I need some help. When I was on the MBCA list, I remember some people talking about a repair Mercedes was doing to all older TD cars. Seems that Mercedes had placed the diesel trap before the turbo and this caused the car to become sluggish and loose power. Then in time the trap would fall apart into the turbo, ruining it. They told me when Mercedes fiqured out how to redesign the exhaust they put a new exhaust and turbo on their car, free of charge. Could someone shed some light on this for me. My mom has an 87 300td that has succumb to this problem. Do we have to replce the exhaust ourselves? What were these guys talking about? They said Mercedes replaced the exhaust and turbo free of charge since it was Mercedes fault it failed in the first place. Either way, what/who do I need to contact to ensure we get the new exhaust, the one with the diesel trap after the turbo. Thanks for the help, my mom's car is getting worse, something has to be done.

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Adrian Eckenrod
MBCA, PCA, BMWCCA & SCCA* member
86 190 2.3-16
83 944 ITS Racer

Adrian,

Yes, you are correct in your information. MB did have a recall on those 603 motors with the trap installed. What they did was take the trap off and install a catalyst under the car. I think MB might still even honor this recall. Call your local dealer and see what they say. Those traps were notorious for sending little bits of themselves into the turbo and therefore burning up the engine and turbo. MB sure replaced alot of engines! Hope this helps.

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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'79 6.9
'79 6.9
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8