Bought an '83 300TD! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

veggie190 · #1 10-07-2006, 01:43 AM

Last spring I sold my first Mercedes, 190D, and I've finally got another. It came from my uncle who had it in CA for 5 years where it mostly sat. It is a 1983 300td wagon with 137k. It's in great shape, and after changing filters and fluids (oil, trans, ps, coolant) it is running great too. I am very excited to finally be a W123 owner!

I got the car a week ago and it had several small problems that I've been fixing.

1. Bad master cylinder (fixed)
2. Split breather hose (fixed)
3. No fuel cap

(fixed)
4. Broken check valve (fixed)
5. Nitrogen Accumulators bad (not fixed)
6. Bad blower motor (not fixed)
7. Cruise control hiccups (not fixed, no idea how to)

I've been planning on bringing it in to get the nitrogen accumulators fixed but after reading on this forum I may try and do it myself. The back right rear sits about 2 inches lower than the left making me think the self-leveling suspension valve might need rebuilding.

The blower motor should be a fairly easy diy job. I've found several posts on it. When going down the freeway air comes out of the system a little and the temp definitely does change with the climate control. I just wish it was a blown fuse!

I've heard burned out tail lights can affect the cruise control. One of my license plate bulbs is out, could that affect my cruise?

So far I've been averaging 25-26mpg. I plan to do a wvo conversion in a few months but have yet to pick a system.

Jeremy5848 · #2 10-07-2006, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veggie190

6. Bad blower motor (not fixed)
7. Cruise control hiccups (not fixed, no idea how to)

I've heard burned out tail lights can affect the cruise control. One of my license plate bulbs is out, could that affect my cruise?

Would that all cars have blower motors so easy to replace! You may be able to replace the motor brushes and save yourself some dough. Lots of posts here on that subject. However, if the commutator of the motor is worn as well as the brushes (mine were), you will have to replace the whole motor. Also remember that there is a set of resistors in a box on the passenger side inner fender; they regulkate blower speed and can cause the blower to not work although they rarely fail. Finally, the climate control electronics itself can cause problems although it sounds like yours is working. I would pull the blower and check it first, then go from there.

The cruise control needs to have one brake light bulb working as one of its circuits grounds through the lamp circuit (that's how it knows to turn off when you hit the brakes). The license lamp circuit is not involved. You probably should pull the cruise amplifier (it's in an aluminum box under the driver's side dash) and resolder all of the connections on the little pc board. Again, lots of threads here on doing that job. That fixes many cruise control problems (half or more reported here).

Good luck and congrats on the new ride.

Jeremy

JimmyL · #3 10-07-2006, 01:59 AM

Boy do you need to update that signature.....
Welcome to the wagon world, and nice looking one at that. Trust me, you can do the accumulators yourself quite easily. In your search on the subject, just head the advice on securing the car on jack stands and/or ramps. It will come down. Don't worry about the valve until you replace the accumulators. Remember, a wise MB'er told me, "it's always the accumulators"....... Been right on 2 of my wagons so far.

bgkast · #4 10-07-2006, 02:45 AM

Gorgeous! Have you thought about making your own biodiesel rather than going the WVO route? Take it from somebody with experience you will spill oil and it would be a shame to grease up the carpet in the back of that wagon...it's bad enough in my trunk.

veggie190 · #5 10-08-2006, 07:38 PM

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely be doing those repairs soon!

I ran into another 300td wagon owner on a rural road in MN today. He followed me as I was stopping and told me he had the exact same car at home. He recently finished converting his car to wvo with his own homeade kit. His wife was in a hurry for dinner so we couldn't talk too long but he has invited to come look at his system. Small world, I never would have thought I'd run into another w123 wagon owner running wvo in rural MN!

TchTchr · #6 10-08-2006, 11:40 PM

Nice wagon! Replace those accumulators. My wagon sagged overnight so a few weeks ago I rebuilt the valve body and adjusted the height. After that, it rode like a basketball. We looked like bobble head dolls going down the highway. I put new accumulators and sway bar connectors (the plastic z-shaped pieces) and releveled last weekend, and I can't believe the difference in the ride. I converted it with a Greasecar kit last February and so far so good.