So I've been driving Mercedes diesels(240D's) for over 7 years now. I stole a 240D 4spd for $300.00 about 6 months ago that had one owner who maintained it well for 28 years. I could make a nice profit on it and get something that actually moves. I've done all the necessary adjustments for peak performance: valve adjustment, advance timing, adjust throttle linkage, and clean injectors. I'm just tired of having to max the thing out just to keep up with traffic.
Out here in California I see a lot of nice 87-91 300E's . Other than the head gasket issues, people on this forum seem to really like those cars. Can any of you list problems I should look for on a 300E with roughly 160K on it? How difficult is the head gasket job on this car? Thanks

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'81 300SD

well an m103 or m104 head gasket job is not that hard. the hardest part about it is to make sure that you don't strip the heads off the torx cylinder head bolts, and you do this by unbolting them in the correct order.

note that in 1991, the 300e came in three different engines: m103, m104 3.0 and m104 2.8

be sure you know which one you're getting as each of these engines is significantly different and each have their own issues

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and by the way the m103 and m104 are built amazingly sturdily like a tank. two of the best engines ever made by mercedes if you ask me. the worst part about these engines is the k-jetronic system, which if you learn how to figure it out and tune it isn't a problem either.

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Why not get the W124 300D? What kind of mpg does a 300E get?

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

My thought exactly. Plenty of acceleration for most people's tastes...and you get to remain part of the "family."

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Go for it is good to own something that is actually "fast" because every now and thenl it is good to take off with a smile.

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1993 Mercedes 300D 2.5

1987 Mercedes 300D 3.0

2000 Volkswagen JETTA TDI diesel 5 speed

2002 Lexus ES300

2006 Lexus GS430

Don't freak about buying a gasser - I love the gassers for the exact same reason you stated.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Gassers may be great to get somewhere faster but I still love the smell of diesel in the morning...why not have BOTH!

I dunno, my diesel's pretty darn fast...

It's way easier to maintain and gets much better mileage. No more gassers for me.

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1987 300TD Turbo Wagon "Ti Blanc Stella!"
Carpe cervisium.
"If I owned Texas and Hell, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell." -- William Tecumseh Sherman

what I was thinking. get the gasser, and keep the 240.

sell the 240, and later you will wish you didn`t sell it.
doesn`t make any difference how fast something is or how much power. most of the time in the Bay Area, San Jose , even in Santa Cruz, most of the time traffic is conjested and not moving.

only time the roads are clear is 2am

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Seconded. My 300D is pretty dang fast. Accelerates like a scared dog.

My 240D was slow before it's engine got killed; it's even slower now.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

I used to have E55 AMG that got totalled so everything I sat in after that feels slow even V8 Lexus I got and if you think 1987 TD is fast you have no idea what is fast

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1993 Mercedes 300D 2.5

1987 Mercedes 300D 3.0

2000 Volkswagen JETTA TDI diesel 5 speed

2002 Lexus ES300

2006 Lexus GS430

dariod, you should get yourself a 2010 ford taurus sho. according to the ford commercial, it's better than a mercedes e55 which is why the guy in the commercial traded his in for one

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