I just missed out on an apparantly sound but rusty 82 300D turbo for $400 that I could have used as a worst case parts car for my OM617 yesterday.

Today I ran across an 87 300SDL for decent money that is in fairly good shape. Blue leather interior in OK shape. Light Blue metallic paint (repaint) starting to peel. NO RUST that I could see. No rust underneath, Likely a Florida car from day 1. A/C blows cool at least (not hot out today). 191K miles

But ....it has a "14" head WITH the trap oxidizer still on! The car was already hot when I saw it so I couldn't check the coolant (it looked GREEN). Didn't run hot (but ambient temp was only 80 after a rain).

Also, this thing was a DOG off the line compared with my 300Dt.

I'm a cast iron kind of guy - really get squeamish about warped heads especially in Florida.

1) Does the presence of a trap oxidizer for all these years increase the liklihood or hasten the inevitability of a cracked head?

2) Does this barge have a second gear start?- or is there some other explanation why the ~148 ponies in this yacht are not the equal of the ~120 in the 300Dt?

An inquiring mind wants to know.

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I can relate to everything that you mention in the above post.

The 300SD will run away from the 300SDL at speeds below 30 mph. The SDL just feels very heavy and slow until the turbo kicks in. This is largely because the vehicle is running without sufficient fuel at low speeds. For those who have adjusted the ALDA on these, the performance improves significantly at low speeds. I haven't done it yet, mainly because I don't drive it around town enough to worry about it.

The power is there. You just need to press down those size 12's to get it.

As far as the cracked head is concerned, there really is no data to show that the trap will contribute to it. The theory is that the head may crack at some point if the engine was ever overheated. And, on the 603, this happens very fast if the belt is lost or coolant is lost. Most owners of these vehicles will have what is considered an overheat condition if any cooling system failure occurs. You have about 1 minute to get it shut off.

A wife is usualy pretty good at stopping you from doing things on impulse...........I mean you have to go to sleep sometime.

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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

BHD-

Yeah I know she says stupid things like "Tell me again what are we going to do with this car"? This is after I already told her twice that there is no rational explanation for why we need it.

1) I have plenty of things to do
2) It has an alloy "14" head
3) We have run out of covered storage space for the critters
4) I am constantly cursing the insurance companies that take our money
5) You can't find OM603 or many W126 parts in upullit
6) It has a level of complexity that I am a little uncomfortable with

Anybody have any wisdom on leaving a trap oxidizer on for 18 years?

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

Brian-

My major concern is the big-ticket expenses of the head, the sunroof and the A/C on these. The PO put in a compressor 2 years ago, but I wasn't really impressed with the system and I wonder if it needs more work.

Sure is an impressive boat, though. But what do I care- I'll never get into the back seat.

This is a struggle between reason and vanity

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I had similar concerns before I rolled the dice with this one. You are absolutely correct in that the head will set you back close to $3K by the time you finish everything and the a/c can suck up over $1K in parts. The sunroof is not all that bad. I've got an issue with this one regarding the inner panel that does not move with the roof.

They are significantly more costly to maintain than an SD.