I'm looking at a 300d to add to my collection (hah..actually just my second). I went to look at the car and it ran pretty well. It was definitely a different ride than my 300td (I thought the wagon was slow!!). When I started it (it was the first start of the day) and it took maybe a quarter to half second to run start up. I would say that the car started very well but.... my car (300td) pretty much starts up instantly when cranked. I don't know what is "normal" for these cars since I've only driven my own. Does this little extra cranking indicate anything significant? thanks

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'85 300td Frybrid WVO Kit

Glow plug issues possibly, which is no big deal. Hard to tell if you are asking anything else....

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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

My recently sold 190D starts instantly for the first start of the day, but thats in 70°-90° temperatures, but you need to give it a little acceleration for about 10-15 seconds to get it running good. Smokes a little for a few minutes until it warms up, which I have been told is normal for a diesel running properly. After that, minimal to no smoking. None at idle after warmed and never noticed any while driving with a warm engine. Maybe some though- heck its a diesel.

Its age related, or possibly glow plugs like Jimmy described. I wouldn't be worried at all with a half a second start time. Ol' Turbo is instant, but Norm takes a crank or two to get going (less than a second).

I never had to give Ol' Turbo any gas at all to get it smoothed out during cold starts over the winter (as long as I remembered the glow cycle). I would be concerned with 560's 190D if he didn't sell it already.

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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!!!

The question is very vague as there are many factors to consider.........
battery condition
glow plug condition
valve adjustment
compression test
fuel quality
injector calibration
timing adjustment

All of the above can have an effect on starting and we would be just guessing which one. However if it's not severe, something being seriously wrong is not likely.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

thanks for the feedback. I apologize for the vague question. I guess what I wanted to know is if a little cranking is indicative of a problem. However, it sounds like the I may just be used to extremely fast start up with my 300td.

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'85 300td Frybrid WVO Kit

A little cranking isn't a major problem unless its because of low or very uneven compression (major blowby is sometimes indicative of this). If you have a compression test done, it will tell you. Otherwise, everything else is fairly minor.
Glow plugs are cheap, and the quickest thing to test.

An Update...and another potential concern. I just spoke with the owner of the car and he mentioned that the car goes through about 1/4 quart of oil when he used to drive it frequently to Philadelphia from Indiana (650 miles) and that it would also go through tranny fluid, at a similar or slightly faster rate. The trans felt pretty good shifting when I test drive it. He mentioned it was probably just a leaking seal where the driveshaft fits into the tranny. Does this sound like a correct diagnosis. Do you think this problem likely get worse, or lead to any other issues. I don't want to invest a ton of money into this car if I do buy, I just want it to be sort of a WVO beater. I wouldn't mind topping off fluids every now and then. Also, is that rear seal easy to replace or does it require me to drop the whole trans.? thanks for the advice

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'85 300td Frybrid WVO Kit

That kind of oil usage is usually resulting from leaks (oil pan gasket & turbo drain being the most prominent).

Check the transmission and find where it's leaking. Mine was from the pan gasket & the secondary pump (on the right rearward side). Which are fairly easy to repair. The leaking from the front shaft seal will be coming from the bell housing area.

Leaks are not surprising on these older cars but I've found that most of them are fairly inexpensive to repair but do require the involvment of a little time. Most of these kinds of repairs have been addressed on this forum and have good write-ups in the DIY section. WHunter has done a great job of finding these posts and arranging them in this easy to access section.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )