Hi all - I'm looking to get a mid 80's diesel merc and think I found a good one. Champaigne 300SD with about 57K miles total ;-} Bone stock and in great shape save for it's been sitting 'for about a year' so I figure probably more like two. The owner did not prep it for storage... He said when it started dripping he just put cardboard undernieth.

My question to those who have knowlage on this; what will I need to do? Is it as simple as; drain all the fuel and replace all the fuel system seals and hose, change the motor and trans oil and then hand crank for a while before turning the key? Or can I expect main seals to have deteriorated, injectors to be cloged, or ...?

I plan on converting to wvo right away so the fuel system would be no biggie, but I was hopping to not have to replace the injectors...

Thanks for your input.

My 240 sat for a year. I checked the brakes first by pushing hard trying to blow a hose or something but they held.

Secondly I put a new battery in it...

And third I started it and drove it home, then changed the oil.

Been driving it ever since.

Diesel doesn't go bad like gas does so I wouldn't worry about draining it out.

What fluid was leaking???

You sure about the mileage?

Welcome!!!

Cheers,

Bill

Thanks for the welcome Bill -

I have not looked at it yet. I want to learn weather I 'should' look at it before I do. A coworker learned I drive a ford truck that runs on WVO and asked me if I want an old diesel merc. It belonged to his grandfather who bought it new and gave it to him when he couldn't drive anymore. He doesn't know what's leaking but it should be easy to tell. Sounds like I should take a look!

shawn

Yeah Shawn, I would certainly take a look.

Things to check....rust, tranny.

Many other things of course but those are the two biggest issues.

A/C seems to be a weak spot as well. Not all that important here but may be where you live.

Very possible the leak is from the return lines on the injectors. Cloth covered and run from cylinder to cylinder then back to the spin on fuel filter.

They wouldn't leak with the car sitting still though, only when running so that may not be the problem.

Cheers,

Bill

svswan,

First thing to check is the oil level in the crankcase. Next is to determine if the battery will hold enough charge to start the engine. Replace a bad battery or try jumping to a good battery with enough cranking amps. Then see if the GP work.

Now the engine is ready to start. Glow the GP for about 25 seconds and crank the engine. MY bet is it will start if it was running when it was last shut off .

If you open the fuel system, you are asking for trouble. You might have repriming it. 2 year old Diesel fuel is no problem. I've used Diesel fuel that was 10 years old with no problems.

P E H

why would you wait that long to use it !? did you find it? need to hear the story

__________________
1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

On gas motors we always change the oil before starting after hibernation. I know the bat is bad so I'll just bring the deep cycle I use for pumping veggie oil and a good pair of jumpers. If it fits I'll just drop it in.

Why not get into the fuel system? Is there trickyness about priming if it runs dry or is drained?

Thanks :-)

If it was me I would pull the glow plugs and squirt a little oil into each cylinder before attempting to start it.

Danny

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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svswan,

What makes the oil go bad just sitting in a cool engine?

BTW, they are engines not motors.

dannym,

That's a lot of trouble to go, R&R all the GP, for negliable results. If you have ever taken an engine apart after it has sit unused, you would see that there is a coating of oil inside on the moving parts. Also, that extra oil in the cylinders may make the engine harder to start.

P E H

84300DT,

I moved from one place to another but kept the original property and rented it out. I kinda forgot about the full tank of fuel I left there. That was 25 years ago when fuel was about $50 a gallon. Actually it was fuel oil not Diesel, but I couldn't tell any difference running in my '64 190D

So one day I had a need for the tank, and found it to be full. So I had to use the fuel before I could move the tank.

And that's the rest of the story.

P E H

Condensation can create problems in the oil and other places. It will kind of depend on what conditions it was stored in as to how many precautions would be a good idea to observe.

If it was garaged..... new battery, turn it a few turns by hand to make sure it turned over freely, prime the fuel if needed and let her rip! Then the best thing would probably be to take it for a good spin to get it good and warmed up, the longer the better. Then fluid changes.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

svswan,

There was a post here where the fuel system was drained and refilled, and the engine could not be started. Its best if you leave it alone. Diesel fuel does not deteriorate like gasoline.

Fungus will not get into the fuel system just because the car sat unused. Fungus has to be introduced to the fuel system by contaminated fuel being put in the tank. And then a biocide like Biobor has to be used to kill the fungus.


If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

P E H

I think it's the gas, or it could be just the act of sitting for so long. It's what I always hear. As long as it's not from the goverment I figure if I hear it enough there is probably some truth in it.

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm going to lube 'er up and hand crank before starting and we'll see what happens.

svswan,

If you Diesel has "GAS" in, that is a problem.

P E H

Tell me where the car is and I'll figure things out from there.

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012