I didn't buy my diesel new, it has started in 1st gear since I've owned it, but it occurs to me that my previous M-B cars all started in 2nd gear.

Does anyone know if the '87 190D Turbo is supposed to start in 2nd or 1st?

How do you like it? How many miles?

I'm really diggin mine. Added a thicker front swaybar, replaced the cracked dash, replaced the glow plugs (a pain on that motor) fixed a ton of small stuff. Runs great on the biodiesel too. Fun car once the turbo kicks in. I can't imagine it in a N/A version.

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87 190D Turbo- Great Car
Running on B99 Biodiesel form the local Co-Op

Love it, been watching for another. Problem is so many of them are "rust belt" cars, or coastal Florida (even worse), it is rare to find a good one since so few were made and none in CA.

Miles are ??. Bought it with 180k on the clock, had stopped. Tranny was replaced, so I wasn't sure that the 1st gear start is original arrangement, I remember the 1st-gear-start valve-body being a common change to my 4matic.

Mine has the reactor campaign done, near perfect body, I have a perfect dash from a '92 in the basement, will go on soon along with the lower body cladding from the '92, the leather wheel, and the center console. Interior is perfect, pays to buy from a small lady / first owner. Not driven in salt, I drove it on/off last winter but never when wet, had a VR6 Vanagon Syncro for that.

Seems to run well on the highway, levels out around 120 but I don't like to see that RPM so only when the cobwebs need to be run out of it. Good fuel mileage, from low 40s on summer fuel with the tires full-hard to mid-upper 30s on winter fuel soft tires and cruise at 80. Try that in a hybrid LOL.

I do get tired of the lag, I tend to take off like a rocket all of the time because of the 2krpm boost, was in Chicago this week and found myself out-accelerating even the taxis, gotta learn to back out of the pedal when the boost comes on I guess.

I worry about the trans, have seen a bunch of 190DTs sell on fleabay, almost all of them have transmission trouble, might be poor mainttenance or might be the tendency to accelerate hard and shift under full boost.

I'm going to play with the bowden cable adjust today, make it shift sooner to reduce the shifting rpm/power, gets sideways on the 1-2 shift with anything other than dry pavement, needs a LSD for certain.

Thanks for the input, if 1st-gear start is normal with half-throttle I'll leave the valve body alone.

- Jeff Miller
190DT

FYI: MB made certain models of certain years start out in 2nd gear. The reason being is that they wanted the car to not creep forward when standing, such as at a stop light (I always thought that's what the brake pedal was for!). Some were made to stand in second and drive off in first, some stand in second and drive off in second, and others stand in first and drive off in first. And then there are some that are supposed to drive off in second but will drive off in 1st depending on the amount of throttle given. I have a table of all the models and how they were built, I guess I should PDF it and add it to the forum. According to the table the 190D from 1987 on were made to stand and drive off in 1st.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

Thanks, that helps a good deal.

- Jeff Miller
190DT

I have an 87 300D, and it has always started off in 1st gear, but my old 77 240D started in 2nd....go figure. You really had to stomp on the 240D to get it to kick-down to first...it's the one that should have started off in 1st!...those funky Germans!

The Tenor Man