I am going to test drive a 86-300sdl, tomorrow. Any big problems with these cars? What other problems do these cars have?

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Thank you, Jay
83MB 300D 241K "The silver coffin"
10 Prius lll 1K
95 MB E300D 120K Mable
02 Saab 9-5 Areo 131K
Cannondale SR500
www.thecornerstonefamily.org/

I don't know about specific problems, but they are terrific cars, so good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Click on THIS link and go to W126 Buying Tips. It will give you a taste of some basic shopping information.

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BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

Thanks, that the info I needed.

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Thank you, Jay
83MB 300D 241K "The silver coffin"
10 Prius lll 1K
95 MB E300D 120K Mable
02 Saab 9-5 Areo 131K
Cannondale SR500
www.thecornerstonefamily.org/

The 300SDL is a great car, but just remember they can be potential money pits. THE major issue that comes up is the cracked head. The aluminum head with 14 in the casting numbers is this car's Achilles Heel. This is about a $3-3,500 issue. Other issues include the A/C going out, no cruise control, &c. The W126 buying guide covers a loot of general points and is an excellent resource.

When you look under the hood, keep an eye for excessive oil in the intake manifold, as that could be a sign of a cracked head or blown head gasket. You can check the joints in the charge air intake for this, as even with new gaskets, excessive blow-by will still come out. You can also run the engine and remove the oil fill cap on the valve cover and see how much oil comes out. While it is the rare car that has none coming out, if the oil coming out turns the cover black instantly, you know there may be an issue.

The engine when cold will have a lot of knocking, though it should die off as it warms up. If you hear a lot of TAC-TAC-TAC and the injector line vibrates in synch after the engine is warm, it's a sign you'll need to replace the hydraulic lifters, which is about a $400 problem.

As always, check for service records. If you have any doubt whether the engine has been maintained properly, walk away. While these cars are relatively rare, you can always find another and if you have time, you'll find the perfect one, even if it costs a little more. Buying a questionable car for a lower price is false economy and the $2,000 you save will quickly be consumed.

That's my 2¢ worth, at least. They are great cars and (IMHO) represent a quantuum leap in power, quiteness, and overall refinement over their OM617 predecessors. The extra 6" in the back also comes in most handy. But they also require more maintenance ... Still, less headache than a gasser.

Casey

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Casey Cooper
"From a long line of Mercedes ownership"

'86 300SDL 250K miles (Gone, but not forgotten); best diesel I have ever driven, too bad about the Achilles heel.

'81 240D 370K miles (Sold to my brother after 9 years and 150K miles of reliable driving!)

[Five other Mercedes in family clipped for less length.]

I agree with the above, I have an 87. The other issue is the car's complexity. Make sure everything works and assume that anything that doesn't is going to cost you a bundle. I do most of my own work and I always have a backlog of work to do. If I had to pay for that labor, I couldn't afford it. But I enjoy tinkering. My wife drives the car and her attitude is the correct one - no way could I ever afford to own a car like this new, so I'll put up with some inconvenience.

Thanks for the 2cents, guys. That's what I wanted. Where do I find the casting number on the head? A photo would be great. Thanks again, Jay

__________________
Thank you, Jay
83MB 300D 241K "The silver coffin"
10 Prius lll 1K
95 MB E300D 120K Mable
02 Saab 9-5 Areo 131K
Cannondale SR500
www.thecornerstonefamily.org/

I drove the 8300sdl today. Here's what I found.
1/ At start-up, it smoked, shook, and rattled; but it started right up. I thought that maybe it had a bad glowplug, but the salesman said that they where tested and are OK. So why did it run so shi--y after it start-up?
2/ It seemed to be low on power. Going up South Mtn ( really, just a big hill)see wouldn't shift up into 4th gear, something that my 95 does without a problem.
3/I read somewhere that you should open up the oil filler cap and see if any oil splashes out, and none did.
4/ no rust, it must have been garaged. Only a few scratches and scrapes. Only one small crack in the dashboard. Aftermarket radio.
5/ I couldn't fine the casting number on the head. If someone knows where it is located, please let me know. A picture would help.
6/ The original owner payed $41K for the car and the second owner payed $24K.
Thanks for all the advice. Unless they really drop the price, I think that I will let this one pass, but who knows.
Thanks again, Jay

__________________
Thank you, Jay
83MB 300D 241K "The silver coffin"
10 Prius lll 1K
95 MB E300D 120K Mable
02 Saab 9-5 Areo 131K
Cannondale SR500
www.thecornerstonefamily.org/

Filters could be plugged. The question is also, how did they test the plugs? How did it run after it was warmed up?

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

The head casting number is in the area of the #2 and #3 injectors. Kinda hard to see in the shadow of the crossover pipe, particularly if the crossover pipe junction is leaking oil on to the head. It'll be a number like A603 XXX YY XX. The only relevant digits are YY. 14 is original.

Will they allow you to take it for a prepurchase inspection?

If you can, run a clean rubber line directly from the intake manifold nipple to the canted square device atop the injection pump. Then try that mountain/hill. If it does better, put it back the way you found it and buy it for cheap. A little cleaning will restore turbo operation.

Not sure what to tell you about starting. It sounds like a bad glow plug or two if you smell unburned fuel along with rough idle after a cold start. If it settles to a nice idle within a minute (I'm guessing it's colder where you are than in San Jose), it's unlikely to be a compression issue.

Sixto
87 300D

There's your first problem right there... The salesman will say ANYTHING to sell the car. I'm guessing their mechanic who knows little about these cars gave it a quick look over and said everything checks out.

I assume it smoothed out after startup?

In my experience, old MB diesels are insanely overpriced at dealerships. the biodiesel ready seems to go their heads.

Sorry, I guess I'm a bit cynical with dealerships (former car salesmen myself), this guy could be honest.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

If the head was cracked and coolant leaked into the cylinder, would that account for the rough start and the cloud of whiteish smoke? Jay

__________________
Thank you, Jay
83MB 300D 241K "The silver coffin"
10 Prius lll 1K
95 MB E300D 120K Mable
02 Saab 9-5 Areo 131K
Cannondale SR500
www.thecornerstonefamily.org/

Jay --- How much were they asking for the SDL?

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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

It just went on the lot at $7995. Jay

__________________
Thank you, Jay
83MB 300D 241K "The silver coffin"
10 Prius lll 1K
95 MB E300D 120K Mable
02 Saab 9-5 Areo 131K
Cannondale SR500
www.thecornerstonefamily.org/

Start up smoke - I'm pretty close to your location, so I know it hasn't been that cold lately - it should shudder a bit, and smooth out after a few seconds. If the glow plugs are good and battery is in good shape there should be little or no smoke. You can get an idea of the cause by smelling the exhaust. If it is a bad glow plug it will have a hint of the smell of fuel mixed in with the exhaust - of course that is because there is unburned fuel mixed in. This will go away at the same time the engine smooths out.