hi all,
dana here. i am a newbie to all things here. i have found an 87 300tdt for $5500 that needs a/c. what should i reasonably expect to pay for a repair?
i haven't seen the car in person but i have checked out a lot of photos and spoken to the owner. he has had it for 12 years and is an owner of 2 other mb diesels. he seems reasonable as does the price by what i can see online. the car has 186k miles. it looks very clean. it is white with blue interior. it does have a cracked dash
this is what he told me about the car Parts replaced: rear hatch struts, stearing gear, self leveling accumulators, glow plugs, starter, master cylinder, vacuum pump, steering damper. Trans flushed, self leveling system flushed, brake system flushed, cooling system flushed, oil changed every 5K. Needs AC compressor or charge. it has been converted to the newer refridge. i am about a 3 hour ride from this car so i want to go informed and serious if i go at all.
thanks in advance

Two common AC system failures in this car are - AC compressor seal and evaporator. The compressor can typically be repaired by replacing seals if the innards haven't sat too long exposed to moisture. Then you fit a new dryer and low pressure switch for good measure, evacuate the system, fill with refrigerant and enjoy the car. If the compressor is good or evacuating the system reveals that the evaporator is leaking, you're looking at 20 hours of experienced labor to replace $400 in parts. You can probably find a 300TD with operational AC and fewer miles on the clock for $8000.

It could also be an AC system hiccup. MB put a number of safeguards to ensure a compressor failure doesn't sideline the car. Over time the sensors and controls become Quixotic and disengage the compressor without a real threat. There is a magnificent 50+ step diagnostic scheme in the archives. I mean, really, it's thoroughness will bring a tear to your eye. Unfortunately it's not something you can expect a seller to let you go through prior to buying the car. It's not even something you can expect a shop to perform. It would probably cost less to throw parts at the problem.

Speaking for the forum, since everyone is asleep at this hour , have the system restored to run on R12. It's not illegal and it will provide proper cabin cooling for those jaunts to Atlanta.

Sixto
87 300D

If your looking for a compressor for your car i have a rebuilt one for you

__________________
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

As long as they would add one additional commandment for you to keep thy religion to thyself.
George Carlin (Wonder where he is now..)

1981 240d (engine donor 1983 240d) recently rebuilt engine hurray! - No more.. fought a tree and the tree won.

pearl black 1983 240d 4speed (Converted!@$$%) atleast the tranny was rebuilt.

Every car with non-working A/C is said to "need a recharge" - that means nothing. Ask the seller if he knows really what the problem is. He seems like he should if he's owned the car for 12 years. I suspect it is more trouble than just a leak. Now comes the fun part. Repairs can be from $100 (for an evac and recharge) to $2000 or more if the compressor and evaporator turn out to be shot.

Count on spending at least $500 though for someone competent to spend the time going through the system, charging it with dye, testing it and finding any problems. Most of the time you will at least need to replace the receiver drier and expansion valve to get optimal performance. And, yes, if you can find someone to "convert" it back to R12 you will be much happier with its cooling, but that will be costly and more inconvenient as there are fewer and fewer shops willing to work with R12 today.

If you are lucky it will be something simple and that will about cover it but be prepared for the worst.

If you do the work yourself you can save a lot of money as the ACC system in these cars does eat up labor hours.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

I would have to agree 100% with the above statement. If it was just a matter of giving it a charge, the prior owner would have done it himself, or paid to have someone do it. Off the shelf recharge kit is about $20, and to have it done in the shop would be about $100. If it were that simple a fix, it would have been done before he put the car up for sale. Good luck

__________________
96 E300d

assume $3k in repairs if not blowing cold, no need to speak to the guy selling it past that. ofcourse he will say needs charge, would be stupid not to.

so, if it still jives at asking price + $3k go for it. otherwise, keep looking. cold air is $$$$ !!

__________________
Paul
Benz-less
I need an SDL !

While I do the work myself I can say I have never spent more than about $500 on parts restoring any one A/C system and that was one which needed a new condensor. Sometimes they only need a hose replaced. Sometimes it is a condensor or compressor. Lucky for my I have never had to replace an evaporator...those are the real time consuming ones. The last one I bought only needed new compressor mounting bushings and a new belt and it even still had most of an R12 charge in it! Of course that bushing kit was $200, but still a small price to pay for cold air in August.

Every case is different but if you assume the worst, yeah, it can cost you $2K+ to get it working.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

thanks for the info. i emailed him with the question about the a/c. waiting to hear back. these 87 wagons are not all that common. they are also carrying a strong price. i like the older wagons as well. i just wonder about the get up and go with them. from what i gather the 87 is much more responsive.
pros and cons for you guys?

con - not worth the money. you can get a 300TE in much better shape and have money left over to pay for gasoline for years. In my area, the price premium for Diesel about wipes out the higher mpg a Diesel car gets :/

Sixto
87 300D

Yes sad but true, diesel costs more than gas. The only consolation diesel carries is the avoidance of smog checks in this area. And the need for tune ups that gassers require. You do need to replace plugs once in a while and check ignition timing on a gasser, a poor running gas engine can have worse fuel economy than a properly running diesel.
I just hope diesel prices drop soon (its $5.10 here) or I am going to start considering making veggie fuel from the waste frying oil from the restaurant I know they are giving it away

good luck on the AC on the wagon, if its the evaporator you are looking at $1500 or more. A good diagnostic will tell, using dye and a sniffer to find the source of the leak. I would also be concerned over the cooling system in the wagon, if there are no records then plan on possibly replacing the radiator and thermo clutch (check the Forum on info on an upgrade for this!) an fan switch, a few other things associated and you at $350 to $500 for that stuff which is very important towards a cool running engine esp in the Summer when AC is on, this engine is the OM603 and suffers frorm cracked heads mainly as a result of overheating. Now that I've scared you away from the diesel you will probably want the TE (gasser) but note that it too has head gasket problems and other weaknesses but frankly either of the wagons (TD or TE) make excellent verhicles when properly maintained.

__________________
'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Oh yes, the '87 diesel will have more than enough get up and go! Just drive one and you'll feel a lot of torque, its hard to get the tires to "peel rubber" oike a gas powered car but it will get you from zero to 60 in approx. 11 secs (faster if you do a few upgrades). The wagons are capable of hauling close to 1000 Lbs of stuff in the back end (I can attest to having done that in a 123 wagon!) but you have to drive very carefully with that kind of load

__________________
'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Im a worst case scenerio kind of guy, so I say +$3k for non-working A/C. That way, Im not surprised.

__________________
Paul
Benz-less
I need an SDL !

And the '94 and '95 will have the updated styling, 2nd air bag etc.

__________________
1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

If you want a diesel wagon, the '87 is it. Faster cleaner quieter and more refined than the earlier wagons.

If you don't want a diesel, the TE is okay. Personally, if I wanted a gas wagon, I'd buy another quattro, the only gas benz wagon I had was just a wagon despite its $74,000 price tag plus luxury tax et al (in '91). The only reason to buy a Mercedes wagon IMO is if it's a diesel.

One point I will make is that the white/blue wagons were mostly the dealer service cars. The car you're looking at was probably a dealer shuttle/service vehicle driven by whomever needed to run for parts for its first few years. Very common color scheme for the '87 wagons.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff