to 94/95 headlights and wipers.

Future upgrades/repairs include a sportline suspension upgrade, new paint, new hood pad, swapping in the #22 head, fuel tank restoration, as well as a rear subframe and suspension rebuild.

Enjoy your new 1987 300TDT. The possibilities are endless!

-Steve

LOL

As Steve and I can attest, these cars are lovable as they are good at so many things, but you can spend time and money on repairs and after that upgrades, ... until you can no longer remember them all.

In other words, many of us here can pretty much write a book on how to make a wonderfully practical car an over-the-top hobby.