1979 300SD Turbo Diesel - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

79300sdtd · #1 01-17-2006, 12:41 PM

I am new to mercedes, unless you count washing them then I am a pro. But I am about to buy a '79 300SD Turbo Diesel with 323000 miles for $550. The girl says that her dad is a MB mechanic (her mom and stepdad coroberate this).

Upon start up (after cycling the plugs a few times) the whole car shakes while the glow plugs flash. There is a bit of smoke untill warm up then only in an hard acceleration. Inital movement seems to be comprimised by a little slippage (if from a rolling stop it seems fine). The 1-2 shift seems to be late and or very hard. other than that shifts fine up and down. There is a puff of blow by for each cylinder at idle. After warm up purrs like a kitten.

The needs: she says glow plugs, possibly injectors, tranny adjustment, rear exhaust hanger, rear shock absorbers. And i don't really know how the blower for the hear/ac works on the inside.

I would like to know if this seems to be a decent buy. I am pretty mechanically inclined (engine swap on a 86 Mazda RX-7, timing belt change on a 87 subaru wagon, along with all my own keep up on my cars), and my neighbor is a diesel mechanic for a School District.

I would also like to know some general info on the car. From what I read here i think it si W123 body style but what about the engine?

79300sdtd · #2 01-17-2006, 12:42 PM

more pics...

boneheaddoctor · #3 01-17-2006, 12:49 PM

DO a search on W116 as that is its chassis.....I have one the same year...with 120K miles...outside of SOME of the driveline few parts interchange from the shorter, narrower and originally much cheaper W123

KylePavao · #4 01-17-2006, 01:04 PM

If the body isn't terribly rusty and you think you can remedy the other problems yourself, buy it! A W116 Body in Pristine shape with the engine dead will fetch 500 dollars by itself. Have the car checked buy a mechanic, see what he says about the engine. If transmission is on its way out, worst case is you put in a rebuilt/junkyard unit. If you can Swap an RX7 engine the transmission shouldn't be difficult for you to replace IF it is toast...

My W115 300D came to me in awful shape body wise, rust and what not, but mechanically it was ok. I dumped about a grand into the body, and now it looks great. If you have no rust, then I'd say take a stab at it. Worse case is you have a really sweet looking 550 dollar ornament for your driveway.

Jmana · #5 01-17-2006, 01:16 PM

If I could find something like that deal in my area, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

dunl · #6 01-17-2006, 02:45 PM

I have the same one, also "Astral Silver", but one year older.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=133392

Bought it for $4000 in pristine condition, with a/c and door locks not working. Also had a servo issue (heat/air controller), so I swapped it out for heat right now, but am looking to replace it closer to summer (IOW, wait 6 months to find part in my area lol).

Looks like a nice unit....check the jacking points for rust.

boneheaddoctor · #7 01-17-2006, 02:55 PM

Since you are new I will post mine again.....

Also a 1979 300SD

86560SEL · #8 01-17-2006, 03:29 PM

Sounds like a good deal to me *IF* the body is good and solid (or with very minimal rust). I cannot tell from the photos. You should pull up the floor mats (if possible) and check for rust under them, or try to look under the car closely. Also look in the trunk and at the front frame mounts (inside the wheel wells - behind the front tires).

The interior on this car looks very good and well cared for. All of those other issues you mentioned are probably just adjustments that are called for.

Good luck!!