DEPOSIT ON EURO 240D NEED INFO
 

Car is 1983 240D, manual 4sp, cloth interior, triangle sign in trunk lid----
clock shows 189k, very nice clean car---new tires and battery....all books and service records since new...one owner....

Question 1 ---there is a sticker on the drivers door sill stating that some sort of conversion euro to us was completed....WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Head lights are same as USA 123's that I have seen....bumpers look euro....what else would have been changed?

Question 2----VIN WDB 1231231A131739 HOW TO DECODE---

Question 3----when changing gears from 2nd to 3rd there is a bit of grinding
unless I let it coast 3 or 4 seconds then it will go in gear without
any grinding noise....I know that is not normal but not sure
what the problem is...PLEASE ADVISE....
Have pictures in my email but don't know how to include them...Advise


buch32@windstream.net

Grinding noise is a bad synchro. Needs the transmission pulled and split to fix. If you're very lucky, trans could just be low on oil or need an oil change.

I'm guessing lights, gauge cluster, and maybe some emissions stuff were done. Doesn't really matter, car is > 25 years old, so legal regardless. Is your state hard-ass or laid-back as far as inspection is the only question.

Thanks for your input....No inspections in my state

1. On the only grey market euro I've inspected closely, the headlights, speedometer, and bumpers had been changed to federal. Those were the only obvious things. On yours it may be that the euro bumpers were left on, or that someone changed them back after the car was imported.

2. W=Made in Germany (actually West Germany at the time) DB=Daimler Benz 123123=123.123 chassis, in other words a 240D. For the next two I would have expected 10 for a manual or 12 for an automatic. I'm not sure what 1A is supposed to mean. The rest is just the sequential serial number.

3. Probably synchros. If you had grinding during all gear changes I'd suspect the clutch not releasing fully, but since it only happens on the 2-3, it's probably the 3rd gear synchros starting to go. If you're careful you can drive it like that for a long time. When you do decide to rebuild they aren't horrible.

Also, the wrong gear oil can cause grinding. I'd start with a fluid change to synthetic ATF see if any change is made.

All the euros I've seen that were federalized, have an egr valve installed, and the bumpers filled with steel bar, and the headlights changed to sealed beam.

Thanks I appreciate the input

And they installed seat belts if the car was not ordered with and also steal bars were inserted into the doors. EGR could be like mine, with a crudely installed J pipe.

You could also have worn bushings in the shifting rods, this can also cause grinding...my 4 speed grinds going into reverse every now and then..

If your transmission grinds going into reverse, one of three things is occuring:
1. The car is moving. You need to be totally stopped to shift into reverse.
2. You are shifting into reverse too quickly after disengaging the clutch. The shafts need time to spin down to a stop after being decoupled from the engine.
3. The clutch is not fully disengaging. You should be able to disengage the clutch, rev the engine to 2000 rpm, and shift into reverse with NO grinding or difficulty whatsoever.

Car at a stop, push in the clutch, count to 5, shift to reverse. There should be no grinding at all.

Misadjustment on the shift rods can also cause grinding. Bad synchors in third but not second is unusual. Usually if you have trouble its second gear first.

240 D
Approx. 1984
Engine Nr: 616912 10 373631
Gearbox Nr: 716214 00 001489
Color: 803 - reed green
Upholstery: 056 - cloth green
Dealer: 223 - Darmstadt branch, Germany
Lights: HELLA
Option codes:
411 - mech. sunroof
466 - central locking system
504 - outside rear view mirror, on the right side, electrically adjustable
534 - mech. antenna, w/o radio
591 - green heat-insulating glass all round, rear single-sheet safety glass
682 - fire extinguisher

:)

Try Pennzoil Synchromesh available at Advance Autoparts. While I have not tried it in a W123 manual tranny, it is the only fluid that I've tried which helps my Jetta from popping out of 5th gear. Others on this forum have reported good results with the Synchromesh but YMMV.

Photos

Nice.

Posting
 

BIG thanks for helping me post...
Nate

Big thanks....wish I knew how to find it