I'm looking at cheap 300Ds and 300SDs for the 617 turbo engine. What sort of stuff should I be looking for? Is there a good way to check turbo operation? Anything else special?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Odd sounds , compression reading, Rear main seal integrity. Since you have to remove the engine anyways it makes that issue easier to deal with if present. Amount of blowby with engine warm. Hot oil pressure no less than 1.5. Although I preffer to see 2. Make sure engine does not overheat or have oil in the coolant container.

Did I mention cylinder compression? If the compression reads low on any given cylinder make sure there is some slack in the respective valve clearance before calling the engine too tired to waste time on. Quick cold starting ability is also a good sign if present as well. Or sidestep the tests and take a chance of aquiring a new boat anchor.

You are the buyer and it pays to be fussy. Try to leave any rose color glasses at home. It is just too much work to install a marginal engine. Others will post more items as my superficial approach to this type of thing is not enough for some. Did I mention compression?

The harbour freight gauge is about twenty five dollars.If you do not have one or can borrow a diesel compression gauge. You need somewhat equal pressure across all cylinders and good to medium high compression numbers. Any cylinder down around 200 pounds or less remaining with the valve clearance checked for some clearance I would walk.

Yeah, I won't buy just engine, and I have time on my side, so I can just keep looking. And up here, rusted out old MBs are fairly common, so finding one with a good engine shouldn't be too difficult.

What exactly are the cold valve clearences supposed to be? I don't have the sticker on my car. And what is the good range for compression? If it has low compression, and the valves are real tight, should I adjust them and test again?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Check for 250+ PSI in all cylinders; 300 is near perfect. I bought a cheap 300D for a motor, I did a compression test, the numbers were 280 psi in cylinders 1,2,3,5. Cyl #4 has 270. I am not worried, this particular engine has 257K miles on it, All records from Phil Smart MB in Seattle, I got the whole car and engine (running, driving) for less than $500. I have learned the hard way that it behooves you to take your time and look things over, especially when buying a car for just the engine. IE my past troubles... http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=259662

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Regards,
Ian White

1995 E300 Diesel w124 OM606
2014 E550 w212 M278 biturbo

2001 BMW 740i E38 M62 (past)
1981 300SD w126 OM617 (past)

Yes, I won't buy it if it's been run on WVO. The chances of it having been run improperly or without sufficient fuel preparation are too great.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Great advice! Only thing I'd throw in there is to check timing chain stretch, mainly so you would know whether to replace it and consider the additional expense of time and money. Can do this when checking the valve clearances really easily, exactly line up the tick marks on cam tower and cam gear and look down to the balancer.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

JE if you're willing to go non-turbo, I checked out a euro 300D non-turbo in Eastern CT that had a great running engine, only 68k miles. PM me if you're interested and I'll try to dig up the guy's number again...think it is still for sale.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

No, thanks, I heard that the swap isn't worth it if it's not turbo. Plus, with only 68k, it's probably worth more than I'm willing to spend. I'm looking for something probably 200k+ Could still be reliable, but may need some work, and would go for much cheaper.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

He was looking for $500 for the whole car, euro bits and everything. It was just miserably structurally rusted, I would have bought it for the engine and parting out if I had the room in the driveway.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Another problem with that is, I can't keep the car. The only way I convinced my mom to let me do this is if I arrange for a junkyard to come and pick up the body after I take the engine before I even buy the car.

Right now I'm looking at a rusty 1980 300sd asking $300. Over the phone, guy says there's dexcool in the radiator (not good, but no oil in there). Motor oil is black/grey. Probably needs changing. I asked him to start it, he said it usually needs jumping, but he tried it and it started up pretty quickly, from what I could hear. That's good, can start with a potentially weak battery. Asked him to do place oil filler cap on opening. Just dances around, doesn't blow off. Indicates good compression, but I'll still do the test. At this rate, I'm ready to pay 300.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

A dancing cap means minimal blowby.
Easy starting means good compression.
Not a bad price tho.

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83 SD

84 CD

Alright, looked at the 300SD today. It's been sitting for about 5 years. There's a fair amount of smoke, even warm. The blowby test was good, hardly moved when placed on. Has about 190,000 miles. There was a rattle up from by the belts, they looked loose, so I'm guessing that was the noise. It had the oil changed about 4-5 months ago and it looks like there might be fuel in the oil. It smelled a little funny and it looked a little less viscous than I was used to. Injectors looked fine. It also started up really easily, even with a low battery. Compression is as follows.

1: 300 psi
2: 260 psi
3: 300 psi
4: 280 psi
5: 280 psi

At first, I thought number 1 was 400, but I did it again and it was 300. Maybe I misread it? I'm not sure. 300 makes more sense. They seem low to me.

It's 300 bucks. Rusted out body. What do you think?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Does seem to be low compression, are the valves set properly?
If not, set 'em and check again.

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83 SD

84 CD

What's particularly unsettling is the compression at that mileage (I'll have to check valve clearences before I make a decision) and the fuel in the oil, is that an IP seal or something?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition