I have had a couple of diesel VWs and have always loved diesel. I got out of i a couple of years ago and I've got Rudolph's Syndrome (feel free to use it. $5.99 per use) pretty bad.
I bought a Scirocco a while back and was planning on doing a TD swap into it eventually, but the motors are prohibitively expensive, so I'm driving it with the gas engine.
Yesterday I was driving past a dealership in the area and spotted a metallic blue '85 300D. My wife and I pulled in and the dealer let me poke around in it.

The good:
The engine idles well and starts immediately, even cold.
Decent rubber
Factory power sunroof, works
Power windows that work
Suspension and brakes seem OK
A/C, condition unknown (see below)
Paint is intact with extensive oxidation on the hood and trunk.
No rust
Engine bay seems un-tampered with. Nothing looks to be obviously missing
Doesn't seem like it's ever been wrecked.
It's German.
It's a tank.


The bad:
Gutless. I don't really know what these things should be making for power so I don't have a reference point.
Throttle does next to nothing until it hits the floor, then not much more at that.
Transmission shifts HARD. Far above and beyond what I'd call reasonable.
Stereo system was forcefully removed. Climate controls were probably damaged because the dash fan seems inoperative. Can't test the A/C.
I couldn't hear the turbo spool, so I have no idea if it's functional.
Rear seat has been removed and not reinstalled, could need some work.
Trunk stuck shut. From what I've read it's an easy fix but I'm not going to educate him.
Seat belt on the driver's seat is inoperative/damaged.



All in all, not too bad really. The only things that worry me are the tranny and the lack of power, unless that's normal. What would be a good baseline and what is the highest I should go?

One more thing... Can one change the turbo to something bigger? Is it reasonably easy to add an intercooler? Can I disable the LDA on the fly to make it run lean on the highway?

Many thanks in advance.

you can put a bigger turbo on, but without adding an EGT guage boost guage, intercooler, modifying the IP, etc.. you can turn the alda out to get more power off the line ...the transmission is shifting hard due to either a vacuum issue or some other stupid problem..id offer 1500

to inspect the turbo remove the U-tube and check for ease of spin and axial play.. you want it to spin freely and no axial play..and check the ALDA line it could be broken or clogged full of EGR crud

Oops, forgot to mention. 158,000 miles.

Bigger turbo will make it SLOWER off the line. 300D's are one of the hardest cars to install an intercooler. It already runs lean on the highway, disabling the ALDA will do nothing.

From the description, $1500. $2000 would be too high.

Hi Kynetx.

These links all have good info.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=161668&highlight=clogged+banjo+bolt

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=160513&highlight=clogged+banjo+bolt

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=24796&highlight=clogged+banjo+bolt

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=158216

You could bolt on a bigger turbo but you would also need to turn up
the fuel delivery on the fuel pump.
These w123s had 125hp when new, so not really a race car.
But 200hp is possible but no without turning up the fuel.

I would however first try to get it back to producing the 125hp.
20+years and 185k miles who knows what the hp is now.
Without turbo it could be as low as 85hp.
Bringing the turbo up to snuff would help a lot.

Louis.

__________________
Not always the smartest but certainly not dumb?

Rust is the killer of these cars. If there is no rust it is a good car.
If the paint can be buffed/polished to a good shine, thats a plus, becasue it is a pain to remaove all the required trim to do a good repaint.

The interior and climate control can be expensive; make wise use of recycling yards.

This might be a good car, but only if you do your own work--if you have to pay for any repairs, it could be expensive.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Power problem could be a fuel system error i.e. stopped up fuel filter, tank screen, etc. Check the simple stuff first and forget changing the turbo. The car will run fine with plenty of power with the stock turbo.

Hard shifts are most likely a plugged/disconnected vacuum line.

Why was the back seat removed?? Hmmmm.....

The trunk being stuck shut is most likely a vacuum problem with the locking system.

Climate control system may be shot. Possibly an expensive fix.

Price? I disagree with the previous $1500. Lowball the dealer. He won't get squat for it at auction and it will take a very special buyer to sell it off the lot in the condition that its in. Personally I wouldn't pay more than $500-$700 for it. By the time you get the obvious fixed you could have $1000 or easily more in it. Then, once you start driving it, the not so obvious problems will manifest themselves costing you more $. So go low on a questionable car.

Is the body nice? Interior clean meaning no or few dash cracks, rips in upholstery, etc.? Fluid leaks? Whats the front end componets like i.e. does she track/break straight? Play in steering wheel? Water leaks in the cabin? Did you check the well next to the area where the hood hinges are for rust? Inspection items need to be assesed as well such as glass, lights, wear to brake pads, etc.
Good luck and let us know what you wind up doing....


Cheers,

Bill

The stealership wasn't officially open today, a salesman was just in there doing some paperwork, so he didn't want me to take it more than a couple of blocks today. I'll probably be back tomorrow to take it on a more comprehensive drive. I'll then post up how the suspension works at speed.

mybenz123, thanks a ton for those links. Looks like the vacuum system is shot, considering that central locking doesn't work, climate control is unresponsive, transmission shifts like it's very angry at me and the trunk is stuck shut. I assume the central locks work like Saabs, where the driver's lock serves as the control point for the whole car.

if it shuts off without having to go under the hood to turn it off then the system isnt that far gone.. my vac system with 263k on it works good (knock on wood)

Now that you mention it, there was a delay. On VWs, the shutoff valve was electromechanical so it was instantaneous. When I turned the key to the off position on the Benz there was a half-second or so delay before the fuel was actually cut off.

AND it's really 158K miles, more like 4K for the ride would be tops. The fact that it's slow, brings that down to 3K, eventhough it's probably, most likely, a tweek needed, or a turbo boost pipe cleaning.

OOPS I missed somemore of the bad maybe 3K is a little high, I mean apparantly it looks pretty bad, so maybe 1K

Expect the tranny to shift bad until the engine runs it's RPM range well. i.e. engine not running right,,, tranny not shifting right. PERIOD.

Look for rust, that is REALLY the only killer of these cars. at 158K she's just broken in. easy get another 100K miles with no major work.

Good luck

Marty

Kynetx,

Make sure the Odometer is working. My wifes 84 300D only has 119k on the Odo, but when we bought it it only registered 22 miles on the first 50 miles we drove it, then it stopped altogether.

I'm fighting some vacuum gremlins...I don't think they're going to be all that bad.

I'd make the dealership replace that seatbelt, if you don't click it, you get a ticket....so make them fix that period regardless of the price.

ACC problems can get very expensive, but if everthing is basically there, I wouldn't worry a lot about it.

AC problems however, are VERY expensive...and if you can't prove it, well, then consider it non-functional and a $1500 fix (even if you can do it for $20 !!) It's a really good bargaining chip.

Where in TX are ya? (or am I reading to much into that name?)

__________________
1998 W202 C230 - The money pit of late.
1984 W126 300SD (356,800 miles) Gone to the wrenchapart
1984 W123 300D Gone to the wrenchapart
1972 W108 280SE 3.5 (sold but not forgotten)
1986 Buick Grand National 3.8l Turbo (86k miles)
1966 Glassic Model 'A' Replica http://www.glassicannex.org

http://banners.wunderground.com/weat...Round_Rock.gif

I don,t know if I should post a new thread or just ask down here but here it is....
what are your opinions on what I should offer on a 1981 300d silver faded beyond buffing repair but not ugly, brown dash no cracks/tan interior only one small worn hole in drivers seat. 135k, engine looks pretty clean. only problems I know of are the interior drivers handle doesn't work, front passenger window slides freely about 4 inches up and down, and the a/c doesn't work. clean trunk, and hood hinges have no rust. just a little on the leading edge of the roof where it meet the sunroof. How much would you pay? asking $1500
also since it is an 81 I had no luck with carfax info.....

__________________
83 TD wagon "Madge" PO's given name. 410k (150k engine)

Hah, I could see how you could reach that conclusion. I'm from Everett, WA. Guess I should fill out that profile.

Little update:

I went in today to take another test drive and do a little looking around. Vaccuum systems for climate, trunk release, central lock and tranny (got it open with the key, to their amazement) are shot. ALDA sense line to the manifold is shot. Odometer is shot, so mileage is indeterminate.


They wanted 3 grand for it. What a bunch of idiots. I talked them down a little and I'm gonna give them a couple of days to sweat. If it sells, I wait. Mean time, I'm gonna sell my Scirocco so I have some cash in hand.

"But I paid $1490 for it!"
"You got ripped off."

Ahahahaha. Idiot.

__________________
1978 Ford F-150 351M
2002 Kia Spectra 1.8l 5-sp
1985 Volkswagen Scirocco 8V 1.8l 5sp
1985 MB 300D Turbo California

"Die Natur verabscheut Vakuum"