Hey guys i just picked up an 1984 Mercedes 300SD. The car appears to be in pretty good shape. Runs and drives very nice and everything on the car works. I picked up the car in MD and drove it back to OH today and it ran very well. However the car does have 361k on it, it came with alot of service records and was taken good care of. What are some things that I need to look at for on this car? Also i was told that there is a wast gate mod i can do to improve performace by increasing the boost on the turbo. Is this safe to do? Any info would be helpful. Also I paid $1k for this car, was that an ok price? thanks
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$1000 sounds like a deal!

No need to turn up the boost...the car gets enough air in stock form to burn the fuel provided. More boost will not give any more performance.

To start out I would adjust the valves, clean out the banjo bolt, check the timing chain stretch and time the injection pump. That should keep you busy for awhile.

A search of any of the above topics will yield a lot of info for your reading pleasure.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

It's got 360K miles and you want to improve performance???

Where in Ohio are you?

Im in cincinnati.

$1000 is a good price for that car.

Go through the service records and see when the fluids/filters were changed last. Update them as necessary, that is the cheapest insurance you can get to prevent any major repair bill.

Check your fuel filter and the color of diesel in it, if it is black, time for some Biobor, do a search on fungus on this forum.

Did the car have a recent inspection sticker ? Get the safety inspection done and deal with safety issues ASAP. Check the front tires for uneven wear, front end allignment if necesarry.

You mentioned you drove the car for a while did you notice any oil loss ?

Wellcome to the forums

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'85 300 D Diamond in the rust

Yeah, where abouts in the Buckeye state are you? I'm 20 minutes west of Cleveland.

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1981 300 SD 213k miles "Stock for now"
1999 Super Duty 7.3L 113k miles
1981 300 SD 180k miles "Heavily modified" SOLD

Take a look at the tranny fluid, and change the filters and the fluid if you can't see when it was last changed. Also, I add about 8 ounces of a 50/50 mix of Diesel Service/Marvel Mystery Oil to about every other fill up. It seems to make a difference in starting and running in the cooler weather. Check your fuel filters for grime as well, and carry a spare set.

I've been in MB diesels with over 700k miles on them (taxis in Germany), so yours is just broken in.....Mine is a daily driver for business with a little over 245,000 on it, and (knock on wood) running strong.

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rdsw
Salem, NH
1984 300SD, 260k miles and counting

Thanks alot the advice guys. I live in Columbus OH, I drove the car from MD yesterday over 450 miles and it didn't use any oil at all. It also has a current inspection that was just done a few months ago. Everything on the car is in very good shape and there a many new parts, glow plugs, radiator etc. However the struts seem to be a little week, how hard are they to replace?

They take shocks not struts. Which is so much nicer. I havent changed them on a MB yet but i suspect they have two bolts at the top and two at the bottom. I would spend the extra money and replace with with the Billstein shocks that are desigend for the car. They last awhile.