Hello all,

I've just entered the wonderful world or Benz. I picked up a '75 300D to fix up and convert to WVO eventually. I've been to 5 bone yards around here and have yet to see another w115 300D. I need the driver's side tail light and the passenger and rear seatbelts- which of course are different from all the other Mercedes I have found.

Also, the fuel filter is a cartridge filter like the oil filter, not a spin on, and the power steering pump has a remote reservoir... it's all kinda bass ackwards. I think it's Germany's pay back for getting wupped in two consecutinve world wars.

Does anyone have one of these monsters? It's like the forgotten first born before the 123 change in '76. I can't find any parts (filters and whatnot) and the haynes manual is all the wrong info... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I adjusted the valves, wiped the fuel filter down as best I could, put some Lucas engine treatment in the fuel, and adjusted the switch on the injection pump- it was set at 12000 ft, I dropped it down to below 4000 ft, as I'm at about 2000. I now have much more get up and go- there's no waiting for the engine to spool up, the 0-60 dropped from 33 seconds to 22... Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the whit smoke and improve reliability/ drivebility? I know it's diesel smoke and not a blown head gasket, as it lingers and gets blown away instead of evaporating.

Also, the power steering goes away intermittently and I have manual steering for a while- I think the pump may be going. Any idea if I can rebuild it, as it's not the same as the widely found w123 model? The only other prob I have is a scraping sound from the rear passenger wheel- I think it may be the wheel bearing, as it's not pulling, so I asume it's not the caliper. Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Michael

It's a bit of a hike from Chino, but there's a W114 gasser sitting in the Pick-N-Pull in Mound House (near Carson City). I don't know, but I think some of the parts may interchage with the W115.

White smoke=unburned fuel. A little on startup is normal. A lot on startup could be a problem with the glow plug system. If you get it after the engine is warmed up, injectors may be the problem.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

About your rear seat belts- W123 rear belts will work, you just have to dig the out from behind the panel on the parts car. The trouble with these are that the belt locks up in any position except vertical. This is due to a bearing which moves into position during a rollover and it has no other function. The bearing is very easily removed and the belt can be used in the W115 horizontal hat rack mount. This is what I had to do due to my car not coming with rear belts. The other option is installing lap belts but using w123 shoulder belts is far better.

Your grinding from the rear well is probably the brakes. Mine on the passenger side wore one of the pads all the way down to the metal backing which made a nice grinding sound when the brakes where applied with no pulling. Ended up overheating and siezing the caliper and warping the rotor so badly the it could have passed for dinner bowl. Might want to pull the wheel off and check.

There should be two fuel filters and they are the same as the w123.

Do a valve adjustment, helped the smoke for me.

Frankly I've never noticed the switch on the pump doing much of anything

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'84 190d 2.2 - Silver
Converted to 5-Speed
'84 190d 2.2 - Blue
Factory 5-Speed

'76 300D (W115)
Sold, found again in less auspicious circumstances

Hi Michael.

You might want to try these guys.
http://www.mercedesdismantlers.com/
Click the photo tab and you'll see why.
I don't know how far this is from where you live.

Good luck with your benz.

Louis.

there is a W115 300D for sale near me.. it has 450k on the odometer and has a cruddy repsray

I guess that, if you like the challenge, the car is worth restoring, but the W123 platform was a big improvement over the 115. I was looking for a MB back in '78 and a knowledgeable friend told me to hold out for a W123. I eventually bought a new '78 240D.

Good luck with your projects.

The 123 may be a functional improvement, but I just love the look of the 114/115 body with the vertical headlamps...especially the older ones with the little smooth taillamps and skinny bumpers.

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2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

I agree. I worked for MB in '75 and '76 and loved the 115 for its compact size, rugged styling and handy road manners. Used to drive the hell out of the 300Ds. When the 123 debuted later, I viewed it as an upstart imposter .

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'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate

My '75 300D has cannister fuel filter, '76 had spin-on. Worse thing about W115 is changing oil filter. Must be done from below and at a convoluted angle. Oil spill required. Air and Oil filters have always been hard to find.

Tighter turning radius than W123, not as quiet or smooth a ride but fun to drive. Nice uncomplicated heat/AC controls.

Have a '75 300D (black) which needs steering work, but engine starts right up and runs good that is for sale. Body in good shape for age. Not street driveable until front-end work done. Needs new tires. Email me if anyone wants more info.

Asking $500. Central Alabama

Joe
kd4a@netzero.net

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Joe Myers

'83 300D (light blue)
'82 300TD (off white - parked)
'87 300SDL (silver)

'75 300D (black - sold)
'76 300D (beige - totaled by pizza delivery car)
'82 300D (metalic blue) sold

Dana, how exactly is the W115 compact? I guess it was compact compared to everything else at the time.

phoenix02 - how is the rust factor on your car?

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

w123x3...does the car drive at all, or would it have to be trailered? I'm in a suburb of St. Louis MO.

__________________
2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

Do I have a weird car or something? The metal fuel line comes up on the driver's side of the engine compartment, connects to a rubber line that goes to a metal canister in front of the IP. the banjo bolt comes out of this and has a line going to the IP. I opened the canister (unscrewed the banjo) and took out the filter- it's a canister filter and looks like a smaller version of the oil filter. I don't see the spin on or the inline filter anywhere that are on the w123.

I don't have the parcel shelf mount for the rear belts, so I'll probably have to just use aftermarket lap belts.

Anyone have any ideas about the pwer steering pump with the remote mount reservoir? the pump is at the bottom right of the engine, under the fuel filter canister.

Thanks!
-Michael

There's very little rust at all- a little bubbling of the paint in a few places, but almost no cancer at all underneath or anywhere else I have found yet. It looks like the original buttercup yellow paint with a black canvas landau top. Oh btw- on one side of the star on the hood, it's painted red but is very chipped- any reason this would be factory, or should I strip it and get it back to the chrome?

Oh, and any ideas where I can get the newer style glow plugs that would fit in my engine? I've only seen the loop ones in my size. can I wire the loops in parallel, or do I have to find the newer style?

Where do I get the canister fuel filter? Do you have a model number or anything? Mine just says made in portugal.

0Michael

Phoenix02

Wonder if there is a filter in the bottom of the external PS reservoir? Had forgotten it has enternal reservoir.

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Joe Myers

'83 300D (light blue)
'82 300TD (off white - parked)
'87 300SDL (silver)

'75 300D (black - sold)
'76 300D (beige - totaled by pizza delivery car)
'82 300D (metalic blue) sold

The fuel line from the tank should be connected to a clear prefilter. Perhaps the PO used another filter assembly of sorts. You can of course change it to a clear plastic prefilter easily before the fuel goes into the IP.

The felt like secondary fuel filters can be bought on Fastlane at the top of the page. The 76 model has a spin on filter but the 74 does not so I guess 75 was the last year for the "submerged" fuel filter.

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k