One of my neighbors has a 123 wagon for sale I think with a 617. I've never dealt with a 123 or a wagon. What major things are different from an 81-85 SD? Does this car have the SLS that I've read about? If so, how do I know that it is working?


Drive train, rust, regular suspension parts I'm comfortable with. It's only the TD specific things especially those that are expensive that I'm concerned about.

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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.

80 and older is n/a
81 and newer is turbo

Yes from the factory it came with SLS

if the rear feels bouncy then it has blown accumulators (most common)

look for leaks. afaik the struts are NLA. SLS struts have a ball-joint at the bottom. There was a guy who rebuilt one but he had to source custom o-rings and in general it's not an easy job.

leveling valve is re-buildable so that's a plus.

I haven't paid attention because I haven't needed to. Does the above mean that the current state when the rear goes out is that the car drives like crap and the rear causes the front to wear?

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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.

not only that but one broken thing wears out another on the rear suspension

example: bad accumulators will wear out the struts and the leveling valve

doubt

Has anyone used this conversion or similar and had a good outcome?

300TD SLS Conversion

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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.

Some like it, some are like SLS is not that hard to fix. at $400, iirc for the kit, not exactly a cheap out

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CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

The SLS is too good a system to scrap. Pretty much all of it is repairable.
To know if its working, rear should be about 12 inches from top of fenderwell to center of the star on the wheel centercap when car is sitting on level ground.
The most common issue I have seen with SLS is that it is low on fluid, having seeped out through the return line. Replace it and you are good.
Valve rebuild is super easy, and accumulator replacement is also not bad at all.

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1985 300 TD 448K
1984 300 TD 278K

1983 240D euro 240k
1994 f-250 idi turbo 330K
1986 f-350 IDI
1987 F-350 IDI

1985 JD 1050 4wd
1965 IH 3660

The SLS requires a special head on the engine, with a hydraulic pump attachment. I don't know if people found alternate solutions to generate hydraulic pressure. I wouldn't be concerned about replacing the SLS w/ normal springs & shocks since 95% of wagons and minivans use that. Our 2002 T&C minivan w/ tow package has a simpler self-leveling system (forgot name). It has fatter shocks which pump up, using the normal up & down motion as you drive and check valves. It might take 1 mile of driving to level after you add a big load. Many other vehicles use those, so someone might pioneer a TD solution. For my T&C, that is a pricey part (~$250 ea).

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

124's SLS runs off the P/S pump. Anyone tried adapting a 124 P/S pump to a 123? The first obvious problem is V-belt vs. serpentine.

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

85TD - bought it for $700. I'll post pics later this week. I was afraid she'd say it's special and worth $5000. She said $700 and I said "sold" and took the cash out. It was too cheap and too nice to get into details and nit pick.

Blue with blue interior. It's basically sound. Engine starts right up after glow. Trans shifts hard but no flare. A very little rust at the passenger rear quarter window. A few small dings but very acceptable as is. I'll have the rust fixed so it doesn't get worse.

AC doesn't work she forgot why. Remainder of climate works. SLS has "been fixed and doesn't leak" - doesn't know what was done. Rear doors need window regulators - I could hear the gears continue to spin when the window hit the top. Interior needs cleaning. Driver's seat sags but the material is good. I may be able to repair the springs by bridging the broken part with spring material cut out of another seat. She said the sun roof leaks but that is usually the drains clogged and not flowing enough to keep the water in the drains. Sunroof is mechanical.

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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.

Sounds like a heck of a deal to me. Rear regulators do that regularly. they are probably bent and can be straightened and made to work again unless the gears are too chewed up.

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1985 300 TD 448K
1984 300 TD 278K

1983 240D euro 240k
1994 f-250 idi turbo 330K
1986 f-350 IDI
1987 F-350 IDI

1985 JD 1050 4wd
1965 IH 3660

probably a vacuum/modulator/vcv problem should be an easy fix

good thing about the w123 is that the evaporators never go bad

That's a plus. At least something's been replaced

Check under the battery tray if there is no rust hole straight into the cabin

I had a few minutes to look more today.

There are leaves caught in the trim near the rear windows. That may account for the rust. Leaves above the rear hatch. Leaves in the front by the battery tray.
I'll clean when it quits raining and look for rust.

Power steering fluid low - easy fix.

Some of the interior wood trim chipped off but looks pretty good. I have a friend who restores antique furniture. He offered to patch in some veneer scraps from the SD that I have.
The doors hinges and the plastic piece that trips the latch need attention.

Could use a good blue cushion for the driver's seat. That would save recovering the existing cushion. Need to free up the seat adjustment because the seat is currently too high for me.

Gallon of green coolant in the back but also quart of full synthetic oil. Engine cranked and started immediately after charging battery a little yesterday.

All in all a sweet deal with some little things before it is a comfortable driver..

I need a 123 FSM to find out how to take body parts off & figure out how to handle the differences from a 126.

The 84SD will probably be for sale soon. I'd still like to fix the 85.

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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.

I have a couple extra seat bottom ready to go in I would sell for cheap. One is without fabric, the other is blue mb text, but it has a couple tears. I just took it out of a car on Sunday.
Post pics please

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1985 300 TD 448K
1984 300 TD 278K

1983 240D euro 240k
1994 f-250 idi turbo 330K
1986 f-350 IDI
1987 F-350 IDI

1985 JD 1050 4wd
1965 IH 3660

Regarding the sls: I just rebuilt mine. It may not have been absolutely necessary, though, because once taken apart it was obvious that both the lever on the sway bar and the lever on the valve were loose. If there are no obvious leaks, check those. My sagging rear end was cured with new subframe and differential mounts. Now, if really loaded down, the sls raises the rear back up to level.

‘85 300TD. 398,000 mile daily driver