I have gotten to the point where I have become so frustrated with my 300D that I'm thinking of getting rid of it. I have had a noisy injector problem for quite some time now so I got a set of pretested injectors that were assured to be good. They were tested by a reputable person and that the injectors were even a matched set.
I installed them today and the car ran worse than ever. It smoked terribly and idled poorly. I tried to make adjustments to try to make it run better but it didn't help. I'm thinking right now just to put the old injectors back in and try to use the car until I'm done with school in June and then get rid of the beast. I found that I hate working on diesels. The stench of the smoke and awful smelling fuel has made me sick. I used to like working on cars and I even worked as a mechanic 20 years ago but my 300D has tested my patience to a breaking point of owning it for only a year. Once, I'm back in working world, I'm not going to have time to tinker with cars anyway. With the old injectors, the car ran OK but not perfect. The car is otherwise in decent shape with a excellent interior, good body with good paint except on the good. The clear coat is almost gone from the hood. Everything but the cruise control and the tachometer works good. It has new front bushings, tie-rods and new shocks all the way around. I will be removing the killer sound system before I sell it and put back the original Becker radio which worked fine. Nothing in the car was altered to install the stereo system so you won't be able to tell that it ever had it. You can see pictures of the car at: http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/view_page.pl?page_id=407384
So the advice I need is, should I get rid of this car so I can stop whining to you guys? What could I get for it?

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

if the engine is bad i doubt you will get even a thousand
for it if everything else is perfect.
you could get rid of the diesel and direct drop a straight-6
m110 carb or fuel injected.
no smog inspections if you dont tell.

you either love diesels or you dont and you cant,
anywhere do good work if you dont.

good luck don

To be frank...

It sounds to me like you've already made your decision. This is not just from reading your post at the moment (along with the posts you've put in other threads on the same subject); I can think of other posts you've made in the past talking about how much you dislike that car.

At this point, it seems to me that, regardless of what you do to the car, you're never going to love it or even like it. Maybe it would be best for you to let the car go...it could make a great parts car, or maybe someone who will appreciate the car will fix whatever's up with the engine and she'll be purring for another 200K miles.

Just my opinion...I'd take the car if I could dream of affording it. Good luck with whatever you wind up deciding!

If the car ran okay, maybe not great but just okay BEFORE you swapped in different injectors that are supposedly good and now the car runs worse there are only two possibilities:
1. The new injectors are junk, no matter how reputable a source they came from.
2. You screwed up the install somehow like getting dirt in the injector inlets or lines during the install.
There just aren't any other possibilities. Besides, you always sound as if you want the car to be something its not but don't enjoy the idiosyncracies that make it distinctive. And if you don't like diesel fuel, well, clearly it ain't the car for you. Better luck with your next choice. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

Dump it. If the car is making you miserable there is no reason to keep it. Life is too short to let a car get you down...Good luck!

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

I've tried to like the car and have even had many good days with it. I've put over 11K miles on it in the year I have owned it. It's like the old saying when it rains it pours and that's just the way it seems its been with the bad luck that I've had with it. Maybe I'm the sort that just seems to lack patience, I have been told that by some. The car probably just needs a more patient individual. I've liked the car for its size and maneuverability. It's gotten me into some tight parking spaces I could have never dreamed of getting into with my GM behemoths. I think my mind is just too poisoned from owning many GM's in the last 20 years that I seem to be judging any other car by the abnormally good luck that I have had with the GM's.
I think there is nothing wrong with the engine itself and that the problems right now with it are somewhere to be found in the fuel delivery system. I don't think I did anything wrong. I made sure everything was free from any crud before and during the injector work. I didn't really even get my hands dirty other than get diesel fuel all over them. I just don't want to have to pay someone else to fix the problem. I bought it thinking that I could do everything myself but that hasn't been the case. I originally paid $2500 for the car and I've probably put another $800 or $900 into it. It's more about spending any more of my money on the car.
I will regret one thing if I sell the car, I may not have any reason to return to this forum. I have really enjoyed it and have gotten many great pieces of advice from many great members. I'll probably also make quite a few people happy by my departure as no one will need to read about any more of my sniveling.
Yes life is too short.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

You might want to let someone fix it that knows what they are doing.

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N. Hodges
1994 S350
1987 300 SDL (for sale)

If you really don't like the car get rid of it and move on. If you don't really like it you won't take the time/effort to keep it in good shape and it's only going to get worse as time goes on.
For me anyway it's way easier, more fun and better for the vehicle if I like it. If I don't...I neglect it and just drive it till the next snafu...then b*itch, fix it and wonder when it'll go down again. All that time I'm liking it even less...
Good luck.

If you don't like it, sell it. It would be a crime to let another one end up as a beater or end up in a scrapyard.

These car's arent for everyone, in a big way. And as a pretty wise fellow pointed out to me not long ago, despite what people may tell themselves and have you believe when bragging about there favorite hobby, they are NOT cheap cars to own, maintain correctly, and drive daily. Even if you enjoy and can do all your own work. They just arent.

I agree on the life's too short deal, let er go and move on. I'd try like hell to get the motor running decent before though, that will make or break your selling price. Maybe find another local diesel fan that can give a fresh opinion, it sometimes helps.

I'm in the same frame of mind in some ways, except the one thing I absolutly like about the car IS the motor, I'm a long time diesel nut. It's the rest of it that's killing me, financialy and otherwise.

Best of luck either way..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

has anyone complained about your complaining?? j/k anyhow should remind you turbodiesel sold his car quite a while ago and that doesn't stop him from being here and looking around very carefully for the next ''right'' diesel mb for him. perhaps you could do the same.
if ya don't like yours , get rid of of it! and then get one you 'do' like, for all the reasons you already stated.
good luck!

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

Chin up, my friend. Nobody here is complaining about your posts. It's saddening sometimes to read about your seemingly unsolvable problems, but that's how things go sometimes.

If this truly isn't the right car for you, then sell it to someone who wants it more than you do. If you still want a Mercedes in the future, be it gas or diesel, buy one... that will give you a reason to continue posting here.

Even though I no longer have a VW TDI, I still visit http://www.tdiclub.com on occasion. I'm actually taking the SDL up to Ocean City over Easter Weekend for a TDI get-together. I miss all of my TDI friends, and it's time to meet up with them again and talk diesel for a few days.

I really appreciate the great advice I've gotten here. I've had a chance to get to know a lot of great folks here and I guess there's a lot of good reasons to stay part of your "family".
I feel cheered up a great deal from reading your replies and getting a good night's sleep as well.
I'm going to give it another try and at least get it running good enough where someone would be interested in it. Yes it would be a shame to let it become another picked over hulk in a wrecking yard or even a beater. Its actually a very good looking car. It looked a little sad in my rear view mirror when I left it this morning. I'll do what I can.

nhodges-"You might want to let someone fix it that knows what they are doing." That would defeat the original purpose of why I got the car in the first place. I haven't given up...yet.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

Good. Now go make another thread about what it's doing so we can help figure it out.

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

I think I got to the problem. TomJ and Boostnbenz both suggested to me that it could be the IP timing. TomJ told me exactly what to do and in what direction to rotate the IP. The car seems to run great now, it even seems to run better than ever. I even adjusted the ALDA to give a bit more power when the turbo kicks in. A debt of gratitude is in order. Thanks guys!
I think time will only tell at this point as well as a good drive. I'll keep everyone posted on how things develop. I have a feeling I'll still sell the car once I done with school in June. It'll be easier to sell a good running car. The car deserves a more patient owner. I'll keep being part of the forum if there are no objections.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012