What do you qualify as "important" and "mechanic only" jobs?
Two things that come to mind instantly are shock replacement and injector calibration

No way i'm doing shocks on these cars, i'd def kill myself. I "mess up" and have to back track a lot since i'm new to working on cars. Messing up or skipping a step on a shock job could mean your life.

These cars will get expensive very fast if you let someone work on it.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Any time you see rust you need to move on and find another.

There is no rust underneath or in the engine bay, confirmed by mechanic...it seems to be pretty well limited to a few superficial points. At this point these are so hard to find at a decent "fixer" price that i'm willing to contend with a little rust if it's not structural.

But I generally do hesitate to even go that route. Maybe I should run screaming anyway...

I'm not about to pull the transmission out myself, or the engine for that matter.

It shouldn't come to that.


If i had to, i'd pull and install my engine and tranny

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

I know that rust is a problem, but a completely rust free wagon in nice condition is approaching 5 grand in CA, so 3 grand seems like a good deal knowing what work was done. Doors are no problem around here, they can be replaced with rust free units.

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All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

I think you mean springs. Replacing the shocks is a walk in the park and not in any way dangerous.

Injector rebuilding is very simple and straightforward if you have the proper equipment and are capable of reading and following basic instructions.

Dkr.

Oops, well I feel slow .

__________________
1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.