Isn't it probably the same size as the American version? How large is the American then? I am just trying to figure out how long a tank of gas would last me.

Thanks
David

P.S.
The car has a manual transmission. 4 spd.

__________________
_____________________________________________

2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

_____________________________________________

If I remember correctly, the 1983 300D fuel tank is 21.1 gallons, which combined with about 25 mpg, should yield about 500 miles plus a small reserve. Alot depends upon how you use your right foot!

Regards,

J.G.

Yes, right around 21 gallons is the size of the fuel tank. The furthest I have gone on a tank is around 430 miles, and I could have gone farther, but I didn't want to risk running out of diesel fuel.

A tank of gas probably wouldn't get you out of the fuel station without a tow truck. Well the tank is 21 gallons BUT it is really a 19gallon tank with a 2gallon reserve. If the little light is working correctly there is a yellowish triangle that comes on by the R when it kicks into the reserve portion.

MY range is normally quite low on a tank because I normally refill around 1/2. If I used the majority of the 19 I'd probably get mid 500s, but this varies all on the type of driving so....

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

a long time, 25+ MPG, my wife fills up the car about once a month, but that is just local driving

__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

I can tell you exactly how far a 300D will go. I took mine exactly 504 miles when it ran out of fuel on the New Jersey Turnpike. Seems the fuel gauge had my name on it that day because the gauge was still on 1/4 full. I'm just tooling along remarking on the fantastic fuel economy because I reset the trip meter after each fill. Then wham Fortunately, I pulled right over and did not try to go to the last drop. Two mile walk to the station Fortunately got a drive back and it started without too much difficulty

Brian Carlton

Wow that was your lucky day. I was on the way back from North Carolina, about 125 miles from home and I wasn't very familiar with the area started pushing 1/16th of a tank. I was getting edgy, finally I made it within 40miles of my home where I knew the area enough to find a station who sold diesel. I suppose I never gave that problem much thought before.

My dad owns an older Case backhoe which I run from time to time, well I was out in the front yard trying to fill the land a few feet. The clay was kinda wet and nasty suddenly I sink all the tires to the axle, from time to time if you put to much load (for the matching motor speed) on the backhoe it'll stall out. Well it stalled on me like three or four times as I was trying to lift it out and get it unstuck, finally I decided after stalling a couple seconds before the previous it'd be a good time to put some diesel in it. Turns out it was fresh out (sender is bad), so I put at least 6gallons in it and gave it about 2/3 throttle. Started then stalled, then started. and stalled.. finally I was lucky enough to keep it running so I could lift it up and out then drive away, back to work. Btw- there is no hand primer in the backhoe you have to use some special pump, then bleed all the lines. Supposedly it is a couple good hours of work.


Oh and instead of wandering away on something off topic, I normally get 28.5mpg with normal driving and about 25mpg highway speeds. I got mid to high 500s on that tank I was worrying about running out on....

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

Wow, high 500's truly is excellent. When I ran out at 504, I proceeded the two miles to the station and filled it. The total fuel from the two gallons brought to the car and the fuel at the station was only 18.3 gallons. So, clearly there was something amiss about the total fuel available in the tank on the 123. Should have held over 20 gallons, I believe.

Well, now I have the 126 and am beginning to push its limits. So far, 472 miles and I have not reached 18 gallons yet. This vehicle, without EGR, gets identical mileage to the 123. Between 26.5 and 28 every time. I find that amazing for a considerably larger and heavier machine.

Brian Carlton
1984 300 SD

Keep in mind when filling the tank, diesel fuel foams... alot!!! You need to be patient to squeeze the fuel in slowly after the pump automatically shuts off. In my '99 E300TD, when pumping fuel in, AFTER the pump automatically shuts off when the tank is "full", I can ALWAYS squeeze in 2.5 additional gallons of fuel. If you don't have patience and take 4 or 5 minutes to really "top it off", the tank will never really be full to capacity.

J.G.

Yes, that is definitely true. I might not have been so patient after wasting one hour on the NJTP. But, I still have a suspicion that the 123 did not offer more than 19 gallons of useable fuel. At least that one did not.

That is probably the reason many people have such varying fuel economy with these cars. The variability of fueling the vehicle could change the economy by 10% or so.

Brian Carlton
1984 300SD

"Fueling style" will definitely affect MPG figures by 10%+. You'll never get accurate mileage figures unless you top it off exactly the same way each time. That's why you see some people posting 40+MPG figures with aggressive style driving. Just can't possibly happen except for maybe a 190D 2.2 or 2.5.- and with conservative driving style.

The best I've ever gotten with my E300TD was 39.1 MPG driving at a rock-steady 60 mph for over 700 miles- easy acceleration, and no stops except for a couple toll booths.
My regular everyday semi aggressive driving style yields only about 26 mpg mixed city/highway driving average.

J.G.

Amount of fuel you get into the tank has a very large impact on how far you go. I have in town with the A/C on all the time only gone 220 miles between fill-ups. Also had in town with A/C running all the time seen 400 miles before getting to the walk to the station point.
Diesel does foam and if you wait a bit you can get another 3-4 gallons of fuel in the tank at times. You also have to look at any difference in the way the car may tilt while at the pump. One station down the street has your car tilted towards the pump on one side and away from the pump on the other side. Guess which side you can get more fuel into the car from
On the open road I always can go at least 400 miles without a problem even running at 85 mph on average. Have pushed it to 465 before but was getting a bit worried by the time I found a diesel pump at 4 AM in north GA. Put 20.75 gallons into the tank at that point. Looking at the manual I had about another 15 miles max before I would have been walking.

Walking at 4 a.m. in the middle of nowhere in North Georgia is definitely not my idea of a good time

You should consider yourself very fortuanate. At least I ran out in broad daylight with the station only 2 miles out.

Brian Carlton
1984 300SD

I would rather be walking the middle of nowhere in N. GA than I would in many sections of my own city at 4AM or many other large cities for that matter Anyway if need be I could have always filled her up with a couple of gallons of cooking oil from any store and got another 50 or so miles down the road. I found many places open, just nobody with a diesel pump.

I shoud put a half gallon of vegetable oil in the trunk for just such situations. Probably last forever and will save my bacon when the station you were planning to use is closed.

Brian Carlton
1984 300 SD