81 300SD purchase questions

[hitbyastick]

Hello all,
I'm looking at purchasing a 1981 300SD with a 5 cylinder turbodiesel. I found this one in the local classified listing and went to look at it today. I'm not new to mercedes, but I'm new to the diesel powered kind.

Many of the electrical features do not function properly in the car. The sunroof begins to open, but doesn't go very far. Only three of the power windows go down, the drivers one is doing nothing, so I'm assuming it's the switch. The seat adjustment only goes forward and backward, but the backrest does not adjust. The car is leather, but has a few minor rips. The passenger side power mirror does not move either. I can live with all that stuff, or find some pieces at the junkyard. I'm concerned about the mechanical condition ....

At first look everything looks nice, like the brakes and everything works. It shifts a tiny bit rough, but it may just need a fluid change. Once I had the car warmed up even at idle the oil pressure was pegged above 3 bar. After I opened the hood I noticed smoke from the dipstick. There is way too much crankcase pressure (I'm assuming vented through the top by the valve cover). Then I opened the oil filler cap and there was a lot of smoke coming out that way. Previous owner said "oh just some blow by". Well I look underneath the car and almost the entire length of the car all the way to the gas tank is covered in a thin layer of oil. I'm assuming this is related to the smoke, because other than that, nothing drips. I noticed that car was running a little bit rough at idle, but that's it. It pulled very strong.

The cosmetics are okay. The trunk has a little dent in it, no big deal really. Paint is good, it's a silverish color. The guy is asking 850 and I talked him down to 700 ...

My questions are
-how serious is that smoke and the oil underneath the car (previous owner states his other car does the same)
-is it worth the 700?
-milage is 280K, will it last a while?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance

Christoph

[jdc1244]

I’d pass on the car unless you can’t afford more than $700 in which case I’d still pass on the car – keep looking. Can you come up to, say, $1500? For that you can get a nice 300 SD and not put (much) more money into it.

[WANT '71 280SEL]

Blow-by means rings are wearing. Mine doesn't let out smoke when I open the cap and mine's got 200k miles. Granted mine's in good condition, it sounds like this one probably has low compression. Then again, I wouldn't hold the car to blame becasue it is almost 300k miles. I think that if a car can move on it's own power, it's worth at least 700+. Look to see what parts cars go for and they aren't much cheaper than this one. Where are you located? If it's always hot you don't have to worry about the slightly lower compression affecting extreme cold starts. Plus, it will probably have a block heater anyways. Was it hard to start? I say go for it if you are looking for a project to tinker around with. If you roging to drop it off at a mechanic to have him do it all, then pass.
Thanks
David

[WANT '71 280SEL]

You should ask him the last time he had the valves adjusted. Rough shifts means that the vacuum modulator needs to be adjusted. From what I've heard, it's easy. The sunroof not opening all the way just means it needs lubricated. Do a search and you will find the most probable causes of all that stuff. It will literally keep you reading for as long as you can stand.
Thanks Again
David

[hitbyastick]

Thanks a lot guys. I think I'll pass this one up and invest a little more money. Something that works will be a lot nicer.

By the way, my name is Christoph and I'm located in Fremont, California (sf bay area)

You are a wise man. This car is a rag. It is common to be fooled by good looking paint and trim. I've been there myself. An MB just looks much better for much longer than many other brands. The paint and trim are of high quality.

You might be able to work through the malfunctioning interior gadgetry, but the engine has had it.

Good luck,