1980 300D Wagon w/o leveling system: OK or NG?
 

Just bought a 1980 300TD Wagon with 230 K on the odom, relatively little rust for $1600. It has an unknown engine in it that does not have the pump for the leveling system. The rear springs have one spacer in each, and the car actually is a bit higher in the back than front, unloaded. Have not tried loading it yet. It came with a Kentucky title that says "Rebuilt Vehicle"

Can this car be safely driven with a reasonable load without that system?

How can I tell what engine is in it? Looks like the basic 300D 5 cyl, but the air cleaner is at more of a slant than my 300D 4 door regular sedan. It seems to run OK, but "clacks" a bit louder than most. Shifts OK, but the tranny fluid smells slightly burnt (good red color tho).

This car has changed hands about 4 times in 2 years so I'm a bit nervous about it, also my insurance Co (GEICO) had trouble finding the VIN #, tho they said that is common with 1980 & earlier vehicles.

Whaddaya all think; do I have a small yellow citrus fruit or a bargain?

Especially concerned about the leveling system; I read numerous posts on the subject before posting this inquiry.

ed


Have a small flock of them, 85 300D beater with unknown miles
81 240D 4 spd 110,00 (my favorite), & 2 or 3 parts units (300D)
81 Rabbit Diesel P.U., fair weather work pony.

I would have passed....but sense you already have...guess you can't turn back..

Post photos of it and we can tell you want engine it has in it...make sure the vin on the title matches the vin on the firewall.

The sls feature is one of the nice things about a wagon. With out that system you will need to buy the sls delete kit.

I'm not familiar with an sls delete kit and I don't know why one would assume it does not have it. If the car rides and handles decently without excessive leaning or crashing over bumps I don't see any reason to be concerned about it. In my experience MB cars with no sls still can carry a pretty impressive load without too much complaint.

The clacking could be from a bad motor mount or bad air cleaner mounts.

Sounds like you have a broken air cleaner mount bracket. Worth checking under the cleaner and seeing.

Also getting rid of the sls system was the best thing I've ever done to the wifes 85 wagon. Id count that as a plus, not a minus, assuming it was done fairly well.

Just imagine an entire system of breakable expensive finicky parts gone forever that you do not have to deal with. Yes, you do not have the high capability of load that the sls provides, but for normal use, its pretty unnecessary. I haven't regretted once ripping it out, and we've loaded her car up a number of times since then.

There is a spring part number over on std you can buy that is just about perfect if you want to get rid of the spacers. I went with the propigskin kit, and its effective, but a trifle noisy. Were I to do it again, id buy the springs listed on std and not use cut off springs

Agree with the broken/bent air cleaner bracket. A Federal right?

You may want to do a fluid and filter change on the transmission.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of the SLS either.

The reason I assume there is no delete kit installed for the sls is because he stated there are shims in the springs. Which tells me the pistons weren't removed and replaced with shocks.

Where are you located I just happen to know where a complete SLS sytem is located :D

If they weren't replaced with shocks, he'd be reporting that the ride is uncontrolled. SLS pistons are not shock absorbers.

SLS increases the load rating of the car. If you're not carrying a ton of cement, or using the third row, the handling should be comparable to a sedan.

Thanks . More questions
 

The little tanks etc. are still there, just the pump missing, 'cuz its a different engine. Not sure if it is shocks or piston. Pretty sure the air cleaner is solid, just sounds like the usual diesel clacking, only louder than my other Mercedes.

The Vin is WDB123... (all numbers) But Title, windshield plate and door plate all agree. Says mfg in Stuttgart. Izzit a so called "Euro", and is that good or bad?

Will try to post a picture later.

Thanx again, keep the comments coming.

ed, Lake Worth, Fl

Best shocks to use if no SLS System??
 

Wondering what would be the best shocks to use with the SLS missing, that would maximize load carrying ability.

Thanks,

ed

regular 300D shocks work fine. you can get those in HD versions.

it will be pretty easy to tell if you still have hydraulic shocks or regular shocks, just check for lines to them.

No way to tell what was done without a pic or on site viewing of it. If they went as far as putting spacers in the springs, then chances are they slammed some regular shock absorbers in there as well.

Sounds like they reused the SLS specific springs and spaced them out. The shock would have to come out for that to be done anyway, and the hydraulic shocks won't work without the pump, so my guess is they ripped out and changed what they had to, and left everything else in place that could just sit, if the spheres are still there.

Hello Again, update
 

Tried putting a couple of engine pix on here, not sure if they loaded.

Took it for a spin with about 250 Lb in the back, and it remained at near level. Could be my imagination, or slightly squirrely, (fishtailing?)

Definite tick tick tick on engine that is proportional to speed, & won't go away. Worried it might be a rod. How to determine??

"Clunk" when braking unless very gradual, nothing in the back that could have caused that.

Temp stays at about 80C (80 F ambient), and pressure at idle about 2 atmospheres, pegs meter if going above 10 MPH.

Does VIN WDB123... (no letters) mean it is a "Euro"; is this good or bad? The odom has MPH in larger #'s, Km/H in smaller, which would suggest gringo.

Thanks again for all the input, don't know how I could own one of these w/o the forum!

ed

You'll have to post the whole VIN, WDB123 means nothing in terms of determining its origin. Being pre-81 it very could have no letters in the VIN. They were all made in West Germany regardless of where they got sold.

If you post the whole vin someone can decode it for you, noone can do anything malicious with the VIN, so I wouldn't worry about posting it.

There really isn't anything inherently better about a euro that year.

Have you adjusted the valves?

If the rear end seems to steer itself around, that is probably the rear suspension bushings located just under the rear seats, close to the jack points. Pain in the but but you can do yourself. If the car is rusty, you may need saw-z-all and blue wrench (torch).

You'll need to try a valve adjustment, you may simply have a really loose valve adjuster, a worn camshaft, or indeed something deeper wrong.

Brake supports, front suspension. There is a rod on each side, from lower control arm back to body of the car. The rubber mount at the body end wears out and then they clunk.