The car's worth is all about the engine since a replacement is very expensive and a lot of work to install. Turn it over by hand first to insure it is free and to start circulating the oil. You can do that with a wrench (22 mm?) on the power steering pump crank bolt, which is on top and easy to access. Prime the lift pump with the plastic hand pump.

Unlike a gas engine, diesel can sit for a long time without evaporating or deteriorating. However, it can get slimed by biobes. You can get a treatment at marine stores to make the fuel usable, since a very common problem in boats. Watch for black slime in the plastic fuel filter before the hand pump. If the engine then fires up, check for excessive blow-by from the oil filler cap (see youtube videos). If no fire, check the glow-plugs (youtube).

If the engine is OK, the next thing is rust-thrus. That can make the car worth only scrap. Don't fret too much about seats and interior. You can install nice seats from a newer crashed car cheap. The wood panels can be easily replaced from a junkyard car, and 300D's are showing up there often now.

X2 for rodents

And possibly spiders too!

And lots of bird ****.

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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!

Yes car spiders are very dangerous! Thank the heavens the op isn't looking at a Volkswagen...

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My 300cd sat for 12 years before i bought it. New battery, 1 glow cycle and it started perfectly! The only thing is be careful if the seats are leather. After being untouched for years, the leather must have gotten dry and when i sat down it cracked my seat in some places lol. The fuel tank may have gotten rusty because of moisture built up so the tank screen should be cleaned or replaced. Enjoy your new find!

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83 300CD- sanden, dual p/f condensers, 160a alternator, ect
91 300TD- 722.6, #22 head, 3.5L IP, w140 manifolds, ect

My old sedan sat for 3 years. New battery in, and it still didn't start... So it got tow started by the half ton pickup, fired right up. That car wa perfect under all the moss, I miss it dearly.

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1981 300TD 4 speed manual
Euro bumpers, zender valance and skirts, H&R springs, billy HD's, leveled sls, real AMG Pentas 16x8 et11, vdo boost/egt gauges intergrated into ash tray, eurolights, led 3rd brake light

Haha (well, not really)....the woman who owns it said that three of the four wheels have been stolen! They live in Florida and PA but the car is at their place in Mass. I'm sure tires were shot....but replacement rims can't be cheap.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Stable sells a cylinder fogging oil. My walmart has it in the clearance section for a couple of bucks.

Jim

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1995 S350D, Green with black leather interior.
Bought January 2008 w/ 233,xxx miles.
I did 22,000 miles during the first year of ownership.

You'd be surprised on craigslist. I got a set of 4 bunt rims with good tires for $125. Or go to a recking yard and pull all the mercedes spare tires out. They are often never used and look great..

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

Check under the rear seat for money. Thats if the car saw a lot of recreational use while sitting over the years.

I'd say err on the side of caution.

Do make sure the engine will turn over by hand and lube it up as much as possible. Maybe even go ahead and do an oil change and check the fuel for biologicals.

Having the air cleaner off and being prepared for a runnaway is prudent.

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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)

.

also exaust can be full of....well....everything

.

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w126 500SEC gen II euro, powered by OM617 turbo stolen from 84 300SD 2.88 diff,EGR blinded
next wish/project: w114 coupe OM603 powered

Where in MA is it? If it's relatively close to where I live, I may be able to check it out.

Unless you have a lot of $$$ & time to sink into what would be a mid-grade restoration, I would stay away (the parts car in the signature had sat for nine years; as I kept digging, I found more stuff that needed to be done). Most of the electrics were shot, for example, along with the rubber & brake system. The alternator was seized up with rust. There were at least two mouse nests. Its only saving grace is 139,100 original miles, and so I'm trying to get it running in hopes of selling the motor.

Basically, I would consider this something that would be a great parts car, especially if something is in better-than-average shape (such as the motor, interior, body etc).

*EDIT* I see that you mentioned a garage -- that's good. Mine sat outside, which is probably a large part of the reason that the electrics were junk.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Look for every piece of rubber touching metal to potentially be stuck to it and start leaking when it moves.

Look for every piece of rubber that normally moves (CV, shock, steering boots, tires, mounts, bushings, dampners, belts, hoses, potentially door and window seals) as a part of operation...will be suspect to crumble and fail.

Heh, sounds like doom and gloom, but important to know. Rubber has to be either lubricated or flexed to stay pliable.

The hardest thing on any old piece of equipment is to just sit in one place.

It's not as bad if it's been in a heat/temp controlled environment, but absolutely tough on rubber stuff to be completely taken out of service.

Also, be on the lookout for chewed vacuum lines or wires...

It depends LARGELY on the garage. If it is heated and cooled, you will have to do less than you expect. If it is damp and mouse ridden, it might have been best to walk away.

If the car was in top shape when put away, and the garage is not damp, I would fully expect to put a battery in it and start it with minimal trouble.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

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