So I drove 7.5 hrs to pick up a relatively clean 1983 240d 4spd yesterday. Lots of recent maintenance, lots of various parts included, etc. Mainly wanted it due to it being a manual and having good paint.

Got on the road, about 2 hrs in it sprung a leak somewhere on the side of the transmission, leaking brake fluid. Lost the clutch pedal. Filled it back up, pumped the pedal, good to go. Just tried to stay in 4th gear the entire time, topping off brake fluid at every stop. It isn't leaking like crazy but.....

Less than an hour from home, I was going about 75 and oil pressure dropped to 2bar. I dropped my speed, called my friend behind me and asked if I was spraying him with oil. He said no. I hung up. Pressure dropped to 1.5 bar. He called me back and said ok yes you are spraying the front of the car with oil.

I coasted about a 1/2 a mile, and shut it down. Sent my friend to the truck stop across the interstate to get oil. It took almost 6 quarts so needless to say.... It was empty.

Engine never made the first odd noise. The oil cooler line has a small hole smaller than a pencil eraser rubbed in it.

Can some shop Probably repair this line?

I filled it back up with oil, right to the full Mark and fired it up. Instantly hit 3bar oil pressure and the engine sounds as smooth as ever. I pulled it up on a trailer and brought it home. Cranked it earlier (after confirming it still had the proper amount of oil) and it still sounds great other than a massive exhaust leak


Obviously pretty bummed about the whole event but it could be worse.

What are the chances my engine is fried? Maybe I got lucky?

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'84 300D Euro 5 spd
'83 240D 4spd
'83 300D/5 spd manual/Lifted+28" AT Tires
'83 300SD
'10 E63

Parting out- '79 Euro 280TE Green/Green & '89 300SEL White/Grey

No your engine is probably P/O'd at you for running him so fast when you know you had at least a hydraulic clutch/brake issue. If you could still see oil on the dip stick and and still some pressure and you didn't hear any strange noise, I would say you are OK. But be more careful! Luck isn't always riding with us. Now, You say repair the line. Mostly those lines are a HD composite rubber and steel hose and are replaceable at about $75.00 new and $15.00 to $25.00 for good used. Good used mean they don't leak yet. I would say you were pretty lucky.

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Honestly, driving a 30+ year old vehicle 7.5 hours home after just purchasing it isn't a great idea regardless of how extensive the service history is.

I would drain the oil and check for metal shavings.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

Yeah I'm punishing myself for that one. Too used to my 300d and it's ability to roll along at those speeds.

That's wonderful. Where do I find those lines?

Oil pressure was at 1.5 bar when I turned it off... And it took a gallon before anything showed on the stick. But as mentioned, the engine sounds great still. I've fired it up 10+ times since (obviously keeping oil in it and not running for more than 15 seconds) and it fires up wonderfully. No noises, no smoke.

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'84 300D Euro 5 spd
'83 240D 4spd
'83 300D/5 spd manual/Lifted+28" AT Tires
'83 300SD
'10 E63

Parting out- '79 Euro 280TE Green/Green & '89 300SEL White/Grey

The engine will be fine...enjoy the car. Hit a dip in the road with mine, ripped the oil pan open, unknowingly lost all oil and the engine seized and shut down twice. Saw the problem, replaced the oil pan, filled it with oil and never had a problem for thousands of miles and years of more driving. Those engines are very tough.

Yes the hose can be made. Be careful removing the old hose at the cooler. If it is seized cut the old fitting off the cooler to save the threads on the cooler.

Good luck!!!

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

What is the oil capacity of this engine? ( With / without filter / cooler. ) It only takes 2 qt to keep an engine sort of oiled.

Good to hear! I will continue to update as this saga continues

I (think) it is 6-6.5 quarts.

I may not have lost every drop. I "used" 6 quarts, but i also had to top it off every time i cranked it, and i spilled a little. So maybe i had a quart or so in there...

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'84 300D Euro 5 spd
'83 240D 4spd
'83 300D/5 spd manual/Lifted+28" AT Tires
'83 300SD
'10 E63

Parting out- '79 Euro 280TE Green/Green & '89 300SEL White/Grey

Possibly the car had not been used on the highway for some time. So the oil cooler thermostat perhaps never let oil flow through the cooler.

I think in a way you were lucky. Had you blown an oil cooler hose. By the time you would have noticed the no oil pressure. Would have been too late.

It is where and how these engines destroy themselves all too frequently. Actually you just have two relatively minor faults to deal with. If it is an oil cooler leak I might try a junkyard replacement. Unless the original one looks like something hit it. And the overall unit is still very sold.

The clutch system fluid leak is not that bad of an issue either.

Perhaps I am a Mercedes heretic but all of the great things about Mercedes cars was really about when they were new and in their prime. In the end a 36 year old car is just another an old car.

I can't remember the exact words but there is a saying that if you own an old Mercedes you are either a Mechanic or you are rich. Unless you have a good paying job; especially if your can put in some overtime you can pay to have the work done. But, even then you have to be carful and order the parts yourself so that you get good quality part.

Note that removing the Oil Cooler Hoses can cause the threaded part of the Oil Cooler Nipples to strip off (it happened to me). So it is possible if you took it to a shop to change the Oil Cooler Hoses you could end up with the threads on the nipples getting stripped off.
You can read up on some of the issues.
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Your Engine may or may not have survived. Part of the issue with the 240D's and the non-turbo 300D's is that the Timing Chain Tensioner is highly dependent on the Oil Pressure to keep the timing chain under tension. If Oil Pressure falls enough for it to the Timing Chain can jump teeth on the Timing Gear.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

name a modern car that can run on such low oil and survive ?

When I had my 76 240D, I never drove it over 65mph and only 55 with the A/C on. They were only geared to go 55. It would be screaming at 75. I couldn’t imagine driving like that for hours on end.

Yeah I don't believe the car was used at highway speeds for long periods of time. I was hovering around 65-70 most of the trip but decided to get on it a little more as I got closer to home. I suppose it didn't like that.

Hopefully it's just a new cooler / lines I need!

Cooler was leaking at the bottom a bit. Found a used one that's on the way.

I can completely agree with that.

I have friends who do not want to work on cars say "find me a good cheap 300d". And they don't have the money to send it away to the shop every single time something happens.

There is something about these cars, I guess it's the simplicity/lack of electronics that gets me. That and the excellent drivetrains, good looks, and good road manners.

I wouldn't even consider one of these cars if I didn't work on it. I wouldn't even have my E63 if I didn't do all the work on it.

Obviously my E63 is a much more refined and all around better car, but there is just something that draws me to the older ones as well.

How would I start to notice if the chain has jumped?


I "patched" the line yesterday (just to run the car in the driveway) and it cranked/idled/revved up just as smooth as ever for the 1 Minute or so I had it running

Yeah I was trying to hold 65-70 most of the time. Lots of speed traps through small towns on my way back so I was regularly slowing to 35-45

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'84 300D Euro 5 spd
'83 240D 4spd
'83 300D/5 spd manual/Lifted+28" AT Tires
'83 300SD
'10 E63

Parting out- '79 Euro 280TE Green/Green & '89 300SEL White/Grey

Go to a car wash if one is local, pressure wash the crap out of the engine bay, nurse it home. Take your time and start replacing everying made of rubber, has seals, et cet. All that stuff is old and probably rotten plus MB recommmends you replace all those items periodically anyways.

Part of the problem with these cars is they run a long time on pass due parts. Mine had hoses that looked like the some in the problem section of a Chilton's Manual. It still ran. Most of the hoses an belts were not that expensive. There were just a lot of them needing replaced. Driving mine is like a Zen experience. Mine a 4 spd too. I get 32 mpg doing 55-60. Drops to 28 highway above that. It would be nice to find a 5 spd. There is a 5-spd trans on Ebay for $5K in England. ???

I wouldn't worry about the oil loss, besides - what are you going to do, pull the engine and replace is because it MAY have been damaged?

My sister ran two older 8 valve VWs out of oil on two separate occasions. Both of those engines lasted another 100k + miles after those events. One made some funny noises in the valve train but kept running none the less.

I'm sure MB diesels are built stouter than old 80s VW 8 valves.


Proactively replace all the brake hoses, clutch lines, and clutch master and slave cylinder.

I had my oil cooler lines made by a local hydraulic shop - $80 total bill and I believe they are higher quality than aftermarket replacements.

Good luck and enjoy your new machine. Don't put too much faith in it until you know it front to back and side to side. They are incredibly reliable for old cars once you have them up to snuff.