1979 300 SD

[Jbyron]

Is there an online PDF shop manual for a 1979 W116 300 SD available for download? I can't seem to fine a hard copy anywhere.

[cth350]

The classic center used to have a W116 CD available.
Plenty of pirates on Ebay with them last I checked.

-CTH

[rumb]

w116 forum they have online manuals.

You can always find original manuals on fleabay. There is an automotive book store in Seattle that sells a lot of different manuals.

[280EZRider]

I would imagine that the W116 CD is the same as the W123 CD in that they are both supported by adobe, which will not be in effect after this year - something to keep in mind. And as of yet, I don't know if the disc will be usable once adobe bites the dust.

[Idle]

Keep looking for the 116 paper copy. I recently saw a good one go for $15. There is just not that much demand for 116 manuals. I don't know why, but they also seem to be hard to find new parts for.

I understand that a lot of them rusted away due to the steel Mercedes used, so perhaps they are not as collectable as some others.

But they sure are nice to drive.

[rumb]

Not really the steel, but the way it is built with layered panels. The undercoating cracks and then water gets in there and eats metal.

[at_h20]

Would this help?

http://assets.mbusa.com/vcm/CAC_RAPMD/images/79%20300SD%20OM.pdf

[Jbyron]

Thanks for the reply.

[Idle]

Originally Posted by rumb

Not really the steel, but the way it is built with layered panels. The undercoating cracks and then water gets in there and eats metal.

Yup. The undercoating peels away and the pockets of hanging on undercoating create pockets to catch water. And then the floors just get eaten away.

During the run of the 116 there was a strike in Germany in the steel mills and Mercedes could not get it's normal stock. So they used what they could find. Some of it slipped through their quality control process.

The floor under the driver's feet get water from undercoating water traps and water on top dragged in by the driver when their shoes are wet or covered with snow.

Floor rust is always the first thing to look for in an old Mercedes. Or Porsche. Porsche had such a problem with rust that sometime in the late 70s they just started galvanizing everything.