All your input is great! When I say it is running fine, It is running fine for that motor with 244,000 miles on it.
It uses oil, about 1 quart per 3000 miles and smokes (blue) when I first start it ( I always leave it plugged in ) and I do know the history!
The first,second and third (Me being the third owner, I use synthetic) owner was religious about oil and filter changes, I belive this is why the motor has lasted so long.
I do have a great back up car, 1984 300SD! And no I don't have a lot of time on my hands, I just don't want to end up in New Mexico with a blown motor, I want to get this motor back into shape.
Any more feed back? I thought about rebuilding the bottom end of my 3.5 but the rods are $200.00 each, So I feel I could put that $ into the 3.0 block that is solid as a rock and have more confidence down the road!