Bad stuff:

1. Rust. Has rust deep around the 2 round tube things on the sides of the car (the ones behind the front wheels) and one "blossom" of rust below the driver's seat, where the floorpan meets the side of the car. Also rust on rear fenders. The rest of the car is rust-free. This is my biggest concern--I'm pretty sure it's repairable because it's localized but the question is how much $.
2. Drippy (motor oil). Not sure how much it will cost to replace seals, and which ones are worth replacing.
3. Dashboard lights are out, and odometer not turning. The guy seemed genuinely surprised when I pointed out the odometer, and I believe him because he's got a sticker on the windshield from a lube place indicating the oil needs changing in 2,000 miles.
4. Slow vacuum leak--one door lock doesn't go up and down automatically, the others do, slowly. Car always shut off BEFORE I paid him, now shuts off sometimes and not others.
5. Rolled rear driver's side window down smoothly, went to roll it back up and it stuck after about an inch. Didn't want to force it so drove home with a towel over the window.
6. Turn signals work erratically, make buzzing noise. He said it was an inexpensive part to replace.

Good stuff:

1. Little blowby--couldn't even get oil cap to dance, just sort of tips to the side a tiny bit and lets some air out.
2. No transmission flaring
3. We couldn't find a FLAT place to do a 0-60 test, all the roads around there seemed to be crossing slight valleys. So you had a choice of downhill or uphill. I picked uphill and it did 0-60 in about 30 seconds.
4. Heat blows hot, air blows cold
5. Pried up the carpets and in the trunk, no rust. Tiny bit of moisture in the trunk-- will have to track it down, but no sign that it's a regular/significant occurrence.
6. Made the trip from outside Baltimore to Philadelphia with no complaints, cruises at 65 smoothly.

Any advice on the "bad stuff" welcome. Paid $2,000. 307,000 miles on the odo. Hope I didn't do too badly.

The tube things are jacking points, it is a structural area that should be addressed, and you may want to carry a small hydraulic jack with you to place under the lower arms in case of a flat until then, since using the stock jack will probably collapse the rocker panels right now.

These engines typically drip a bit, kind of like a Harley,lol.

Bypass the rheostat behind the instrument cluster by soldering a wire across the pins, it is a typical failure on these cars and should fix the dash lights.

It is also common for the odometer to fail on these, there are tons of threads around here & on Dieselgiant's site on how to repair it.

A vac leak anywhere in the system will affect the entire system, you'll do well to get a mityvac, and will just have to start isolating different parts of the system to locate the leak. The brown plastic lines are for the engine shutoff, and the yellow lines with stripes are for the door and trunk locking system. Those are the easiest to check out/isolate first, also make sure the vac pump is pulling good vacuum.

You'll have to open up your door to find the window trouble, and the turn signals sound like it could just be the flasher.

__________________
Chris
64 190D R.I.P.
80 240D W/617 engine -for sale
82 240D -for sale

The mechanic recommended:
New idler arm bushing
Valve adjustment and new valve cover gasket (leaky)
New front end seal (leaky)

And to pass inspection she needed a new flasher and a couple of bulbs. He also capped off the vacuum system. The timing chain looks good.

He said the rust was not such a big deal and any body shop could handle it easily. So, looks like I'm in business!

Yep, just be sure and take your large pile of $$$$ to hand over to them afterwards.....

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

0-60 in 30 seconds up hill.. maaaaaaan

well it is a 240D

Well, with a fresh valve adjustment it can only get better. Wonder how much difference plugging the EGR will make?

I'm shooting for 28 seconds! Then I'll be ready for a rematch with that city bus that passed me the other day on the way to work

__________________
1982 240D automatic
Odometer quit at 307K...about 325K now