i bought a 300d

[JenTay]

i purchased a 82 300d today. it belonged to an older lady who works close to me and parks in the same parking lot as i do. she had a homemade for sale sign on the car yesterday so naturally inquired. apparently the car had been giving her trouble with both cold weather starting and shutting off. i guess it could be frustrating. add to that the fact that her divorce settlement just got finalized so i guess she's ready for that SUV. whatever. i drove it today. it seemed slower than my manual 240. maybe it just needs a tune up.

in any case, the car is dark blue but heavily oxidized in the hood, top and trunk. all panels seem original. interior is mbtex and the dash has a small crack that goes between the two middle vents. the only bad thing about it is that the woman smoked in the car. so it smells. other than that, everything is peachy. even the tires match!

she wanted $800. i got her to take $700. at least it runs and will make a good second or parts car. the only problem i have to park it at a friend's house since i am only allowed one space where i live.

so thanks to you guys, i now have the courage to build a fleet (not really). i now have a fun project for the summer.

[engatwork]

Congratulations Jennifer.

Do a search on Alda/banjo bolt and it will tell you how to clean out the boost line to the turbo. I think you will like the 300D better than the 240D after you get it right. Lot's mo better car on the interstate in my opinion.

The starting is probably just valve adj and/or glow plugs - easy stuff to resolve. You are probably already aware of what the problem is with the shut off - vacuum. Quickest way, in my opinion is to "fix it now" is to disconnect/plug the line that supplies vacuum to the door locks. I have found that the locks cause a high % of the vacuum related problems.

Way to go and good price. This is the type of car that you could turn around and sell on ebay and probably at least double your money pretty fast if you wanted to.

[jhahn]

Congratulations on the new addition. I have a 300D non-turbo that seems a lot quicker than the 81 wagon. Temperature is currently 20, so I imagine it will be close to Spring before I try sorting the TDT out. What is the new one's name?

[Ken300D]

It's amazing how quickly the diesel addiction takes hold of a person.



Ken300D

[84300DT]

uhoh now your hooked jen - congrats -

[coachgeo]

Congrads Jen. Have fun. How many miles on the odo?

[JenTay]

thanks for the good thoughts guys. no name for it yet.

however, it will have to sit tight till it gets warmer.

honestly, i have yet to warm up to the idea that it is an automatic. i'll keep you posted

[Rick Miley]

What you really want to do is take the engine from the new car and put transplant it into Lil Pete.

Or you could sell the new car to GoWolfPack, who is in SC and looking for a car.

[JerryBro]

Congrats on the find. A running 300D for $700 is a real coup.

Condolences on becoming fully addicted. Soon you will be acquiring old service manuals on ebay, buying special tools at samstagsales, straining your neck muscles trying to see what was making that clakketta clakketta sound in parking lots, laughing at coworkers that say their 93 Cavalier is too old to be reliable, and complaining when the fuel mileage dips below 26 mpg.

Jerry

Yes, Congrats Jen...I am hooked too--I am looking for an "around-towner" so I can just take Big Hildegard out on the open road for trips..

Think I may have found one down in Georgia....

[JenTay]

yes i guess i am now addicted. although i have been driving the car since my freshman year of college, i've never really been one to maintain it till now. funny how a change in circumstances opens up a persons horizons. now i'm a true addict. i can appreciate how different the diesel engine is from the gas ones.

until recently, i've been pretty closed-minded about maintenance. i never really had a reason to change cars i've just hung on to this one. besides, i'm half-scottish so by default i'm very very frugal.

so far my skills have been limited to oil changes but this weekend will be my first valve adjustment. looking at the valve threads, i need a 27mm socket. would a 27mm closed end wrench work?

by the way, my hands are becoming more battle-scarred from all this. i guess i'll never be a hand model. like i care.

jen

[Ken300D]

A 27-mm wrench won't fit because the crankshaft nut you are trying to turn is recessed inside a bowl-shaped pully.

What works just right for me is one of those "injector socket" tools that Performance Products has - its a 27-mm deep socket. So I have one tool that can do injectors and the crank pully.

You can probably do the same with a less expensive plain ole 27-mm deep socket. I got pulled into the "German tools are better" thing.

With the deep socket and a 1/2-inch socket wrench, the wrench perfectly clears the fan and the radiator. The down side is that the best place to turn the crank is from under the car.

You get a pretty good workout turning the crank slightly and then jumping up to see where the cam lobes have ended up........

Ken300D

[Rick Miley]

Oh puhleeze. First she says she's related to PEH, now she claims to be half Scottish. Do you really thing she's going to pay Performance Products prices for a socket?

Jen, there's more room to work on the 240D, so you don't have to be quite as precise. I did mine using a regular 27mm deep socket purchased an an auto parts store. If your arms are long enough (you looked pretty tall in the picture), you can reach down on the passenger's side of the engine and pull up on the ratchet to turn the engine while watching the cam.

[79-240d-project]

Jen,


Ask around and see if perhaps one of your friends has one of those ionizer air fresheners. I think mine is a LivingAir, it has a little fan in it. Those things will freshen up the interior pretty quick. My ex bought a car that a heavy smoker owned, we cleaned and cleaned but it still had a heavy smoke stench. I put the ionizer in the car and closed it up. I let it run about 8 hours and then aired it out. The stink was completely gone and did not return.

Worked for me.

J

[paulem]

Jen -

We're suffering the same addiction!

I got my 220D in college a few years ago, and never bothered much with getting under the hood. Then I discovered this forum and one car wasn't enough! I bought a 300D just before XMas. Mine doesn't run though . Still looking for an engine. . . but the interior and body are the best I've seen on a 20 year old car.

These things should come with a surgeon general warning on the title.

Eric

'71 220D
'81 300D