I was researching these cars, and came across an article that stated the 1984 & 1985 turbodiesel engines have an alloy cylinder head (versus iron) and that they don’t need valve adjustments. Plus, they have a serpentine belt drive for the accessories – is this a preferable setup compared to the earlier conventional V-belt setups?

Or is this information even correct??

Thanks again!

By the way, here is a link to that article:

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/nov98/techtips.htm

I notice that he refers to the 1984 & up diesels as a “601, 602, & 603” engine family – is this guy just off on the years they were made? I know that the diesel engines in the 124 cars are different than the 123 &126 cars.

I think this guy is off on his model years. I'm no expert, but I've always been under the impression that the 617 engines all have iron heads. Also, I paid my independent shop to adjust my valves, which they recommend every 15,000 miles.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic