Another '87 300TD Money Pit Honey Car
 

Well it looks like I am in the early stages of supporting a money pit honey car. She is beautiful, teal green with no rust and a great interior. The kids love to ride in that third seat facing backwards. She runs strong, her journey has taken her only 168,000 miles. But she needs some help to make it far into the future. Her mechanic says a possible valve or head job is needed on that 22 head of hers (she smokes oil), along with a new rear differential, control arms, spindle etc.....her accumulators and struts are OK. Not to mention the electrical failures. But since she has a sound body we will likely make the initial 4-6K repairs and get her back on the road on a regular basis on B100.

Looking good, I love me those wagons...

Good luck on the repairs, and get a second opinion on the major things, if you find someone really knowledgeable with the diesels it can help a lot, sometimes things that are an 'obvious' problem for gas engines might be something much different on a diesel, and you want to make sure that the problem is a real one before dumping too much money into it.

Have fun!

peace,
sam

I got rid of my 87 300D...
 

The great news is the heads always crack, so you will do good to get a new one.

Man I miss my 87 300D, she could float down the highway at 120 mph, a real hell of car, but just not as simple as the 85 W123 versions. But what a money pit, the control arms bushings need to always be replaced. the vacuum system for the CLS is problematic, too many gizmos, new blower motor, new aux pump, new vacuum pds and that damn aluminum head. A great car and very powerful but a real money pit....I am glad I sold mine and kept my 85 300D instead

You got that #22 head- so you are ahead of the game. #22s are the updated redesigned head that doesn't crack when overheated. Try just replacing the valve stem seals so you don't have to pull the head. Way cheaper and may solve your problem. Wish I had me one of those wagons. Best of luck with that beaut.

I am surprised a 22 head needs any work. The original installer must have done a poor job.

Welcome to the club these old cars are sure money pits.:D

Happens to the best of them. gsxr has an oil leak in the #6 exhaust port of one of his 603s. He installed that -22- head.

What happened that it needs a diff at 160K miles?

Sixto
87 300SDL

I really like that color combination on the W124 chassis - The W124 Diesel wagons have been fetching surprising amounts of $$$$ on e-bay lately. If the body is as clean as you stated I would not worry about dropping 4-6k to get the car in first class shape.

Her mechanic claims that the valve seals cannot be properly changed unless the head is off. Anyway we have decided to just check/change the injectors to see how it affects the smoking as alot of the smoke appears to be unburned B100. The differential is OK, all the rear suspension bushings need replaced. There is about 3/4 inch of vertical free play on both rear wheels when on the rack. The car has absolutely no rust on the frame or body panels/doors, only under the battery. We plan to hold off on the head repair and see what happens. After fixing we plan to sell the C320 gasser wagon.

Well at least it'll be back on the road as opposed to the scrap yard! Best of luck with it. :)

Keep a lookout at oil consumption, I'd hate to hear it ran low on oil

Welcome to the club...:)
 

If you keep up with the maintenance these cars will go for a long time. Mine still has the #14 head with no issues and <1 deg of timing chain stretch. Change the oil often.

BTW love those cross bars on the roof rack, wish mine had em:(
Love the car either way:)

What's a "22" Head"
 

I've read some of the postings and I too have a wonderful 1987 300D Turbo...but what's a 22 head?

the tenor man

I wish I had the factory crossbars, I only have the THULE ones. I carry building supplies and sea kayaks on them.The factory ones are flush with the longitudinal rack.

What's a "22" Head"
 

Conduct a search in this forum and you will find a lot of information on these 603 engines and heads. A 22 head is a later design that supposedly is less prone to cracking while overheating. It looks like I will need to machine mine with a valve job, not cracked, just maybe from someone's poor maintenance or installation in the past.

How do you tell if you have the "22" head?
 

Hello,

I'm curious now...is there a way to tell if my 603 engine has the "22" head?

I bought the car used from an old lady...(really!) who bought it new.

The tenor man