I have daydreamed about what I would do if I won a billion dollars. One would be to ground up restore every w124 wagon I can get my hands on and turn them around for a song so people could start enjoying them for cheap.

Yes, old cars are like heart attacks, you know they're gonna happen, just don't know when or how bad.

I can relate to your story about having issues on Rt 1. I bought my '92 300D in Washington DC with a known issue where it would not upshift. Drove all the way down Rt 1 to Woodbridge, VA keeping the rev's down. Took me forever to make it home!

Anyway - turned out it was the governor - the secondary pump had jammed on a spring and broke the plastic gear on the governor. Others have had this issue on the forum and the how-to is well documented.

Gear fix was 10k miles ago - and the car is still humming along.

Wish you luck.

-John

So the previous owner had "no idea" about the transmission huh ???...and he acted surprised huh ??? What a scum bag !!!

There is no way to be absolutely sure the previous owner had issues. The transmission fluid and filter are a pretty solid indicator indicator he may have though. At the same time had the transmission just been power flushed it could happen. In this case apparently the torque converter fluid was not changed indicates it was not power flushed.

The onus on the buyer is to do your homework on any model car as well. Slow getting into reverse is a sign the transmission is on it's way out especially with this model.

If for example you had asked me to check out that car in advance of purchase. I would have had to mention the delay into reverse and my opinion of what it may mean. Essentially the transmission may be at or nearing it's end of serviceability point. It is an absolute certainty it's best days are long gone.

Personally I would never want hard feelings over the selling of a car by me. Buyer beware is not a requirement of me selling anything. If something is not right I tell the purchaser at the time of sale.

My reasoning is not personal integrity only. A bad purchase by someone with limited financials can damage their lives. I have seen this happen.

Then we have the issue of selling a car and the buyer seriously abusing it just to see what it can do right after the sale. So if you feel a buyer is like that it may be best to decline the sale. You can break anything almost if you try hard enough usually.

That said never hand the keys over to a purchaser until all potential liability issues are covered.. Car is out of your name specifically. Just not a signed over ownership. Not doing this can be more dangerous than almost anything. In this case if the owner really did not know he should rebate some money. My feeling though is the seller knew al too well and had or has no intention of doing anything.

Was any additive put in prior to, or as part of the change?

__________________


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

What did you pay for it?

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

See page two...

__________________
"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."

Hi everyone. I paid $1500 for the car. The engine bay shows evidence of a caring mechanic (new head gasket, #14 head showing no evidence of any head issues, nice tight fan clutch, all new vacuum line connectors which were very nicely routed and dressed, clean intake manifold, new fuel lines. The front shock towers are new, so are all of the shocks, beautiful leather interior, sunroof runs fast and smooth (important to me because they are hard to fix). The car over all had a lot of very good attributes. I am happy with the vehicle now that I have gotten over the shock of having the trans go out.

I admittedly did not handle that shock well and lashed out and I have since corrected that mistake. I have no hard feelings about this now and I honestly believe the PO did not know (so please let's not make any judgement of this person based on my poor choice of words).

I've had plenty of tools suddenly fail, it happens. A transmission is a complicated tool which will always eventually fail. I have also had things break right after I tried to service them. I suspect the PO, in anticipation of selling this car and wanting everything to be right, changed the fluid and filter. I'm certain it was fine before that, but for whatever reason, the trans didn't like the new fluid and later crapped out.

In the past, when I've decided to sell a car, I would clean it, service it and then stop driving it, just so it wouldn't get damaged or filled up with my junk again. Also it lets me emotionally separate myself from the car. It is very likely that after servicing this car it was parked and left until it was sold.

I'm taking it to a trans shop this week so they can give me their opinion. No additives were put in it, only fluid and a filter.

I now have a fleet of 1987 300 series diesels. This has been a goal for me. I only have one platform to work on. None have computers controlling the engine. This is a lot of fun for me (and now my 16 year old son is interested in helping me work on the newest car), and that is the greatest benefit of all :-)




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

__________________
1987 300TD named Klause
1987 300TD named Spouse
1987 300D named Seabiscuit
1980 300TD names Chloie (now sadly gone)

Thanks John !

For $1500 I wouldnt complain about anything.

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I envy your intuition or x-ray vision A cracked #14 head is probably worth more in originality points at Pebble Beach than a #17 head that allows the car to tour.

If the AC works, it's a great deal even with open air between the ring grear and prop shaft. That it has at the very least a core tranny filling that space is gravy. The question remains, at least in this mind suspicious mind, why it sold for a pittance if it was everything described.

Sixto
87 300D

So, I tried my very best to stay out of this because I don't feel as though I was treated fairly from the moment I was told there was a problem. Through a series of phone calls and emails, that part of the situation has been taken care of. The OP was very apologetic and made the same apology in this thread. I am fine with that.

I bought the car for $1800 in June from a guy who had put a ton of work into it but who couldn't keep it due to a move. I was at the right place at the right time. I offered less than he was asking and he accepted. I put about 4000 miles on it in the time I had it and during that time I tried my best to familiarize myself with its systems. I changed the oil, swapped out the OVP, fixed some vacuum leaks and generally kept the car running well. One day I decided since I had never changed the transmission fluid in any car, I would do that too. I drained it, changed the filter and gasket and refilled it. I didn't drain the torque converter because I didn't have a socket to turn the crankshaft. After the half fluid change, there was no difference in how the transmission behaved on my 5 mile one way commute to work which has one stretch of 35 mph road. There was a flair from 2 to 3 just like before I changed the fluid. I drove the car on the Highway a couple times with no trouble. In fact it was way more at home in those short trips than it was grumbling around town.

I liked the car. Winter rolled around and I hated the car. It smoked. It was noisy, I had no place to plug in the block heater and it would not start when it was 8 degrees. My neighbor was selling a 190e for really short money so I bought it right before Christmas. For the next month I fixed that car up and drove it. I made up my mind to sell the 300d and look for a gas w124.

When the Op came to look at the car I was thinking he wouldn't buy it. He told me he already had two 1987 300D wagons and I knew he was obviously knowledgeable about any shortcomings these cars can have. There is some rust, the interior is not stock, there are dents, it smokes, it has no AC and the transmission flairs. He knew this from the ad and from the test drive he took, without me present, for about 30 minutes. This was after going over the car outside and in with a flashlight. He came back from driving it, told me it needed a new vacuum pump as the one that was there was the "old style" and would I take $1500. I accepted. I have no idea about vacuum pumps other than to know the car has one. I learned a lot from the car and was ready to move on. A $300 "loss" didn't seem bad to me.

After we signed the title, I took him to my garage where I gave him two boxes of spare parts and a brand new blower motor with new fans. His son played darts and I wrote out a bill if sale with his wife. I told him I was glad the car was going to someone who was knowledgeable about them and who would keep it running. I shook his hand and told him and his family to have a safe trip.

The one thing I never did was try to rip anyone off or hide any shortcomings the car might have. I listed what I knew to be the problems in my ad and shared them in person. Am I a scumbag because I am not going to give him half his money back on a $1500 28 year old car with 204,000 miles? I tend to think not. Your opinion may vary. If you read his description of the condition of the car in this thread, I think you will find that at $1500 there is little room for complaint.

I wish the car had gotten him home easily and without issue. I guess they can't all be $700 diamonds in rough. Sometimes old **** breaks. So flame on. Keep telling each other that you would be a stand up guy and give the guy half his cash back after he drove the car away for a song. But after the conversation I had, and after I was made out to be dishonest in this thread, apology or not, no chance. In the heat of the moment people say things that they later regret. I suspect that this is one of those times.

I wish the OP the best with the car and I truly hope that the fix is super easy and very very inexpensive. Now, back the regularly scheduled bashing.

__________________
1985 300CD

With the additional (brave) information from Seaway I reckon it is worth while draining the transmission and the torque converter - put in a new filter; and see if there is anything obvious wrong with the transmission with the oil pan off.

If you end up swapping out the transmission for an alternative you might be able to save the new oil by straining it through a coffee filter (if it hasn't been used for too long).

Take this opportunity to measure out the fluid - in an anal like your life depends on it way!

(Problems could just be an incorrect amount of fluid in the transmission - if this is true this is the cheap fix!)

__________________
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!

After having been through a similar situation when selling a car, I've decided to require the buyer obtain a pre-purchase mechanical inspection report from a mechanic of their choice. In addition, the Bill of Sale includes wording that says the car is being sold as is where is with no warranties express or implied and costs of all repairs are the purchaser's responsibility.

Purchasing a used automobile is a risk because, guess what? IT IS USED. The moment the new purchaser turns the key in the ignition, anything can go wrong. If a buyer doesn't understand this then perhaps they should go buy a NEW car with a NEW CAR warranty.

I think this is a good idea and will make it a habbit when I sell my next car.

__________________
1987 300TD named Klause
1987 300TD named Spouse
1987 300D named Seabiscuit
1980 300TD names Chloie (now sadly gone)