Hey guys!

I just test drove an 85 wagon and noted a few quirks. Any thoughts about the relative seriousness of these would be greatly appreciated:

1. Excellent power, but very soft feeling at highway speed. Kind of an unstable swishing back and forth that suggested maybe the back shocks were gone.

2. Oil leak looks like at the valve covers. But could come from a "hydraulic fluid"? plastic container at the driver's side front of engine (what is this thing anyhow?)

3. A/C does not blow cold. I've heard this is not a cheap fix...?

4. Pulls to the left and steering isnt' very tight. Would this be more likely front end work than simple alignment?

5. I lifted the driver's side back seat rug and found oil. Seller said some sort of past oil gage problem...is this possible?

6. Is the kelley blue book a reasonable guide for pricing a mercedes, or is the market significantly higher for this model?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Mileage on the vehicle would be helpful.

Presume model is 300TD?

Yes, 300 TD. Mileage is 129K. Thanks.

1. The wagons have a "special" rear suspension system where a pump under the hood sends hydraulic fluid to the rear suspension to maintain ride height for the vehicle. It's somewhat of a complicated and expensive system to repair. I'll let some of the owners of TD vehicles provide specific advice regarding troubleshooting.

2. The hydraulic fluid plastic container is exactly that. It is the reservoir for the rear suspension. The pump sends fluid back to the rear suspension to support the vehicle.

3. a/c can range from a $10.00 switch to a $1000. repair that needs a compressor, dryer, and expansion valve. It can go way over this if a condenser of an evaporator requires replacement. There are plenty of threads on a/c repair, however, it does require some experience and tools.

4. I wouldn't expect the vehicle to require a tremendous amount of front end work if the mileage is legit. If it is pulling, you need to have someone knowledgeable about the front end take a look under there and pull and pry to determine which joints (if any) need replacement. A good alignment shop will do this before any alignment is performed. You don't need to have the alignment shop do the work. You can do it yourself, with the guidance of this forum and then return to the shop for the alignment.

The most likely case of sloppy steering is worn front end parts.

5. If you lifted the driver's side front seat rug and found oil, then it's very likely that the oil gauge developed a leak at some point and ran down behind the dash onto the carpet and made an awful mess. I can't imagine how the oil would have travelled to the rear seat??

6. Kelly Blue Book is useless for any of these older vehicles. They are sold based upon mileage, condition, and repair records. Yours would "typically" sell for $3K-$5K. However, there are plenty of examples of vehicles that sell for less than $3K and more than $5K. Condition and maintenance records are the key. With the TD, you need to be careful to avoid paying too much for a vehicle that needs a fair amount of work.

in my opinion,
the first place to look when steering is loose is to the 'box. the adjustment is simple. loosen lock nut turn allen nut anticlockwise until it starts to bind, then back in till it is free. also good to look at the front end parts as noted above. the oil could, i should think, run from the front to the back under the rugs. btw the mileage noted is pretty low for that year, so be suspicious and dont believe it unless excellent records support it... not that it is wrong to buy a high mileage mb, just dont pay a premium for stated low mileage unless records support it.

good luck, benz diesels are the best.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

also look at broken link for rear anti sway bar. it is the simplist thing that can go wrong at the rear end and perhaps the only cheap fix.

i am always looking for the simplist thing since it is easy to assume worse than what it is.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Thanks to everyone for their extremely helpful comments in checking this car out.