Hi,
New to the forum. I'm a bit of a car nut and weekend mechanic. Mostly on antique Jeeps and GM vehicles, all gassers.

Started a new hobby of making Biodiesel about 3 months ago. Purchased a 97 Suburban diesel. Now have my Suburban and my house running on BD. Time to add something with better mileage that the wife might actually want to drive. Options in the diesel category seem to be limited to VW and MB, and I lean toward MB.

I see an '87 300SD automatic advertised locally and it looks attractive, and seller is asking $3000. I'm looking to this forum for guidance on what to look for as I investigate this vehicle. Are there big-ticket items (like IP, for instance) that are prone to fail on 300's of this era? Any quick tips on what to pay attention to when I inspect it? It has 260k miles.

Thanks for the help.

Mark in MA

Honestly, the best thing for you to do may be to pay for a pre-purchase inspection. Do you know of any independent benz shops in your area? Unless you are pretty familiar with these cars, I would get the inspection and use whatever they find for bargaining. Expect to pay around $1-200 for an inspection. $3000 sounds reasonable if the car's in good condition.

There is no "300SD" manufactured in 1987.

Either it's a "300D" which is the W124 body or it's the "300SDL" which is the significantly larger W126 body.

They are completely different vehicles and perform totally different tasks.

Sorry...It's a 300SDL. I guess I'm not totally clear on my MB nomenclature yet. Are you saying this is a totally different platform than a 300D?

Thanks

Mark in MA

It is a totally different chassis than the 300D. The vehicle is large with an extended wheelbase and is ill suited for city driving and parking. It's engine and driveline is suited for 70-85 mph cruising and it's not real happy with going from stoplight to stoplight.

The 300D was produced in the W123 chassis up to 1985. The W124 started in 1986.

87 300D is a smaller (124) vehicle. The 87 300 SDL is the larger 126 and has some very specific peculiarities to it.

the 300D is pretty stable. Can be very full of options or not.

The SDL will have all the bells and whistles, but the motor is known as the "Rod Bender". If it's already been taken care of, you probably have no concerns, but the important part would be to get the following:

1. Maintenance Documentation back to day 1.
2. A prepurchase inspection by someone familiar with the vehicles... (maybe a member here that's near you and would like to help?)

The SDL is a really nice car, however it can be an expensive toy if you don't have experience working on it.

__________________
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

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The '86 and '87 vehicles do not, except in rare cases, suffer from bent connecting rods. The problem is common to the 603.970 engine in the '90-'91 W126.


I agree.

Your house runs on BD? Furnace? Generator?

I don't think it was mentioned - the 87 300D and SDL have the same engine. Only the throttle linkage and oil filter cover are different.

Sixto
93 300SD

not that it is a big thing, but i found my sdl just fine around town. true a smaller benz would be better but it was not bad.

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.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=157045

Indy MB mechanic in MA.

__________________
1984 300D Turbo Diesel - 211700+ mileage (now sold)
http://www.maj.com/gallery/Ned/benz/sig.jpg
In any of my posts, it is safe to assume
that I'm talking about this car.

Find yourself either a shop that deals a lot with MBs or a dealership. There might be odd quirks that the indy might not know about if they don't work on them all the time. IMO, most indys work on anything that rolls or is pushed in. That makes them a "Jack of All Trades" and a master of none. Find the dealership that is there and get to know mechanics there.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I agree with the former.

A comment on the latter:

At the dealership where my brother is employed, there are about five techs that have any knowledge of vehicles that are out of warranty (older than five years).

There is nobody who has any knowledge of vehicles manufactured in the '80s.

The risk of the dealership performing incorrect repairs on an '80s vehicle is very high.

thats on the 350SDL with the OM603.97.. not the OM603.96...

Yes,
House is running on BD. My heat and hot water are both from oil-fired furnace. Set up a 55 gal drum of BD beside my oil tank and valved it to run either.

I went to look at the 87, and it turned out to be a 300D, not SDL. Car was beat on, and owned by college girl. Leaks oil, she adds it every 200 miles. Car won't start in park, you must put in neutral to start. Pass front seat motor and seatback were broken. Car wouldn't shut off. She usually floors it and then it will die with the key off, but it didn't when, so she hit a lever under the hood labelled "stop" and that killed it. Amateur bodywork to boot. Trust me, I didn't even entertain notions of purchasing this one.

BTW, no glow plugs for an 87? There was no wait light and she said you don't have to wait to start it.

Thanks for the help.

Mark in MA

Is the same college girl selling a bunch of diesels??? I just bought my 240 from a college girl who didn't understand the concept of glow plugs either. She would just get in it and crank it. Yes, the '87 has glow plugs and, yes, you must wait before you crank.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)