Wow what a trip :-),

Well my mom in law got the diesel bug from us (we use biodiesel and converting to SVO). So her dream car is 300CD turbo. She found the ad in the paper and I went to check the car for her.

Dealer got the car in an auction so no records. He was Mercedes mechanic in the past so he knew his stuff :-). When I came to the dealer lot I found him working on an odometer , Not the CD though :-).

The car apparently didn't drive for few years, yet he said it was no problem to start it, he replaced the oil pan and of course the oil, and battery

The car started without a problem yet wasn't smooth when cold later on it got better. Checking blow by I polled the tube that goes to the air filter, no blow by. Well off we went for a test drive, I floor it the engine gets to 3500-4000 RPM no problem and no smoke ALAS the car barely moves.
The transmision had no problem to engage within less than a 1 second.

Can you explain that ?



Of course all the weather strips need to be replaced.
The asking price was 4000 later he was willing to take 3000

What do you think about it ? LOL, to walk to a dealer and see how he "fix" the odometer

yshahar,

Check the air line from the intake manifold to the to the ALDA. If this line leaks, the engine won't have much power.

If the above doesn't fix, check the fuel filters including the fuel tank strainer.

If the selled is a MB mechanic and knows his stuff, have him fix it before U buy it. He may not know as much "stuff" as he thinks he does. But don't buy it until the no power problem is fixed.

P E H

PEH, I'm shocked.

Fuel filters??

The engine revs to 4000 rpm!

The fact that it doesn't move forward at 4000 rpm is the issue.

I paid $2,800 for my '83......142K and no rust anywhere. very minor issues that were easy to fix except for the A'C which I am working on...to be fair the guy I bougt it off of got it a month before I did and this was in the middle of winter...

He needs to do far more than he is doing......$3k for a car that barely moves under its own power is no bragin..

__________________
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

My wifes 300D would rev fine to 4000 RPM but couldn't touch it under load.

Turned out to be more related to the prechambers than the fuel filters/tank strainer.

__________________
'84 300CD Turbo 132k (Anthracite Grey) - WVO - My daily driver - Recently named coo-coo-coupe by my daughter.
'84 300D Turbo 240k (Anthracite Grey) - Garage Queen
'83 300D Turbo 220k (Orient Red) - WVO - Wifes daily driver

I'm not a certified mechanic, but I did stay at a HolidayInn Express last night.

What dealer are you getting this from? I lived in Marin for years and may have delt with him in the past. Now I live just up the road in Petaluma. Have you tried putting the car in neutral with the brakes off and see if it rolls easily, to find out if anything is binding? Check trans fluid level.
just some ideas!

__________________
1983 300SD
200000miles

I am not sure that I understand your description clearly. If the engine revs like that with the transmission in gear you have a problem. Read about a stall test. Trans in gear with brakes locked the engine should not rev above 2000 or so rpm. Check the numbers for this car. Be aware that this is a dangerous test. You can easily damage the transmission and if the car moves you can run into things and people.

Check parts prices. A coupe is an expensive fixer, you can spend a thousand or so dollars on weatherstrips alone.

Still not on the trail. Came out of the hotel this morning to find a dead battery and voltage is running low. Battery was five years old and tested bad so I replaced it. May need voltage regulator too. Usually I rebuild an alternator as part of preventive maintenance, didn't on this car.

Still overcast but not actually raining today. More rain on the way.

Brian,

I interpreted the low power problem as the engine had little power even though it would rev to 3000 to 4000 rpm. This could be a fuel blockage problem.

Others have thought it was draging brakes or slipping transmission.

Problem description needs clarification.

P E H

Thanks for the info.
I'm new to diesel and benz. Most of my information came from this forum and others.

My very simple test for the transmission (besides driving the car) was to see how fast the gear engaged, this was less than 1 second to reverse and drive. Over all when I drove the car the shifting was smooth.

Regarding the no power problem, The dealer replaced the fuel filters and drove the car from the auction lot to his lot, more than 50 miles. I assumed and please correct me if I'm wrong that the "brakes" issue would be solved if that was an issue to start with.

When the car was a normal driving speed for the city it was OK. The only problem that concerned me was the fact that it will take about 30 seconds to get to 60 MPH.

I hope that this gives more information.
I didn't do the neutral on a level lot push by hand test.

Thanks,
Yossi
PS. the car is in Fremont CA.

His description of the problem has changed somewhat. Now it sounds like an underpowered engine. Will delete my last post.

Provided it is rust free and the body and interior are clean then offer him $1,500 for it maybe $1,700. It is a buyers market and after it sits on his lot for a month or so you will get a call.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Here is my BIG question.
How come the engine gets to 4000RPM without correlation with the speed of the car ? to get to 4000RPM was really fast. To get to the speed that correlate with it was the problem. I'm sorry that I didn't include all the information up front.

What could be wrong with the car that I'll need to fix ?

Thanks,
Yossi

I read it as 3000 to 4000 rpm in gear. If it had no power, it could never rev to those numbers. In fact, if it had full power, it could never rev to 3000 rpm in gear until the vehicle picked up some speed.

So, I agree, clarification is necesary. If it was in gear, it's definitely a transmission issue. If it revs to 3000 rpm in neutral, but won't move the vehicle, now fuel issues can be considered.

yshahar,

When the engine reved to 3000 RPM, was the car in gear and moving? Or was the car in nuetral and the engine reved under no load? If the fuel filters were R&R lately, have seller check the fuel tank strainer. Use search to find the procedure. It can be done in 5 minutes or less.

Do you have any hills there? If you do try driving the car up a hill and see how much power it seems to have.

Putting an auto trans in gear and timing how long it takes to engage is no test of an auto trans. The best test is drive up a steep hill and make sure it doesn't slip in any gear. This would have to be done after the engine has full power. So you will havwe to get the engine running correctly first.

It sounds that U don't know too much about MB Diesels. So I suggest you let it up to the seller "who knows his stuff" to repair the car. If he can't or won't, vote with your feet.

One other thing, is the car a turbo? If it is, the air line from the intake manifold to the ALDA could be plugged or leaking. This will decrease the engine power.

P E H