Please help me buy the right diesel
 

Greetings all,
I am new to this site and very impressed with the amount of information and the involvement of the members.

Within the next six months I will purchase a Mercedes diesel for use as a daily driver. I have always desired a Mercedes, but I am now motivated to make the leap to one of these fine autos.

I own a rather rare 1983 Audi – it is a turbo diesel 4000 model. It is one of only a few left on the roads of North America. Audi Germany is digging up the info on how many were imported back in the 80s to determine exactly how rare she is.

I have spent the past three years hunting down parts and otherwise restoring the car to where I have only the body and paint to complete. When completed, I am afraid of using it as my daily driver as some kid in an old pick-up could wipe it out in a blink. Therefore, the Audi is getting a warm cozy place in my shop and a classic Mercedes diesel will assume the role as my primary vehicle. The Audi will become the Sunny Sunday car.

To this end I am going to become a regular visitor to this forum to better understand all that is involved with owning and maintaining a diesel Merc. I have made some conclusions thus far in which model I would like to purchase. If I am out to lunch in any of this please set me straight.

I want (want – I lust for) an 83 or 84 300cd….or a sedan if it’s special in some way. I understand that these editions are the optimum for the OM617A engine and tranny in terms of performance and reliability.

I am prepared to pay around $6-7k US to acquire a good quality car and seeing the values on Ebay confirms this is within reach.

I would prefer a tan or palomino interior - anything but the blue.

What should I be looking for in such a vehicle apart from the obvious? Are there specific drive-train faults or complaints related to these models that I should enquire about? What engine components are considered to be replaceable at mileage intervals?

I am a pretty good automotive mechanic and perform all my own work –but local access to parts and other info is very difficult as I live in the far reaches of darkest Canada –the Yukon Territory where we do not have a Mercedes dealer, or any other European auto dealer.

I will be buying a Bentley manual and the factory maintenance CDs after I purchase a car. I buy parts via the net and the catalog sources. (Restoring the Audi has turned me into somewhat of a sleuth in finding German parts on the net.)

I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Cheers

Welcome aboard and it sounds like you have made a good choice as far as the model goes. I don't think I would narrow my year model down that close. Anyway, if I were looking I would get as nice a one as I could possibly find. I already have a couple that need stuff done to them:);). On the other hand if you don't mind doing a little work on em there is a pretty nice '83 model for sale local for $1700. Let me know and I can send you the guys phone #. It is not too bad but it is a $1700 car.

I look at everything that comes up around here and only post ones that I would maybe consider purchasing. I don't post much about the "showroom" ones - I usually just post a pic of them after they are in my garage:).

Take your time is probably the best way to find one.

Fragile components on MB's include suspension ball joints, the HVAC system, vacuum air lock system, cruise control that practically never works, rubber windshield seals that leak, automatic trannies that occasionally "flare" between shifts or require adjustment, and finally warped brake rotors and stuck calipres - ALL diesels are hard on brakes and complete brake job costs more than $1200 if professionally done.

If you are shopping for car in distant location, maybe somebody on the board can check it out for you...... say in exhange for 1/2 gallon of whiskey, full tank of fuel or some such deal.

DieselDog,

Fragile MB ball joints???? I have never replaced a MB ball joint and my '80 300SD has 250,000 miles and they are still tight.

Maybe its because I lubricate them every 25,000 miles.

P E H

124 turbo diesel
 

Yukon Audi: If you can find a 124 turbo diesel in good shape, you will love it! I had a 84 Quantum turbo-diesel and it was a nice car. I bought a well cared for 92 Merz 300E with turbo diesel and it is an awesome car! Great ride, tight handling, 32 mpg and all this at 212K miles. The key is to get one that has been regularly serviced. Ernie

I would recommend the 123 chassis, the year/model of your flavor. Since you are far from parts/service/help the 123 is the easiest to maintain yourself. The 124 is a marginally superior design but I would think more difficult to maintain in remote locations. Good luck, RT

Another option...
 

Well, I will mention this car as you appear to have an affinity for rare cars. The gentleman that I purchased my car from (Maple Yellow 79 300SD W116), Mr Diesel, has another car for sale. The reason I bring this up is that it is 'oddly' rare. The car is an 85 300D. Granted, the 123 is not a 'rare' car, an 85 300D is rare. The last year the D (normally aspirated) was sold in the US was I think 82.

I know this car well as I debated between my car and this car. It is in amazing shape with only ~60K documented miles. Stil has the CA blue plate.

Not sure if this is a fit for you, but I thought I would let you know. It is rare in the fact that it has 60K miles and normally aspirated.

Here is the link to the car...

http://home.comcast.net/~mr.diesel.info/85_300D_Green.html

Anthony

Looks like rwthomas1 and I wrote at the same time..
 

I will add to rwthomas1 post. The car I mentioned is a 123 without a turbo...perhaps, and very debatable, a longer lasting engine with the absence of a turbo....I know, this is not proven.

All things being equal, the missing turbo provides more room to access the engine componenents.

And no, I am not on Mr Diesels Payroll...simlply a VERY satsified customer!!!!
Imagine that, I paid $8900 for a 1979 car with 126K miles and I am happy. The average price if a W116 is probably $2K. This car is amazing....

Anthony

Let's see here, not to any specific year but to the car you are looking at in general. These things may be good to watch out for:
Rust behind rear wheels.
Rust behind passenger seat on floor, stale (or wet) floor mat.
Hard windshield seals.
Torn or heavily cracked CV boots (while in some cases the cracked ones can last for years but on both of my cars it lead to failure in a thousand miles or less)
Perhaps a look at the rubber components underneath (tie rods, ball joints, etc.) wouldn't be a bad idea as all the booted equipment adds up.
Amount of oil lost per change, if a diesel oil is used.
Maintenance records always makes a person feel better.
Smoke at idle.
Any type of HVAC problems (center vents not working, fan not turning on, A/C not cold, ...).
Shifting problems whether flaring, double shifting, or harsh shifting.

Thosre are the most common things I can think of off hand. I'd say go with a 83-85 as those have a turbo. :) If rarity is your pleasure then the 300CD would probably please you a bit more as they are much more rare than the 300D but feature the same drivetrain and powertrain.

Thanks for the info thus far. A couple things I should also point out that you may be able to advise on:
Where I live it can become as cold as 60 below zero. We don't normally drive at these temps, but the car should be able to start at -40 with the appropriate winter preparations:
Core heater, battery blanket heater, oil pan heater all plugged into the AC to pre-warm the engine.
Rubber drive components, such as CV boots and belts all suffer from winter - so we become adept at checking these regularly.

Any known cold weather issues with these engines or chassis models? I am just learning the differences between the 123 and other chassis types. For the most part I am seeing the cosmetic changes - is there any reference material on the net you would recommend to learn more?
I have no experience or knowledge with non-turbo diesels. Is there a significant difference in performance and or economy with a non-turbo?

I have so much to learn -

I am not in a position to purchase a car at this time due to prior expenditure planning (and my Chief Financial Advisor/wife is very clear on what will happen to me if I deviate from this plan).

I expect to purchase in March -May, unless an absoluty stunning car comes up for sale and then I get to test my persuassion techniques with the boss.

Thanks for all your comments so far -keep them coming.

Cheers

Actually there was another thread by someone up there who was having an odd idling problem where the car sped up when cold, he was also in this -50*C area and he said after leaving the car plugged in and glowing the GPs 6 times (I suspect he didn't wait for the relay to shut off) it started with 2 cranks. :) He has a 79 300D which is a nonturbo. I'd think that synthetic oil is a must when it is that cold.

I run 5W 50 Syntech with a Slick 50 treatment each year.
Lots of differing opinions on Slick 50 - but I have used it for the past 18 years in all my vehicles and no problems with premature wear due to cold starts or dramatic temps.

I am a believer! Now if they could make something to help round-out the tires the world would be a better place.

After sitting overnight the bottoms of your tires flatten and freeze hard. It can take a few blocks to round them out again once you are underway. This will cause the car to jump and buck as all the flat spots hit the road at different intervals.

It can also cause the tire to pop off the rim which ruins your day as it nomally happens to more than one at a time.

Cheers

Here is a dumb little idea. Make a way to jack the car up off the wheels an inch at the ends of the day. Sounds like a rather easy project to me.

Yukon Audi,

Why would you want a Diesel at those cold temperatures? Even if the engine starts, it will probably stop from gelled Diesel fuel.

And why ruin you dream CD by driving it in the winter? The road salt will eat it away in a few years and it will look like a nightmare. Get a cheap beater for the winter like I do. My 300SD and 300SDL never come out of the garage in the winter and they both look and run like new and will for many more years.

P E H

actually.... if you really want a diesel. I have a cheap rusting away Diesel with a GREAT engine and tranny. Only 127,000 on the engine. Everything works. It is a Nissan though not MB. You could drive it from FL to there w/ no problems IMHO. Just get snow tires. I'll throw in a 110v generic coolant heater in the deal to LOL.

They have special winter formula diesel up there dont they?