Hello all,

I've been a member over on Pelican for a few years, but I've just purchased an '85 300D after selling my 911. This car will serve as my daily driver as my broker finds the AMG I am looking for, and depending on how I feel at that time I will sell it or hang on to it as a spare car.

The car has 290k on it, supposedly runs like a sewing machine, has a new AC system and was owned by the same family in Williamsburg VA for its whole life. It looks extremely clean. No cracks in any of the wood (I always thought Mercedes just put those in at the factory! ) or vinyl. Typical fading on some of the interior soft surfaces, perfect carpets.

I bought the car from the son of the owner of my brokerage. He suggested getting the engine cleaned up and I'd be worried about doing my typical degreaser/pressure wash method on a car this old. Any thoughts?

I'll be flying from my home in ATL tomorrow morning to pick the car up in Virginia Beach and drive it back.

Looks nice. Pressure wash away. Take a picture first making sure you note the routing of all the vacuum lines. Try not to spray hard on the vacuum lines and fuse/relays.

Also, you may want to vacuum out the spring pockets and pull the battery tray to inspect the fenders

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Amazing car for 290K miles. Looks like it was pampered.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

After removing the battery, unbolt the battery tray and check underneath for rust. Make sure the jack points are clean and rust-free; early 124 jack point plugs can be used to fill those holes. Pull the carpets and check for floor rust. Looks like you got a good one!

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Looks lie you got a very nice one.

Good point, even low mileage cars can have a rust through spot under the battery tray, so be careful in that area when power washing.

Use a degreaser too and be judicious where you point the wand. 30+ year old vacuum lines and connecters may be brittle or weak.

Appears to be a fine example.

I'm not too far away, let me know if I can help.

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83 SD

84 CD

I picked the car up from my brokerage tonight. She started up right away (after waiting for the plugs, of course) and settled at idle quickly. Very impressive for a car of this vintage and mileage.

She drives so much better than my dad's '87 300SDL. Are the engines the same in these two cars? Maybe he'd finally listen to me when I tell him his isn't 100%.

The car obviously has issues, but they're few and minor. The dome light doesn't work with the door or switch, there's a small oil leak toward the front of the engine, the transmission shifts a little hard under heavier acceleration (was told an adjustment of a screw/bolt under the hood would remedy), and most importantly the gas gauge isn't reliable. Any help on these would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks for the info. My buddy just put a new battery in the car for me yesterday, didn't mention anything about rust. I'll take a look tomorrow when I'm going through the engine bay.

So it seems. Owned by the same family since new. It was purchased new and driven 90k miles by the original owner, then sold to his son-in-law who drove it for the remaining 200k+. All in an area that very rarely gets any snow.

Will do, thanks.

Thank you!

I'll be sure to keep the nozzle at a safe distance from soft parts.

I see you're in central VA. I'm in Virginia Beach at the moment, but will be driving it home to Atlanta on Tuesday morning. After driving it briefly tonight, I'm somewhat convinced to keep this car around as a daily and keep the AMG for weekends/sunny days.

For curiosity's sake, what is a car like this, assuming no hidden surprises, worth on the resale market at the moment?

Thanks all for the advice and compliments. I had a longer reply written up, but for some reason it didn't post.

I picked her up from my lot tonight. She started right up and idled smoothly within one or two seconds.

The car does seem very nice for the age and mileage. Drives better than my dad's '87 300SDL. Are they the same engines?

I'll check the suggested areas for rust tomorrow if I am able to get around to cleaning the engine bay. I have to pick the title up from my buddy and get it to DMV for tags.

I'm tempted to keep this car as a daily driver and keep the AMG garaged for nice days. Out of curiosity, what would a car like this be worth on the current market, assuming no hidden surprises?

The engine in the 87 is a six cylinder turbo motor. It should have a lot more power than the 85 if running correctly. Looks like a nice car.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

They are worth about $4K mint. Not much resale value.

They are different engines than you dad's SDL. Your Dad's SDL has a six-cylinder OM603 turbo. When running correctly, they were the fastest diesel in 1987, and much faster than a W123 300DT. Check the floor pans, battery tray, rockers, fenders, just about everywhere. The spare tire well too. Rust collects around there, as well as behind the fender liners on the quarter panels.

The car is really nice, good luck with it. I'd keep it as a daily, because these cars are few and far between these days. Especially in any decent kind of condition. I'm speculating that the W123s will increase in value over the years and become true classics. Along with any clean W126 and W116 (much more rare).

I'll be sure to keep the nozzle at a safe distance from soft parts.

I see you're in central VA. I'm in Virginia Beach at the moment, but will be driving it home to Atlanta on Tuesday morning. After driving it briefly tonight, I'm somewhat convinced to keep this car around as a daily and keep the AMG for weekends/sunny days.

For curiosity's sake, what is a car like this, assuming no hidden surprises, worth on the resale market at the moment?[/QUOTE]

Sadly the forecast is not good for your travel plans.

National Weather Service

Others have chimed in on some issues.

The erratic fuel gauge is probably a gunned up sending unit. It is located under the first aid kit. Remove it, clean it, if you must take it apart be aware there are two tiny wires, try not to disturb them.

Expect high 20's for mpg. Reset the trip odometer after a fill up, press the round instrument cluster dimmer button.

The rust prone area I and others, mentioned is under the battery tray, can't be seen by removing just the battery.

The SDL has a better designed, but harder to work on engine. The 126 chassis is heavier tho. As far as the "ride" goes, the SDL should be a bit nicer also. Your 123 seems to be sorted out with perhaps newer suspension components.

Harsh transmission shifts will be vacuum related. Finding the culprit will take some diagnosis, how much vac is the trans getting, does the modulator operate properly, do you need a strong spring in the transmission, etc. I believe your mentioning of a "screw/bolt" indicates to me a Bowden cable adjustment. This determines when the shifts occur, not how hard.

Be sure to inspect the dome light for perhaps being burned out.

I live 20 miles SE of Richmond, about an hour away from Williamsburg.

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83 SD

84 CD

Thanks so much for the info! Luckily the HVAC seems to work very well in the car, so hopefully the weather shouldn't hinder my travel too much. Too bad the car didn't come with a traffic removal button on the dash..

Today's weather is keeping me from getting the engine cleaned up, but from my quick look over it this morning it is in dire need of a good cleaning. I'll have to wait to get home before tackling that.

The ride in this car is more solid than dad's SDL. I'm going to chalk that up to some refreshed components, as you suggested. The SDL is certainly more 'stately' on the road due to the wheelbase, but I'm looking forward to a long cruise in this car tomorrow.

I'll definitely look into the fuel sending unit. I had the same problem in my 911 and it was easily remedied by cleaning the unit. I haven't gone through the car much yet, where is the first aid kit?

sticky fuel gauge is a common problem, the sender cylinder has to be cleaned out.

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.

first aid kit should be on the left pocket in the SD, or center shelf for the D, in the rear parcel shelf. should be marked with a blue and white cross

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Hard shift is lack of vacuum perhaps due to a vac leak alone. The leak is not difficult and the related adjustment also not difficult once you understand the system.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.