I just bought my first Mercedes. It's an '83 240D in very nice shape, with 126,000 miles. It runs well except for a very rough idle which may be caused by a damaged driver side motor mount. It runs very smoothly once it's in gear and moving.


Fixing old diesels is my hobby. I currently own a couple of '70s John Deeres and half a dozen '80s Ford diesel trucks, and some Lister generators.


What should I look out for on this new toy, besides vacuum leaks?

What are the trouble spots?

Where do I get a shop manual, and an owners manual?

What is the recommended engine oil?

Are there any specialty tools that are must-haves? Maybe a fixture for my dial indicator for injection timing, like on the old VW diesels I used to have?
What parts should I keep on the shelf, besides obvious stuff like filters and glow plugs?



Other than the motor mount, the only issues I'm aware of are a plugged vacuum leak in the mirrors and the air conditioner belt has been removed. There are the oil leaks on the exterior of the engine that I expect on an old machine, but no signs of rivers of oil, just black crud on the exterior.