How much would you spend on a 616 rebuilt engine with 40k miles?
 

I've got a line on an engine from a '78 240D that has been rebuilt. The person selling it bought it from some one else and has service records. She said that the engine didn't match her 240D and so she's selling it. She's asking $1,000.00. Saying that the engine doesn't fit sounds fishy unless her mechanic is really lazy. I offered $600.00, and she turned it down. My car needs at least $1,500.00 worth of paint and body work I was planning on getting done this year. Should I walk away from this, and just wait for a low mileage 240D to turn up to replace my '79 with?

Otto

Do a price search. If the miles and maintenance are verifyable, the $1000 may not be too bad. It would cost more to get one built by Metric Motors.

The not fitting part does indeed sound fishy. Inspect in person. Find out who did the rebuild and their reputation. If all seems kosher, give her the thousand.

Won't fit doesn't sound fishy to me. 115 616's and 123 616's are not directly interchangeable. Oil filter housing is differrent.

your lucky you live in California like me!

there are cars and engines all around you. you just need to know where to look.
don't be looking for a low mileage engine... while this is a good rule of thumb when buying an engine. nothing is more accurate then a compression test!

If i were you and had 600$ to spend on an engine i would start by calling Silver Star. http://www.silverstarrecycling.com/ or call 800-783-4911
they might be a little more then 600$ but you can try and talk them down.
that is if they have one in stock.

the next bet it to look into the pick and pulls. you guys have some great ones int eh bay area. and i know for a fact there are a bunch of 204Ds in the yards here in sac. the trick is to get a compression tester and a battery and take them with you to pick and pull. start turning engines over until you find one with good compression. this is a lot of work... but end the end you can walk out of pick and pull with an engine for $180. that is what i paid for the 440 i bought for my Charger. that is cheap.

another source of an engine is a car... this is even more work then pick and pull. but their are cars out there with bad trannys and good engines being sold cheap. or cars that are wrecked. I know for a fact that pick and pull will buy the shell of a car for $120. so if you can get yourself a wrecked 240 with a good engine, sell the hulk after you pluck the engine out of it.

hop on craigslist they pop up every once in a while...

i'll keep my eyes open for a 616... i'm currently looking for a 617 turbo for my 240.


I wish you luck.

I agree, a fresh rebuild costs closer to $5000 so a legitimate low mileage engine is probably worth at least $1000 (if you trust the seller's information). Of course you can buy a junkyard engine cheaper, but you don't know what you're getting.

I don't know, but i've never had a car body "give out" unless I drove it into a large object. ;)

Nope.

All you have to do is unknowingly run it low on oil or coolant and you have a good body with an engine with a broken head or a rod hanging out the side of the block.

Benz motors are good but without coolant or oil they puke just like any other!

Tom W

Out here in California I see 616 and 617 engines in the yards all the time, but I just assume that if it's in the yard, the engine is shot. A buddy of mine ran out of oil and his engine seized, I saw his 240D at the pick and pull two weeks later. I should have pulled the manual tranny and sold it on ebay.
My 240D is my daily driver, so I don't have the time to try engines out every couple of weeks. Does anyone know how much a remote starter costs and how easy they are to operate?

as long as you have fuel, all you need is a jumper battery pack, and a jumper wire to get the engine to run to test it out while still in the junkyard.

First, undo the vacuum line from the shutoff valve.
Hook the jumper box up to the battery or where the battery used to be.
Jumper the glow relay to give the plugs power for about 10 seconds, then jump power to the purple wire in the distribution block on the rf inner fender.

Car should run.

The question wasn't have you "had" it, but have you "heard" of it. ;)
We've seen many examples right here on the forum.
So, that gets swatted about 4 rows up into the stands......:D

I was going to ask him if he ever heard of a body shop, but I decided not to bother. ;)

There is no reason to let one of these car's body degrade to the point where you need to junk it. I certainly wouldn't want to buy a junkyard engine out of a car that someone didn't bother to maintain well enough to keep in one piece.

Also don't forget the variable meaning of "rebuilt". I'll never forget talking to a fellow many moons ago who boasted that he had rebuilt his TR-3 engine with a set of open -end wrenches and a screwdriver .... no torque wrench, no ring compressors, etc, etc. I thought for a minute, then asked him how it was running.

It wasn't, and it hadn't run very long.

I am under the impression that MB diesels require considerable precision in rebuilding engine internals, that may not be achieved by an average mechanic -- or even an average machine shop.

I recall another conversation with a German mechanic newly emigrated to the States who was dismayed with the local NAPA machine shop's work, saying the precision wasn't up to his standards, nor BMW's (what he was rebuilding at the time)

I found the engine I need at silver star recycling. Thanks Nik. Even though they want $1050.00, which I think is pretty steep, they not only warranty the engine, but they pay you $70.00/hr for the labor you put in based on the book time for a swap if the engine turns out bad. However, the labor warranty is an extra $300.00 so I might pass. They do a compression and leak down test before they sell their engines, so I think I'll go with these guys even though the engine I get will probably have 100,000 more miles on it than the one I was looking at yesterday. That other engine was rebuilt in Utah, and I probably have no way of finding out the name of the mechanic who rebuilt it, and if he's any good. Thanks for your input.