For those of you who have and provided a lot of support and advice concerning Janet's red 1979 240D 4 Speed, the patient has a final diagnosis.

This was all done but not before joining AAA, transferring the title, going to the tow yard, coordinating a tow, but finding out that a DOT release was needed. 2 days later on my lunch break, I got the vehicle release, went to the tow yard paid the exorbitant impound fees, searched for the car on a golf cart in a old railroad yard and had it towed leaking diesel all the way to Santa Monica from Downtown LA.

Here's what was discovered in chronological order by my mechanic Tony at Europa Motors in Santa Monica who volunteered his spare time in his own shop to do all of this for FREE

#1 and #2 cylinders were found to have extremely tight valves - (valves were adjusted and a compression test was done) - no start

Very low compression was found with cylinders with not much more than 200 psi in each cylinder.

The fuel rack was found stuck in the OFF position - no start

#1 was tested with compressed air causing no movement in the piston and so there appeared to be a mystery leak somewhere in the block

Head was removed and observed that the head was not torqued down properly and was seemingly not sealed properly, the head gasket however was in good shape.

With the head off, the #1 intake valve was pulled and all were severely "pitted" and had presumed that the valve seats were damaged and upon closer inspection the valves were completely covered in carbon deposits, the stem seals were relatively new, and apparently weren't leaking. This leads one to believe that there was so much blowby from oil consumption that it was leaving enormous deposits of carbon on the valves (this is confusing because the engine was supposedly running perfectly before it was non-op)

Checking the bottom end, the pistons have a lot of play and are very loose and the rings are presumably well worn which explains why there was no piston movement when the compressed air was pumped into the engine through the glow plug opening.

At this point the engine IS completely worn out and would require a rebuild.

Does anyone have a 240D engine lying around that is somewhere in the vicinity of Santa Monica, CA?

Janet, ismelldiesel.....there you have it

EDIT: Check out the ironic post number "123616"

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Here are the two previous threads to the story

2nd Thread Concerning Selling
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=121330

1st Thread by Janet
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=113163

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Now, that is a good follow up / final chapter post...
Thanks....
Even included links to the other pertinent threads !!!
However, it does leave those threads , if someone found them looking in the archives, without the ' end of the story' .....

I bet Tony gave you the news last Friday...

The 13th.

- Patrick

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1982 240D. 198k, Marine Blue/Blue, 4 Speed, Crank Windows, No Sunroof, No Rust, No Oil Leaks
2001 TDI. 197k, Lagoon Blue/Black, 5 speed, Chip, G60/VR6

Actually, it was yesterday evening 5/16 so the car's karma is still intact.

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

The car has been sitting in Santa Monica for nearly 2 months now and is being dusted regularly by my mechanic's son.

Finding engines has been difficult. They are all much more than I expected them to be and the cost benefit analysis says it's not worth dumping that much money for installation into a car that doesn't have that much value.

ismelldiesel mentioned he might be able to get an engine from a friend although the details are hazy and I haven't been able to contact either him or Janet for weeks now.

Chiwanga has been kind and is possibly sourcing an engine although that is still pending his decision to purchase the donor vehicle for parts and evaluate the condition of the engine. If the engine is good then this might be a practical consideration.

A OM617 conversion might be feasible if someone would be willing to do the job at a reasonable price since I don't have the resources or expertise to do so. Anyone in CA interested in such a job?

Other than that, it leaves me the option to sell it to someone who wants a nice 240d 4 speed manual in CA. No rust!

Link to ad In "Cars for Sale"

Any offers? Suggestions?

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

After digging for months now, I just got a hold of a nice 82 240D motor with the flywheel, clutch, AC compressor, CC, alternator all delivered to Santa Monica so it will be slowly installed this week. I haven't seen it yet but it's supposed to be clean throughout with no or at least very little blowby.

Unfortunately the GP relay needs to be changed because the car is wired for loop type glow plugs and the motor has pin type plugs. I hope to have it running by Friday or Saturday!

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Damn if that was close at all I would grab it....I have a good OM617 I could drop into it...but with $3.00 a gallon diesel I don't even want to think about what that would cost to ship across the USA...even if the car was free.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I pondered putting a 617 in it but my mechanic didn't have the time to do it since he's IS his only employee and has got bills to pay. Can't hassle him on that one.

At 29mpg? it could be driven cross country for $300 bucks in fuel....or with WVO...

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Yeah...but my engine is in VA and the car was on the west coast.....I would ahve done the swap myself...I would have had to have it trucked here...adn a non runner is far more costly to ship....I wouldn't mess with a car that had any rust.....I'm funny that way.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

True, trucking the car cross country wasn't feasible. As strange as it is I notice all of the forum members with the know how and the interest to do the conversion are all on the other side of the country....odd.

I don't like rust either. It's one of the redeeming qualities of being in CA finding rust free cars

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

How was the motor swap? I'm looking at maybe having the same job ahead. How much would I have to pay to have an independant swap the motor, if I decide not to do it? I haven't tested the compression yet, but... worst case...

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Ash Peltier - tools, truck, tales
---------510-331-4118-----------
1982 240D - (272,000)
1998 Honda VTR1000F(RT) Superhawk Freeway (58,000) "Madrid"
1996 Toyota T100 4x4 (84,000) "Mary Kay"

Whoa! Wasn't expecting this thread to reappear.

The car sat 7 months until my mechanic haggled with a source for a good running 240D motor. They are a premium here in CA. $1000 for a OK motor at least here in SoCal. We got a break on the motor after searching for the split year 79 motor since there was a problem finding the R4 compressor motor with the loop glow plugs. So after months of deliberation and my mechanic's son dusting the car at the shop for 7 months we decided to rig the car for a nice clean 82' motor. We had to tranplant the air filter, manifold, and exhaust manifold to accomodate the AC line. We also had to switch the glow plug relay to the fast glow which by comparison with my W115 it is worlds faster! Now it runs great! 505 miles on one tank of fuel and that wasn't all highway miles. Much of it was stop and go on the 10 freeway, and streets. I have run 10 gallons of B99.9 through the motor and wow is it quiet! A valve ajustment was just done and it's even smoother. I can't believe it's a 240 compared to the W115.

I would reccomend making sure that the engine is good before you drop it in since you'll need new parts here and there. I had new motor mounts in, had to replace the clutch release plate which had a hole in it! The labor isn't too bad dropping the engine in but it's the little things here and there that take time.

How much is your mechanic asking to install the engine?

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Well I don't really have a mechanic. I'm it. I'm still hoping I don't need a new motor, but thanks a ton for the birds eye of the process. It occurs to me that this car is way more than nice enough to afford a new engine, should it need one. I won't be selling this creampuff for $1000, that's for sure. Still trying to get it to kick over. Gonna re-check the glow system today. Thanks again!

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Ash Peltier - tools, truck, tales
---------510-331-4118-----------
1982 240D - (272,000)
1998 Honda VTR1000F(RT) Superhawk Freeway (58,000) "Madrid"
1996 Toyota T100 4x4 (84,000) "Mary Kay"

Check your glow plugs here

http://dieselgiant.com/mercedesdieselloopglowplugrepair.htm

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1981 300D 147k
1998 VW Jetta Tdi 320k
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 141k
1979 300D 234k (sold)
1984 300D "Astor" 262k(sold)
Mercedes How-To and Repair Pictorials
I love the smell of diesel smoke in my hair