Hello from Arizona,new member,new 81 300sd,as of sat - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

scott2go · #1 02-23-2004, 05:56 PM

Hello,
I have been secretly lurking for a couple months and just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks for all the great topics and info.This group and mb diesel forums have been my guide prior to purchase,
I bought my first mb, an 81 300sd saturday,I have been reading all I could about the diesel and it's diehard reputation and your comment's have been a great help to me.Although I am a newbie to the car I hope to continue to learn from all of you.
As for me I live in the great oven of arizona,family man of 16 yrs w/ 1 daughter of 9 yrs,In my free time I enjoy cosmetic restoration of classic cars ,old goldwings & panheads,As for mechanical repairs I'm a learn as you go guy and can bolt on just about anything,as for trouble shooting and major rebuilds I usually do an internet search or phone a friend hahahaha ,
Here is a little history on my project....
The PO was asking $1600 but took $1280,and seemed to be very mb diesel friendly,& honest After reading all I could I figured it was a great deal. at that price ..the only really baad thing is no records prior to him.....but he has had the car for a little over 2 years ,did a ton of work and says he just lost interest...
It's a great car in need of a complete cosmetic resto. ie paint,and interior as it has been here ungaraged it's whole life.The original owner ordered cloth interior due to the hi temp here and I am told it is fairly rare,no rips or anything other that fading.The paint has no clear left on the upper portion.Mech. as far as I can tell it has been well maintained,new rad,water pump,complete ac rebuild w/ conversion to 134a finished in november,uncharged of course,but new comp,hoses,orfice,rec/drier ect,He said he was going to wait until it warmed up again to service it....All acc controls work,new Fuel filters, Transmission rebuild 15,000 mi ago, 15" centra ???? rims,I have no idea what Centra means,also included the stock wheels, New motor mounts, all
new
hoses, new air cleaner mounts, New rear window seal, New trans lines, All power windows go up and down. Door locks all ok,I guess the rear window seal leaked bad enough to ruin the old speakers so he replaced them as well.

As for things that need attention,the new owner "me" needs to find manual's so I know what the heck those switches,indicators, are for... sunroof wont open,It has an occassional shimmy on the front right wheel,The only bad thing I noticed while driving 2 hrs to get home, sometimes it wont shut off ??could start a little easier as well but It's probably operator err.,I'm not sure about the pre heat step other than leaving the key on for 30 sec. a couple of times prior to crankingI should probably replace the timing chain according to what i've read here,block off the egr valve...the a/c will have to be evaced and charged,and hopefully no leaks!!!any other tips or advice on parts retailers,the what's in your trunk thread was great info too...,manuals,"repair and owners",or things & articles I should check for my own sake would be greatly appreciated,and of course he only had 1 key so I need to get some spares made?? I take it I have to go to a dealer for this???And yes I sometimes suffer from chronic longterm lurking followed by long winded posting!!! hahah,He also gave me a box of spare parts,filters,and little doo dads i'm sure I will need.Glad to know you all,and again thank you for this group,I'm sure there are more like me who just read w/out saying a word.I always wanted a MB diesel but was fearful of the maint. and wrenching that they sometimes require,you and your post's made me feel much more comfortable about the maint. involved,and inspired me to go for it.Thanks in advance Scott

Here are a couple of pics when I bought it

http://www.mebyte.com/300back.JPG
http://www.mebyte.com/300front.JPG
http://www.mebyte.com/300side.JPG
http://www.mebyte.com/300oside.JPG

diesel don · #2 02-23-2004, 07:17 PM

Scott:

Welcome aboard. Sounds as if you're already hooked. Its a great hobby working with MB's because of the quality and longevity.

Just got my first SD myself and am amazed at the smooth ride, but freaked by all the xtra electrical gizmos.

Sounds like your list is good. I'd add cleaning out the banjo bolt (hollow, 2-piece) and line attached (rear of manifold). Surprising performance upgrade and its usually clogged.

Later,

Don

#3 02-23-2004, 07:27 PM

Welcome to the board!

Be sure to check the resistance through each of the glowplugs. IIRC, spec is <0.4 Ohms. You shouldn't have to glow for more than one 30 second period if it's above freezing out. If you do, that's an indicator that you may have some weak glowplugs.

Also clean out the boost line that runs from the intake manifold to the ALDA (on top of the injection pump), as it gets clogged with soot from the EGR. While you're at it, remove and cap off the vacuum line to the EGR (on the exhaust manifold, towards the front of the engine). This will prevent further soot clogging issues.

Good luck and enjoy!!

PS: How many miles are on it? And post pics if you can!

RockinWagin · #4 02-23-2004, 07:37 PM

Welcome, but

#5 02-23-2004, 07:43 PM

That's awesome!

vwbuge · #6 02-23-2004, 08:08 PM

Congrats on your purchase. The picture is of the banjo bolt that everyone has told you to clean. In the picture it is hiding behind the tranny dipstick. Just take that bolt out and spray liberally with carb cleaner. Spray the lines also.
You seem to have a vacuum leak somewhere as you state your car will not shut off.
Seems the PO got a pretty good jump on replacing things. Remember to write everything down as you do them.

We are here for you buddy!

scott2go · #7 02-23-2004, 08:24 PM

Thanks for the extra info she has 194,000 mi I still haven't figured out how to resize pics but for now here is a link to the sellers pics

http://www.mebyte.com/300back.JPG
http://www.mebyte.com/300front.JPG
http://www.mebyte.com/300side.JPG
http://www.mebyte.com/300oside.JPG

scott2go · #8 02-23-2004, 09:14 PM

I was checkin my no shut off problem,and there was a disconnected vacum line that goes from the egr to a sensor on the front of the engine,I reconnected it and she shuts off just fine,VeeDubTDI
stated that i should remove and cap off this line,I guess the po had removed it but failed to cap it off go figure,well at least it's one check I can make already,thanks again ,for helping me add to my list you guys are a real blessing to me!!!!Scott

84300DT · #9 02-23-2004, 09:32 PM

great project - sounds like a lot of parts were replaced!
new paint and it'll buff out like new

love those clear corners!

scott2go · #10 02-23-2004, 09:53 PM

let's see if this works

dieseldiehard · #11 02-23-2004, 11:36 PM

scott2go, welcome to one of the most reliable cars on the road (my opinion anyhow!) - now find a BB and place it in the vacuum line to the EGR valve. Your car will appreciate the ability to start breathing fresh intake air!
Drive it like a batouttahell a few times a month, this is called an Italian tube up, it blows carbon buildup out of the intake and exhaust system.
Stock up on oil filters and buy oil in gallon jugs to save time when oil changes (every 3000 miles) come around. I use DELO400 in the older diesels.
Dieseldiehard
1971 220 (gas) 4-spd manual 104041
1979 300TD w/ ’85 turbo engine 289560
1983 300D 237490
1985 300TD 206150
1975 300D (looking for an engine)
1987 300D 250K newest addition

Wes Bender · #12 02-25-2004, 01:25 PM

Where in AZ are you? I'm in the Green Valley area (during the winter months) and have a cabin at Alpine for those times when the rest of AZ is cookin'.

Also interesting that you are in the mining-related explosive field.
I spent the better part of 34 years either selling explosives, using explosives, consulting or trying to keep blasters out of trouble...

Cheers,
Wes

1stimer · #13 02-25-2004, 05:38 PM

Welcome and Congrats!

scott2go · #14 02-26-2004, 12:48 AM

Hey All,,
I had the title work and insurance taken care of today so I would be legal,Farmers Ins. Co. wouldn't give me anything but liability,said anything over 15 yrs would need a different writer,something about the glass being so expensive,it figures when I washed the windscreen today I noticed a couple tiny chips,oh well I also used all of the tips you gave me so far and some I found in the searches,
Well I did the bb trick for the egr,cleaned the banjo and both lines and other banjo......all gummed up ,even found a bad vacum line and replaced it,used some rubberbands under the tach sender??I just love the tach fix....too funny.........so it now works,I also did the "Italian tune up" I was a little unsure about how hard and far to push it,.....hope I did it right,I ran it up to 4500 rpm's for about a minute at a time for 3 or 4 times,.....man you should have seen the clouds on the first run,after the 4th or 5th time not even a puff of smoke to be found,I can now guarntee that newbies like me should do these repairs right off the bat......I also noticed that the seal on my "ALDA" is still there,I dont know if I should mess w/ it or not after reading the posts on it.I sure would hate to mess it up,......Another thing I noticed was to me a little off maybe you guys can fill me in ....After the car was warm,I saw that the coolant level in the tank hadn't moved at all,The car wasn't hot at all,temp gauge showed just above the 80 mark,I'm concerned about the coolant level,since the po had replaced the water pump,hoses and radiator,I think it might have a little air in the system,and might need a "burp" or two or I could be wrong.The upper hose was hot,but not firm,like the system wasn't pressurized.I will try some more searches to find out more info.but if you dont mind answering the same ol ?'s let me know .Also What should my oil press, gauge show w/ a warm engine @ idle??When running above idle it tops out,and seems ok but drops down w/ rpm drop to idle.I havent checked the search on that one yet.Overall I had no idea that an Ol' bend diesel could rip up the road like that,to be honest when I drove it home I was so happy I finally got 1 I said to myself " well she ain't a v8 but she sure looks good" now she runs much better,

I still need to find that clunk and shimmy in the front pass. side suspension,Ive been readin' away about that one,Ive got the Haynes manual but not much help at all compared to you ghuys,also need to check & or replace my glow plugs,buy an owners manual,and try to get a spare key from the dealer or a decent locksmith asap.A decent Ohm meter,All I have for testing is the pointed one w/ the light,so all this ohm.& volt stuff should be fun,Hey as far as glow plugs it seems that Bosch is the way to go huh ??? Anyway just wanted to say this site ROCKS!!!!!

Speakin of Hard Rocks Hey Wes,we are almost neighbors I live In the big ol copper basin,worked for the number #1 least enviro. friendly ASARCO ray mine way too long,hahahaha But love to make things go BOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

And as far as Alpine goes I lived In good ol Reserve N.M from 71 to 82,And have some friends of the family that summer there as well.who i'm sure you know. Carl and Dolores Hartless???Man what a small world.....We will have to get together and discuss the improper ways of Mixing Diesel and that other special additive!!!!!! HAHAHAHA,,,

Nice to meet you all,Hope we can get to know each other over the many years we will talk about these awesome cars!!!!My daughter is 9 and after we did the Tune up today she asked if this would be the car her mom and I give her for her 16th B-day.!!!!!She's only 9 but has great taste in autos as well hahahaha,
God bless and take care all Scott