Hello dieselers. And maybe goodbye. I just drove home a 1994 E320 Wagon tonight I bought from an old friend from high school for 500.00 . It has the m104 engine. It runs like crap unless the rpms are at 3000 or above. Then it will tear up a hill no problem and handles and rides really smooth. When idling and at low rpms it shakes and stutters and has no power, will die if left to idle too long. This is my first foray into gas engines for 16 years and mercedes especially. I've never even seen one that I can remember.

Lucky it is was only a 4 mile drive home. I've driven by this car for years wanted to buy it from him for a long time. He's an old jeep guy and not a mercedes guy. Finally i stopped and talked to him and helped him with his jeep and he said he wanted to get rid of the mercedes and it ran bad. Hopefully it is something simple. I'll post pics soon. Its white with blue interior and overall a body and car. It has the rear cargo net thing.

One thing that is bad that may make it a parts car or someone elses problem is the oil pressure gauge does not move at all. I'm going to check the wire in the morning. Probably just an electrical problem . Is that controlled by the Klima relay? I thought we tried replacing the Klima. But that was a while ago and I can't remember now.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

I've discovered the problem. It runs on gasoline.

It the oil gauge was truly zero you wouldn't have made it 4 miles. Probably not 4 feet.

Figure out what's wrong. Maybe it's something simple.

There is a tech help section. You will have better luck there.

Timing maybe? Did the distributer gear maybe jump a tooth? I don't know that engine though, and I haven't worked on anything gasoline in years.

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

What the heck is gasoline?

Congrats on the new project. A Diesel Engine should fix all your rough running problems.


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

What he said.

Transplant an OM603 or better yet an OM606 and kiss that stinky gas motor goodbye...

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

It's old, so I'd start by inspecting all of the vacuum lines and seals, including the doughnut between the manifolds. Vacuum leaks are worse at lower RPM, and if the switchover is stuck open that would do it as well.

Although actually I'd probably pull the plugs and inspect them, too. Properly maintained these engines are great; properly neglected, well...

That said, the M104 is a beast. The only real costly issues that arise are head gasket failures and in some applications the engine harness degrading. Both are also good DIY projects that are labor-intensive, so you can keep the car in good condition for not too much money.

The W124 wagons are getting pretty rare, so it's worth the effort unless you discover lots of rust.

Good luck.

1st thing to do is to dump all the existing gas.
2nd would be to setup a purge going into the fuel distributor.
3rd very carefully clean the upper part of the throttle body.

THEN .. check plugs ect. These motors seem to be very gas system sensitive.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

You guys are pretty much right. These Gas engines are 50 times more complicated than the diesels. Let's see if pics will upload. I was going to try the ovp relay first. My scanner for codes should be here today. It has that old school thing and my fancy Autel Maxidas doesn't scan this car. It was 50.00. Not too bad.

It's been driven , hasn't been sitting much but maybe hasn't had premium gas. Do these require the premium like VW gasses? That's a good thought.
Nope no pics from my iPhone. Upload keeps failing. It's a nice rust free body I'm pretty sure. Local tn car.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

On tapatalk? It's been messing up lately. I just kept trying and eventually it worked.

I'd basically do the basic stuff. Clean the fuel system. Check spark plug wires and plugs.

Oh you know. All the stuff.

bp:

1) Ask the administrator to move this thread to the gasoline forum. No, not because of the snark, but simply because that is where the folks are who are attuned to gas engines.

2) When dealing with gas engines, first insure that the compression is good, and the ignition system is in perfect order. Then turn you attention to the fuel system. Poor compression and ignition will either be mistaken for a fuel system problem, or will confuse the diagnosis of a fuel problem if one exists.

CWC: Crosswise Club?

my oil pressure sender failed because of a ruptured oring
replaced an all's good

BP you just bot a great car! As Can't Know stated, these wagons are getting rare...I've been trying to find a decent one for awhile....

So what did I end up doing? Just the opposite of you..........

Bot a '92 300D with 180M+ on the clock, one owner car, in pretty good shape (haven't added to the sig yet). I thought I'd try to understand what all the fuss was about from all you Dieselheads.....that ought to get everyone all riled up........thought I'd try to figure out what the cool factor was in owning a diesel?

I've only owned my D a couple of months, but it's growing on me. Your wagon will do the same for you.

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'89 260e (212K Mi.), '92 400e (208K Mi.), '92 400e (not a misprint) (146K Mi.), '95 C220, '81 240D--Sold

Man I'm not gonna get riled up because you tried a diesel. I'm happy for you.

It's a combustion engine. It can ignite anything just with pressure. You can pour vegetable oil in, motor oil, transmission fluid, etc.

In a gas motor it requires a spark. Not just any spark. It has to be pretty good. A rotor or cap can fail. A wire. A simple gizmo. And you are sitting on the side of the road.

I've had problems in a diesel. But I've never not gotten home. I can turn my key off and it keeps running.

It doesn't have a finicky air/fuel mixture. It never is limited on air. You just add more fuel. You can add more air with a turbo and burn more fuel. But it will always run on way too much or not enough fuel (limited there)

The power it creates is more efficient. With trucks, I can get 20 mpg hauling 12,000 lbs.

I could go forever. Lol.

It's not for everyone. And I have a gas car, because I don't want to put miles on my baby.

CWC = cheap wagon club. I think Tyler started it here in the diesel section. Thanks for the tips. I will post over there for my tech discussions. I just wanted to show off my cheap wagon here

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

Thanks! Welcome. The 2.5T is an awesome engine.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius