Hello,

I own an '88 300e. Great automobile. I have been looking for a diesel for my son. I have come up on a 83 300cd turbo. Never owned a diesel. This car has 196K miles, new AC, new rebuilt tranny (11000 miles). Pretty clean vehicle for its age, and runs whether well. Maintained by a MB tech for the last 9 years. Could I get some info on what to look for and/or check on the car? Also, are these models a rare breed? Thanks for your help.

Marks88

moraine,

Thanks for the info. I also, find the 123 model body style very appealing. Will take a closer look later this week. I'm really on the fence on this one. Still trying to talk down the price. I hate to let this one go, but.....

Marks88

Marks88
I have an older one, it's an '80, and a real beauty... until I got rear ended! I'm still sick. I bought what I thought was a replacement for it..an '81 300SD. Haven't had it long enough to get a feel for it. Where ever I went in the CD it would turn heads. The '83 you're looking at is a good model, I believe anything '82 and later are good because they got away from the servo for the climate control. If you DO look at the earlier models, the way you can tell if they have the servo is by the buttons for the a/c-heat. If they are vertical, they are the older style, if they run horizontal then they are newer style with the mono valve. You can also identify the servo under the hood. Its mounted on the right fender close to the alternator. It has a bunch of vacuum hoses and wires coming out the back and four heater hoses on the bottom. I believe these gizmos have a fairly high failure rate AND they are expensive!
Look on autotrader.com and you'll get a good idea of what they are going for. When you get one..swing by and take me for a spin.

moraine..
I'll never give up on the CD's.. so while still wishing, I was looking on autotrader and came across a CD convertible. I figured a typo, but they had a photo, and sure enough.. it was a convertible. I looked back again today and it's gone. Ever hear of one?
Ernie

Hello to all,
I have to calm down, THIS SITE IS KNOWLEDGE THANK YOU ALL! Yes, I am a 78 CDer no T.
Mark88 From a production view these cars are the rarest of the 123's. However what moraine may mean (which is just an observation) is that CD's are still available because the owners take such a personal interest in them and keep them in good shape. I recently combed upon a 280CE (same body, gas engine) for a parts vehicle (even rarer than the CD). The 80 vehicle had a salvage title but was full of good parts (palamino interior, 70%new a/c parts, wood in B+ shape rims chromed, all chrome in A shape(SWEET!))Anyway (calm down) where I am going with this is, 1) if the appearance (trim,exterior,interior) is in over all good shape, and the diesel appears to run and shift smoothy, I would lean over the fence and grab this one! None of us are sorry, or dissapionted in our pillerless cruizer! beware you may want to give the 88 E to your son and keep the CD!

to answer the thread: glass rubber gaskets becomes brittle and water tends to "pocket" in the rear glass channel. open trunk and look above trunk hinges(this is where the cancer starts) replace gasket if any wear is visual. (pay little now or lot later) also on the inside lower edges of the doors is a rust area. Ageeing with moraine on the availablity of any vital parts swap from the D's however anything that is unique to this MB car ( chrome around windows, discontinued interior trim panels, seats, UPPER WINDOW WEATHERSTRIPPING $335.00 EACH for a custom piece of rubber with felt....yikes!HELP anyone?) will be taxed accordingly. the older ones (mine) with the Chrysler, yes Chrysler HVAC servo was a design flaw in that the hot water running through the lower plastic unit tended to crack over time which may not have been visable from exterior but most of the time contaminated the upper electrical parts and siezed the whole system. There is a vendor in Atlanta A.S.A.P. that machines the lower part of the unit in metal with a lifetime warranty. See if the sponsor Partshop can order you one. If you have never been in a 123 diesel don't let it initally scare you, these 5 banggers are a little shakey/noisey but it's all character! they go down the road smooth as a babys bum and potentally can last a long time..(breath)..... wheeeeew. As you have figured out by now, I am a windbag for CD MBs (biased) Good luck Marks88


to all: I have seen a AMG version 123 coupe on a euro site looked like shrunkin sec, no thanks. would be curious to see a C123 convertibles enginering/butchering, but cars made from factory with roof should keep roof, how could anyone butcher a C123? it's like putting indaglow in a Rolex. some things just don't mix.

Becker radios:I worked in the past for the North American MB distrubutor for Becker and Hirchman (antenne).Piles and Piles of Grand Prix's and Mexico's for warranty exchange. Who else in Germany put these piles in there oem production? Who ever sold these over the counter? Sad because they had a homerun hitter down the street.........Blaupunkt! my .02 long cents.
thanks for reading and responding
CD in SC

Gentlemen,

Well, I have joined the ranks of the oil burners I have purchased the 83cd-t that I have been looking at. After a few days of intense negotiations that baby is in the driveway. It does need some TLC, but not a bad deal for its age.
Special thanks for those folks who help me feel a little better about diesels. After doing some detailing, I hope to post a few pics. Thanks to all.....

Marks88

You made the right choice, Pillerless is the way to go! I still say give the 300e to Jr. and cruise in the CD! CD in SC.

moraine....

I would like your advice if you have a moment. I just purchased an '85 300CD (Turbo, I do not know if all the 85's were).

This particular car was parked on the side of the road and looked great (at least from a distance). Teal with ivory interior. I just got stupid and bought the car... did not even take it to the dealer to be checked... it was obvious that the car had not had all of the care it deserved, but what can I say... it was so attractive!

Anyway a quick $2k later at the local MBZ dealer I drove the car 1,100 miles from Spokane to Las Vegas. I figured I would have better luck getting the a/c fixed in Vegas than Spokane... but that is another story.

I was disappointed in the fuel mileage on the way down. As you own an '85 I was hoping you could set me straight. Everyone has told me this car should get about 25mpg around town and 28+ on the highway. However, using the cruise control whenever it decided to work (I think it is possessed)and holding a pretty steady 68-70mph I averaged about 21mpg on each tankful from Spokane to Vegas.

My real mph might be slightly different, but I do not think to much. I replaced the stock 14" wheels (the tires were shot and the wheels needed help) with the 15" "S-Class" wheels from 1985. My speedo works fine, but the odometer has taken a vacation at 153,000 miles.

Part of the money spent at the dealer went to replace most of the front suspension, all of the filters, adjust the valves, adjust the doors so they would close, and fix the vacuum so the doors would lock. One mechanic I spoke with here in Vegas thinks the injection pump timing needs to be reset, but another says that is hogwash I probably need new injectors, ... still another thinks that 21mpg is just fine for this car!

What is the "Real Story" (please forgive the Paul Harveyness of the request)???

Thanks,

Steve A

Ps. Does anyone know the forumla for figuring out how much change I made to the speedo? I went from 195-70-14 tires to 205-65-15.

moraine

The "diesel purge" you mentioned... Do you take a bottle of this and stick the fuel delivery hose in the bottle so you are running the pure stuff through the engine? Where do you disconnect the line?

If you are getting 23 in town and 28 on the highway then I definately have some type of "issue" that needs to be addressed. I will look over the list you mentioned and see if any of the "good" shops happen to be in Las Vegas. The service writer at the dealership in Spokane is very knowledgeable on these cars as he has worked at the same dealership for 30 years. However the amount of work you get for the price paid seems to be lacking. As I asked him to replace all filters, adjust the valves, etc... I thought he would have had them check the chain stretch, the injection timing, the injectors for pattern and wear, etc. knowing that this car had questionable maintenance for the last number of years.

I appreciate your assistance,

Steve

moraine,

Let me see if I have this straight in my little mind. I am going to put the purge (this is different stuff than the 85+ I take it) into a jar and set up the hoses so it circulates through the engine. The unused fuel being directed back to the jar, then back to the engine...

Eventually the level of the jar will become low and I will discontinue the procedure before allowing air into the system.

Have I got it?

Steve

Moraine... or anyone else with information...

The lead mechanic at the Mbz dealer suggested that I take the CD to a local shop J+S Diesel to have the injection timing checked. This shop normally only works on big diesel trucks, but as they are the local Bosch dealer they are obligated to work on Mercedes also. (the dealer is kind of an "old grouch" even though he is youger than I am he think mbz people expect him to drop everything and kow tow to them and their schedules)

Anyway they removed and flow checked my injectors... all came out in great shape, checked compression... all cylinders were excellent, and then set the injection pump timing... here was the problem! The injection pump timing was off 6 degrees.

1-Is there anything other than stretching of the timing chain that could account for that much difference?

2-If I assume that the timing chain has stretched enough to cause a 6 degree change, how much of a problem is that? I know that it is a major disaster to have the chain break, so I have no wish of risking that. Is a 6 degree stretch an indication of imminent problem? At what amount is replacement of the timing chain called for? I have read posts of folks that have operated on the original timing chain for 300,000 miles, but I have no desire as I said to court disaster.

The dealer cannot get the car in for service for a week, so I am wondering if I should even be driving it around town. I am very new at these cars and 6 degree's sounds like a lot to me, but I would like to hear from you guys that actually know what the limits are! I think MBZ recommends replacement at 100k. This car's odometer says 153k, but I have no records as to whether this chain was replaced previously or not. The owner was apparently was having some independent shops work on the car, so they could have replaced the chain and just never bothered (or had the equipment to) reset the timing on the injector pump.

I do know that after J+S reset the timing the car drives like a different vehicle. It is now much more enjoyable to drive. I think they also tweaked the aneroid adjustment. Either one or a combination of what they did has greatly increased the bottom end and made the car much smoother.

Thanks,

Steve