of course we all hate the 603, but why do you hate it the most?

Is it because of the crap design of the head?
The cracks in it?
The breaking headgaskets?
the clearly dumb designed and malfunctioning cooling system?
The lack of torque for such a huge engine?
The breaking turbo's?
The leaks all over the engine?
The fan that will never come on when it has to?
The way it starts like it is on the verge of dying, even after 20 seconds glow?

or all of the above?

why o why does no 124 603 ever have the cooling fan come on. why??? what is so hard?
god I hate them.
who needs a wagon???

[DslBnz]

If that's been your experience with the 603, it seems clear you've never owned a good one.

I hate how crowded it is to work on the glowplugs thanks to the charge pipe. I hate removing that crossover section EVERYTIME I want to get into the injector area to perform whatever needs to be performed (compression test, washers, leaks, spray pattern, or whatnot).

That's it I suppose. I've never had any serious problems WITH THE 3.0 liter. The 3.5 however belongs in a dumpster.

[Cervan]

Originally Posted by henrydupont

Is it because of the crap design of the head?
The cracks in it?
The breaking headgaskets?
the clearly dumb designed and malfunctioning cooling system?
The lack of torque for such a huge engine?
The breaking turbo's?
The leaks all over the engine?
The fan that will never come on when it has to?
The way it starts like it is on the verge of dying, even after 20 seconds glow?

or all of the above?

why o why does no 124 603 ever have the cooling fan come on. why??? what is so hard?
god I hate them.
who needs a wagon???

ill take it off your hands

[blloyd7]

You don't know the joys of a 6 cylinder diesel when that turbo comes to life.
No torque? Absurd.
Sounds like you have no compression.
Put it all in order and then complain.

Originally Posted by blloyd7

You don't know the joys of a 6 cylinder diesel when that turbo comes to life.
No torque? Absurd.
Sounds like you have no compression.
Put it all in order and then complain.

this is my 3rd 603. they have all been slow. but maybe that's fast to others, who knows. compression is fine. turbo as well.
the only decent 603 I ever had was a 350sd. that had torque! wow.

[Tymbrymi]

Originally Posted by henrydupont

this is my 3rd 603. they have all been slow. but maybe that's fast to others, who knows. compression is fine. turbo as well.
the only decent 603 I ever had was a 350sd. that had torque! wow.

If its the one in your sig for $700... got pictures anywhere? I could use a spare wagon

[Hatterasguy]

I love mine! 265k miles, and I have the original head and head gasket, turbo, and IP. My cooling system works perfectly and has been totaly trouble free.(because I replaced every last cooling system part 3 years ago, nothing lasts forever!) I don't really have any oil leaks, doesn't burn any oil, always starts regardless of temp.

On top of that its pretty smooth, has decent power, and returns 21mpg-23mpg around town. Considering that a 560SEL in similer use would return about 12mpg, its a very good car for its day.

The 603 is a great engine, I have had mine for almost five years now, I'm never going to get rid of it. I have put a lot of work in my car, but most of that was into the car itself. The engine has been damn near trouble free. Actualy other than a few accesory problems when I first got the car, I don't beleive I have ever had an engine problem. Its been the most trouble free part of the whole car!

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by henrydupont

this is my 3rd 603. they have all been slow. but maybe that's fast to others, who knows. compression is fine. turbo as well.
the only decent 603 I ever had was a 350sd. that had torque! wow.

Pretty much all MB diesels are slow.

300SD/L, 350SD/L=SLOW W126
560SEC AMG Hammer Wide Body with a 6.0L V8=Fast

[BodhiBenz1987]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Pretty much all MB diesels are slow.

300SD/L, 350SD/L=SLOW W126
560SEC AMG Hammer Wide Body with a 6.0L V8=Fast

I think this pretty much says it ... a 603 is fast for a 20yo diesel. But folks who think it's going to be really FAST are of course going to be left scratching their heads. 0-60 is nine-point is nothing to be ashamed of, but it's not going to plaster you to the back window. Now a new E350 BLUETEC ... that's fast ... But I still wouldn't trade Bodhi for one!

[lietuviai]

I have to admit the 87 300D I had was a blast to drive. It had lots of power and got good mpg's as well. The only other good things about it was the cruise and A/C worked. Everything else about it was a POS. It wasn't a good example and was pretty much falling apart when I got it. It probably wasn't very well maintained in its late life.
It was a PITA to work on. It sounded terrible when starting it up after it sat a few hours. It ran hot in traffic or going up hills.It's electronics were a nightmare. Maybe if I had a better example to start with I would have a better opinion of it.

[Ara T.]

The 603 we had had plenty of torque. Floor the accelerator at low speed and i'd get a good shove to the back of my seat.

Handled better than the W123 too despite the extra weight. A bit more stiffly sprung perhaps.

[lietuviai]

When I tried changing the glow plugs in the 87 I had w/o removing the intake, I managed to break two 1/4" swivels since they were the only ones that would fit. I started with #6. I actually got it out. Threading it back in was even harder. It didn't quite go back like it did and I probably cross threaded it.
Anyway I took the manifold off after that to avoid any more potential disasters. With the manifold off I finished sinking the GP in #6.
It was a tough last few threads.
With the manifold off the rest weren't too tough to replace.

[pawoSD]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the injection system or injectors....are those all in good shape? Hows the timing and such....if its off a lot its going to not perform too well. My dad's 617 is a beast like no other, it will absolutely shove you into your seat from a standstill...and has incredible power....feels very much like a 603 SDL I rode in a while ago. Meanwhile....my car is quite a bit more sluggish off the line, smokes quite a bit more....not as much passing power/torque....but I still have my original injectors. They will be re-built within a week, then we'll see how its doing. His car was lethargic, smoked, and started/idled rough on a regular basis. Had the injectors rebuilt with bosio nozzles, it was a new car. Amazing difference. I just did a valve adjustment on it today too....first one in nearly 30k! I thought it idled smooth and had power before....now its just ridiculous, super quiet, smooth and powerful... We need to do a 0-60 timing of it.

Next week I will have my injectors done and then I will do a valve adjustment....hopefully it improves mine as well.

Anyways....on the topic of the 603...I think they sound nice, and have great power...judging by the ones I've ridden in.

[diametricalbenz]

We got 235,000 miles out of our OM603 in our SDL. I didn't even know about the #14 head until after we sold it. We did have other ancilliary problems such as the trap oxidizer plugging up in 2000, exploding and sending everything through the intake tract. And the radiator blew up once.

[aersloat]

Recently I was able to get a copy of MB's "Introduction into Service" for Model Year 1987 300TD & 300D. A really useful book. The order # is 6510 1052 13. I don't know if this is the same book as the reprint that MB Classic sells as 6510 1052 02... Anyway, I only mention this because on page 89, in the beginning of the tranny section, it says, "Transmission starts in 1st gear when the selector lever is engaged in any of the forward speeds."

So in July of 1986 when this book was published and sent to dealerships around the US the MB engineers were of the impression that the W124 diesels were going to start in 1st. Is there a general consensus that the book was in error? You would think that it would be easy enough to check, but at the same time I am not sure my transmission is at its operational best.

This book, by the way, has excellent vacuum and wiring diagrams. The intent of this book was to provide the dealerships with a service cheatsheet, if you will, in advance of the release of the full service manuals. It focuses on new aspects of the two models compared to previous models. For some items it will say "this is similar to ..." and other items it will highlight the differences from previous years.