I just picked up a 1995 E300 with ~200k miles. I have a couple questions about this vehicle. Upon purchase of this vehicle I have done some common maintenance, i.e. changing both fuel filters, air filter, cleaning EGR Valve, running diesel purge, checking for fuel leaks from plastic lines, cleaning Intake Manfold, coolant flush, transmission fluid/filter change, cabin filter replacement, lubricating linkages etc.

1. I notice that when going up hill the car runs out of steam, I can probably go 70mph max when pinning the accelerator to the floor (transmission does not kick down, although it does kick down at lower speeds) On some inclines I slowly lose speed while climbing. On my 1999 it always pulls and I have never lost speed when climbing hills. Is this common? Is my kick down switch bad? Transmission cable need adjusting?

2. Is there a under body panel below the transmission and engine? (I think mine is missing this)

3. There are 2 or 3 loose vacuum lines that run right behind the oil dipstick, is this the way these lines are supposed to be run? It looks like there could be a possibility that these could get caught in the fan shroud? It seems weird that Mercedes would run these lines so close to the fan.

4. On flat ground the fastest speed I can muster is 90mph (attempted this on an old runway) I thought these cars were quicker?

5. Is there any other maintenance that needs to be done on this vehicle?

6. Also there is some of that yellow film on parts of the motor, how do I get rid of this>
Thanks

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

Car came with sound panels under engine and tranny. I learned to anticipate hills and adjust throttle accordingly. Mine does kick down however. I replaced that switch at 100k miles. Simple fix. I can get to 90 but not quickly. My car is more like the tortoise than the hare. I've seen that yellow stuff before. Probably clear lacquer sprayed on to make the engine look new. Semichrome paste and some steel wool should remove it. I'll check on those vac lines when the sun comes up and get back to you.

__________________
2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

I'd check operation of the kickdown switch. Not certain from your description if it kicks down at lower speds because of throtle pos or if you are hitting the kick down switch? Then vacuum lines for leaks.

Did you also clean out the resonance flaps on the other end of the crossover pipe?

I believe there is ~40hp diff between the NA and turbo's AND turbo's love to pull on hills; I wouldn't expect the .910 to keep up with the .962 in that environment, expecially as your .962 is chipped.

How does th biodegradable harness look?

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

I would think that the 1995 E300D should have performance similar to the 1996 version in the W210 body with a mostly-identical engine. The '96 is supposed to top out at 120 mph -- I have not had an opportunity to see if mine will do that.

You should think about removing the intake manifold and cleaning out all of the crud, then block off the EGR valve so it can't crud up the clean pipes.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Your car should do better than 90, easily. I saw 92 _in traffic_ the other day! Ok it was a fast crowd. On the kickdown, I have noticed that mine won't kick down if I'm going faster than 65 - 70 or so - I have not done a scientific test to see the point at which it won't kick down.

If you floor it from a stop, at what rpm does the car shift? It should shift somewhere around 4800 - 5100 rpm. If not, something is restricting fuel flow.

I would have guessed your issue is fuel filters, but you said you changed them. If you do take your manifold off, change the plastic fuel lines as a "while you're in there" thing. If you see bubbles in the fuel lines when running, you have an air leak somewhere.

The yellow film is "cosmoline" or whatever they put on your car new to make it look nice, but it yellows on age and is very difficult to remove. BMW's have the same thing. Unless you are a detail person I wouldn't fuss with it.

About the vacuum line, on my car there is one "tube" with 2 lines in it running behind the dipstick.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 258K

Seems like something is amiss. It's a bit pokey, but not that bad.

__________________

How does your car perform when you shift the gear selector manually?

There is a clip on the front of the engine block that holds those vacuum lines close to the head and away from the fan.

Cosmoline is applied to a new car by the factory to protect it from corrosion, not to make it look nice. Kerosene or biodiesel often get it off, but not easily.

As the others have said, your car should be performing better.

Good luck, great car.

The throttle kicks down at lower speeds when the accelerator is pinned, its just uphill going 65-70ish at 3400 rpm or so that the car seems to lose steam. If I downshift to 3rd the revs climb, but I would rather have the kickdown switch do this.

I am very surprised by this car, I like it even better than the 606.962, it seems quieter and more refined. It feels more like a refined 617.952 as opposed to a 606.962. I will take a look at the resonance flaps. I am still a newb with this motor, but it seems like its a tad more complicated than the .962 (with all the linkages etc).

The Harness looks great, it was definitely recently replaced.


I plan on blocking off the EGR, but I would like to make this mod look a little more factory like. I am still trying to figure out how I would like to plumb it (not a big fan of the heater hose with filter at the end). I am looking for more a less a factory look (perhaps I should run it back to the air filter box? Not sure still working out the kinks.

I cleaned the IM when I first got the car (it didn't have too much crud, just a light dusting of sticky soot). I also inspected the fuel lines, they looked clear and did not leak. I noticed that the PO used a smaller fuel filter than the bosch ones and I replaced this with a bosch fuel filter along with the pre-filter. At a stand still this car feels pretty quick, its just at higher speeds going up hills where I notice a huge reduction of power (70+ MPH up-hill it stops pulling).


I hate that yellow cosmoline stuff it makes the engine look unkempt.

On my car the vacuum line has a tube and one extra line bundled next to each other. It seems like there could be a chance that this vacuum line could somehow get disconnected and make contact with the fan.

The car pulls a little better when selecting the gear manually, but it still runs out of steam way before it hits 4500 RPM.

I have seen some cars on EBAY/autotrader etc that have clean engine bays, I am thinking that this will be my next project to tackle.

Thanks I love the car and this motor I just wish the top end could be improved a bit more. I am thinking I should get the Speedtuning N/A chip for a little increase in power. Has anyone gotten this chip?

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

Mine does the same and I have always attributed it to being a NA diesel engine. Let us know if you find someway to make it better. But my experience thus far has been that I can pull going up a hill up to a certain speed, afterwhich I just maintain speed. Nothing scientific to report though, sorry.


Mine hasn't had these panels either but, yeah, pretty sure they all came equipped from factory.


I'll have to take a look, but right now it is 3 degrees out, so . . .

Hmmm, I really don't think I have ever tried for a top speed (too many tickets in my younger years!). However, I think I have had it up in that area and remember feeling like the engine still had more to give.

Well, you will find lots of helpful ideas around here. Known problems include the AC evaporator, biodegradable wiring harness, and stuck glow plugs. Looks like someone took care of your harness, I wish I could say the same. Although someone took care of my evaporator, so I shouldn't complain. You might consider checkiong out your injectors if they are originals. Also, serpentine belt and hoses might need some attention.

I have the same thing on mine and wondered what it was. Nice to see the answers from others on here. Thanks.

__________________
'95 E300D ("Tank") - 231,000 miles
'79 240D ("Biscuit") - 197,250 miles (Sold)
'83 240D ("Ding-Ding") - 217,000 miles (Death by deer)
______________________________________

"Back off, man. I’m a scientist” ~ Peter Venkman

Husk said: Thanks I love the car and this motor I just wish the top end could be improved a bit more. I am thinking I should get the Speedtuning N/A chip for a little increase in power. Has anyone gotten this chip?

I love my '95 too. IMHO it would be better to get your car running properly in stock form before chipping. If it won't pull past 4500 RPM there is something wrong.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 258K

It won't pull past 4000 RPM up-hill when floored, i.e. doesnt kick down above 65-70 MPH. It will pull all the way to ~5k RPM on level surface

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

Just be very careful replacing the Glow Plugs. I had mine break off twice and cost more quite a bit of money to have the broken ones removed.

__________________
Trying to keep Jersey Fresh

1995 E300D 384,000,(Betty White) part time greaser, lots of new parts
2004 Ranger XLT
2000 Chocolate Lab-Bad Quarter Panel, lots of miles

Yea I have experience with this I have a 606.962, not too bad if you work slow.

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

I'd guess it's the resonance flaps. My buddy had a '97 and it had a competetant amount of power but that power really needs the RPMs to deliver. It shifted about 500 RPM higher than the turbo cars.

If the flaps are stuck in the low RPM setting, I'm sure it would feel breathless at higher speeds.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I will try to clean this sometime this week, is there a specific thread I can look at, which illustrates the process? I tried searching but found a bunch of non-relevant threads.

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL