considering a diesel....any ideal years, models?

[1977450sel]

Greetings,
I am starting to look for a replacement for my '77 450sel, mainly due to a longer commute to work and needing better gas mileage. Just wondering what a good year/model is for a diesel and what things to look for when shopping for one. I am partial to the big bodied benz! But that doesn't help MPG!

My favourite is the 1987 E300D. If you can find a low mileage one
in good shape you will be lucky. Most I've seen on the internet have more than 150,000 miles, but are priced very reasonalby considering what a great car you get. If maintenance/repairs are not an issue to you I'd go that route. I recently had a '95 E300D that I had bought new and put 135,000 relatively troublefree miles on before selling it. It was a great car too. The some of the major differences, other than age is that the '95 has no turbo, has a R134 Climate control, smaller leather steering wheel, equally bad sounding yet worse looking audiosystem, no glove box, has a passenger airbag, has newer style alloy wheels, two aux cooling fans, and a much larger fuel tank, allowing a 700 mile cruising range, as well as newer style lower body cladding. There are other differences too, only less apparrent. Oh, the headlights on the 95 are an improvement over the 87.
The diesels between the 87 and the 95 had five-cylinder engines,
which some people prefer, but with which I have no experience.
Many of the members prefer the w123 diesels for their longevity
and classic Mercedes-Benz style, and their more DIY friendliness but sadly I've never had one of those either.
Hope this helps. Steve

[rickjordan]

The legendary 3.0 liter 5 cyl. turbo diesel that Steve mentioned was discontinued in 1985. There are 2 big bodied cars that had this engine, the W116 300SD model years 1978,'79 and '80. Then MB brought out the W126 chassis and continued the 300SD until 1985. In 1987 they came out with the 300SDL, which was a 3.0 straight six engine. This engine proved to not be a durable as the 617series of 5 cyl. turbo diesel engines. I had a 1980 300SD (W116) that had 280,000 miles on it. My brother now has it. Fuel economy in that car was about 28 mpg. I would imagine that is better than your 450SEL. As for which big bodied diesel is better that's a tough one. For that classic Mercedes look, you would have to go with a W116. Unfortunately these cars were known to rust bad. The W126 chassis didn't really have a rust problem, but they had plastic bumper covers and didn't have that heavy solid feel like the W116 did, so I have read. You will have a hard time finding a W116 car, simply due to their age. The "newest" one is now 22 years old. Whereas you can find a 17 yr old W126 300SD.

[1977450sel]

Thanks for the input guys, from what I have read I think i will stay away from the 1986 - ? SDL's. What year was that engine retired?

[rickjordan]

Well that 3.0 six, was eventually bored out to 3.5 liters and was a bad engine from the start. This engine was notorious for bending rods, extremely high oil consumption etc. This is definetly the engine to stay away from $$$$$. Right off the top of my head I can't remember how long they used that 3.0 six cyl. However "long" it was, is no where near as long as the 5 cyl 3.0 turbo diesel. MB cranked out alot of the 617 engines, between the SDs from '78-'85, and the W123 series cars starting in '81 (wagons only) '82 for the sedans through 1985.

[ke6dcj]

I've heard good things about the 1998-1999 E300D which is turbo'd and has good performance.

Have you test drove any of the VW TDi's? Impressive. Even my wife was impressed.

:-) neil

[400E]

I would not rule out the '86-87 300SDL. I ALMOST bought one 3 years ago (and sometimes still kick myself that I didn't!) It has the 603 engine, which I believe is a very nice engine, if not exactly as bulletproof as the 617. (On the other hand, it has hydraulic lifters and thus doesn't need regular valve adjustments.) The two main issues with the SDL of that vintage are 1) trap oxidizer and 2)potential for warped or cracked heads. RE: the trap oxidizer, this should have already been removed by a previous owner under warranty (easy to check: look for a coffee-can-sized and shaped cylinder on the right side exhause manifold), and the head issue affected a minority of these vehicles.

Best to avoid the 350SDL for reasons mentioned in earlier post (the rod-bending problem did not exist for the 300SDL).

I agree with Neil above that the late-model turbo diesels are VERY VERY nice, although if you're looking for something you can DIY on, the W210 diesels are probably not for you. The older diesels are basically mechanically controlled, whereas the new ones have very sophisticated electronic engine management systems.

Rick. "In 1987 they came out with the 300SDL, which was a 3.0 straight six engine. This engine proved to not be a durable as the 617series of 5 cyl. turbo diesel engines."

Wait just a minute here! The SDL is a terrific car! First of all the SDL first came out on the market in 1986 not 87'. As a 1986 SDL owner myself, I can assure this car is VERY reliable and durable. What they are referencing here sel is the fact that the SDL has the aluminum head. Big deal guys! Most cars today have aluminum heads and there are several posts on this forum involving cars with IRON heads that have cracked because of overheating as well. I chose the SDL because of the following benefits:

#1 Very roomy, very large, extended wheelbase with sinful amounts of interior room, thus the "L" added to SD..

#2 Much much better built than the 350. The general consensus is stay away from the 350, NOT the 300SDL.

#3 Still gets great gas mileage, mine goes over 580-600 miles per tank usually.

#4 The 300SDL sdl is one of the quickest and highest top speed diesels every made.

#5 Unlike the SD, you don't have the pain of manual adjusting valves every 15k miles.

Bottom line, these benefits clearly outweigh the "downside (if it even is one) of having an aluminum head and you don't have to adjust the valves.

"I would not rule out the '86-87 300SDL. I ALMOST bought one 3 years ago (and sometimes still kick myself that I didn't!) 400 E is right, sd's are great and so is the 400E but the SDL (in my opinion) is a better car than the SD for the above reasons. The 400E is a different animal but great car. (END SOAPBOX)

[blackmercedes]

We LOVE our 1998 E300 turbo. It's nearly as quick as the gas E320, will run at 100mph all day, and can clear 1000+ kilometers on a tank of fuel. The air blows ice cold and the ACC is dual zone and works great.

[Holson Adi]

If I had a choice, I'd probably go for a later model S350 Diesel (probably one that has been rebuilt) or if I do not mind a smaller car, I'd take the W210 E300 Diesel.

I do love the OM617/616 for its VERY distinct diesel sound! Even my friend who has no love or anything for a diesel sedan heard a diesel and shouted out "yo! it's another one of your diesel"

I was amazed that he was right.. :p I didnt't even catch the sound. He didn't see it, he heard it and then a few secs later the car showed up at the intersection. I guess he's spent a lot of time in my car.. hehe

I saw a 300SDL accelerating hard the other day and I loved the sound! and the speed at which it accelerates.

[1977450sel]

Have you test drove any of the VW TDi's? Impressive. Even my wife was impressed.

I have been looking into VW diesels as well. Shame on me! I am under the impression that a VW is even more expensive to get repaired than a benz. True?

[pmizell]

Could be a bargain if you're willing to do a little work on it, and if what he's saying is true. (engine rebuild)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1835091968

~Paul

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'91 300E, 212K miles