I am closely watching the bids on this 91 350SDL i see on ebay. The car is very clean and I spoke to the owner and he says the car is in great shape. I know the 3.5 diesel engines are known for throwing a rod. I would like to know how I can tell? Can I tell by the VIN#? I also know that mercedes had "fixed" that problem by making them stonger or something? Here is the VIN,WDBCB35D1MA603266- Can this be decoded to see what head it has? Car has 175k miles. The owner told me that around 70k miles, the timing chain broke? Well thats what he told me. I was thinking a rod broke. But anyway, he paid about $8k to have the car fixed and has used the car till now. He put 100k miles on the car and he says he has no problems. Any suggestions

A rod does not "break". It typically bends very slightly on these engines. There is no warning. There are no symptoms............typically. Over time, the piston begins to ovalize the cylinder and the oil consumption goes up. The vehicle still drives perfectly fine and no other symptoms are apparent. That's why it's so sinister.

Finally, the owner realizes that something is amiss when it starts to run badly and the oil consumption is up to one quart every 100-200 miles or so.

The only thing you can ask the owner is the amount of oil consumption per 1000 miles. If he's honest and he tells you that it's burning a quart every 1000, or more, then you should avoid it. If he is dishonest, like most of the metal pushers on e-bay, then the question is moot.

You do know that you will pay very good money for one of these and roll the dice on an $8K engine, correct?

I do know how much it is for a new engine or for a rebuild. I am gasser MB guy but I have owned a few diesels awhile back. The PO says the car burns 1qt of oil every 2k miles. I am trying to look for an extremely clean 300SDL 86-87 but cannot find any. I can find some 350SD's and SDL's but I have a doubt they have a problem and that is why the owners are selling

Here it is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-300-Series-350-SDL-Turbo-5-Passenger-Sedan-Light-Ivory-Yr-1991_W0QQitemZ4602774468QQcategoryZ6330QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting


The seller has a perfect feedback rating. That's in your favor.........but...........how long has he owned the vehicle? At one point he states that there were two prior owners...........in the questions he states that he put 170K on the vehicle???

One quart every 2K miles doesn't sound all that comforting to me. It could be any number of little things........or it could be the big one........or it could be burning a quart every 1K miles.

Let's see what other folks have as an opinion regarding it. However, it's a crapshoot no matter how you look at it.

What about this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-300-Series-86-Mercedes-300-SDL-Turbo-Diesel-Beautiful-No-reserve_W0QQitemZ4603168239QQcategoryZ6330QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


It comes from a very reputable seller. He's been around a long time and finds quite a few older M/B. I'd take the risk with him.......sight unseen.

i ran a car fax on this car and it looks like this fellow got it in 1995 with 45k on the meter,it is a leased car but showed no other transfers . looks like pa only records the milage when a car is transfered(can some one help here). 21 years and 125k is low but possible.
u get time go read some post about the 3.5
larry perkins

of one of these rod benders, i would just say dont pay too much. mine seems to be fine with 150k on it, but if buying another one i would think very hard about it. i was not aware of the rod bending propensity of them. i paid 4k for mine and was told it needed a head gasket. so i now have bout 7k in it. if it bends a rod iwill build it back with a 3.0 block which doesnt hardly ever bend a rod.

unless it had a new motor i probably would not pay the bid that is already showing. 5200.

other than the minor (joke) business with the motor the car is a pleasure to drive. smooth quiet and powerful.

mine is pretty nice with a good looking not perfect body and almost perfect black leather interior.

tom w

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[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.

i just noticed i ran the car fax on the one brian listed, couldnt find yours on ebay so assumed brian was posting a link to it.
where is your car at on ebay?
larry

The link is in post #4, Larry.

ok brian straightened me out, the info i posted about the car fax is on the one you are looking at.
larry

The ivory color 350sdl on ebay is the one i am thinking about buying. the owner said a doctor owned it and up until the engine broke at 70k, then the owner now bought it and fixed it for a price or around $8k with receipts. The car looks clean and in working order but who knows what will come up in the future. Also, I have seen the prices of 350SDL's go way higher that the 300SDL? Why is that since they have a known problem that will haunt you if you are unlucky. I do know the 350 were only made for 2 yrs in the w126 body style but i dont think that should make it high value?

I was looking at a 350sdl in florida. It had 102k miles and was white. Looked awesome and I think it sold for $14k reserve met!

Larry, you mention 21 years.............is this the '86SDL and not the '91 that he was interested in??

The 350SDL's are four years younger than the 300SDL's and will command a higher price.

Who knows about this problem..........other than you and I..........and a few other folks on here???...........

#1- i did a boo-boo figuring the average miles since 1995 on the ivory car, thanks brian for catching that.
#2- when i first found the problem of engine failure on the 350 i had bought my first with a timing chain cover broke, broken oil pump and bad crank. so wrote a letter to mercedes explaining every thing,was refered back to the local dealer to work out details,dealer informed me that if i was the origional owner they would help as a favor(good will) as mercedes never admitted any bad workmanship or had recalls.
so if this engine failed while owned by the origional owner why did some one have to spend 8k??
better take a look to see what the 8k was for and unless that baffel plate was redesigned its coming loose.
larry

You would be amazed at how many MB experts don't know about the 350's rod bending issue.

It depends on how much risk you can live with, personaly I would really like a nice 350SD with ASR, 10 speaker sound system and all the modern stuff the W126's got in 1990. I would also be willing to live with the fact that one day she can blow.

fyi 603's tend not to burn much if any oil, not using oil between changes is very common unless the mileage is real high like 400k+.


Another option would be to hunt for a very nice 350 but with a blown engine. These cars come along and you can usually get them real cheap. Throw an updated long block in one and you will have a 350 with a fresh updated engine.

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