Hello, My name is Steve, and I am leaving in 15 minutes to purchase my first Mercedes diesel. I am a fairly decent mechanic, but it would be generous to say I have even limited diesel experience. Recently I was the service manager at one of the local Porsche places here in town.... So the adventure begins. I have always wanted a 1980's 300TD wagon with the 3rd row seat, and I finally found a cheap one locally.

I will post pictures and more info if I make it back across town. It is a real turd. I saw the car last night and it is impossibly filthy (inside and out), we were not able to drive it around the block be cause it would constantly die with no power, and then we would be unable to restart it (because the center console was busted, as are the shift lever's bushings -- could not find neutral....). There is an unwanted dual-tank WVO conversion, so it looks like a crazy bag of snakes under the bonnet. There is large veggie tank in the back, which is covered with slimy crap, and the crap has flowed freely, coating the entire back half of the wagon. lol It really is a mess.

So why buy this thing? (1) MB turbo diesels rock the world. (2) While the owner is a mind boggling slob, it has been maintained by a good diesel mechanic who I know personally to be a good and honest man. (3) While the motor, tranny, suspension and brakes are all behind on maintenance, they seem to be tight as can be with just 250,000 miles. (4) The motor is quite and smooth for an old diesel. (5) It is only $2200.

Like I said, if I survive the 1 hour drive back home, I'll post pics and start to document the process of me bringing the thing back to land of happy shiny Mercedes world.

Peace and grease,
Steve

Welcome, and good luck.

Grease out.

Welcome to the MB Diesel world! sorry to hear your car was a grease nightmare, but at least it's a dual tank conversion, and not a single tank mixer or straight runner...
I would start the process with pulling the injectors, and pouring a tablespoon of Marvel Mystery Oil in each hole, then cleaning out the PC's and getting the Heat shields out and having the injectors balanced or replace the nozzels. then while the shop is doing that, you will have time to clean out all the WVO stuff.
$$2200 is a LOT for a grease nightmare. I hope the body is TOTALLY rust free, and you have an 81 or newer turbo model. I hope the interior is free of tears, and can be cleaned up! you will most likely have to replace the carpet, start looking in the junk yards for a wrecked one to get carpet out of. I hear steam cleans WVO pretty well.
you could pull the tank/hoses/switchover/heater kit out and sell it on ebay or here on the forum, there is a pretty decent WVO section of users here that may want it if it's a good one. ya might make your money back on that!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I've been restoring one myself. It sounds like you have a much stronger understanding of car repair than I do, but maybe you'll find my chronicles helpful.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=274479

Good luck!

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1982 300TD

Everything I know about cars I learned from PeachParts.

Welcome aboard and congratulations on your purchase. We need pictures. If you've done any searching and reading on here, you'll have already run across a number of problems associated with using WVO in these vehicles. I hope the engine problems are a simple matter of dirty filters but WVO is known to cause problems with the IP if it's run for a long period of time.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Welcome !! & let the fun begin !!!
We all hope the motor is not greased out !!!
You will have fun cleaning it out. Maybe it needs a pressure washer on the inside!!!
At least you have summer on its way so any cleaning will dry out properly.

Good Luck !!!!

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Well, let me welcome you to the MB diesel world, and the wagon club specifically.
First, and most important, you are buying a 300TD. One "T" only!!!!
In my opinion you are paying twice what you should for the described car, but at least you are getting a model that interests you.
You could easily spend the next month using our search function. There is SO much info here!
I will enjoy your progress. Good luck.....

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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

It was not without significant drama, but I made it home several hours later than I expected.

I exchanged money, got the title and drove off.... and made it about 3/4 of a mile before the wagon stated shaking and puttering. Less than a mile from the guy's house I was stuck on the side of the road. Hah! I pushed the car 100' to a parking lot and gathered my wits.

The long sort of it is that the car was our of gas. The funny thing is that it had 1/2 tank last night. Appearently last night someone stole the diesel out of this car and the '83 diesel sedan parked next to it. I know that sounds completely loopy, but both cars had diesel last night and now they both don't. Fortunately this wonderful car has a veggie system! So I toggled over, primed the pump and drove the car a few miles to fill up on diesel. Whoo Hoo! I thought the gas gauge was just broken, but when I filled up I found out that it works just fine.

Here are some pics of the car:


The standard front shot. Its missing the Mercedes badge, but I have a replacement shroud.



Straight and rust free.



It seriously needs to have everything washed. That comes next.



The rear hatch was replaced and it does not match. There is minor body damage to the left rear fender.



Under the hood. If you only look on the passenger side it looks completely normal.



A close up of the fuel switching solenoids. Its veggie filter is heated by an external coil around the filter, and the oil is recirculated to keep it warm.



A close up of the injector side.



Close up of the solenoid switches (mounted on the driver's inner fender, seen across the motor).



The slimy veggie tank. Yes, I picked up a 6hp pressure washer on the way home.



Up close of the tank. It actually looks like a pretty good aluminum unit.


This is supposed to show that everything up front inside looks perfect. No cracks, and everything works correctly.


If you are still reading this your attention span is better than mine. The long short of it, is that it turns out that this is actually a VERY NICE car. The previous owner paid about $6500 for it two years ago, did the WVO conversion, and then paid an additional $3k on rear end, suspension, drive train and tires. Then he paid his current mechanic another $3k+ to make sure everything works correctly. And it does... everything except the A/C. There is minor body damage, but no rust. The interior is in very good condition, and even the cruise control worked for me for most the way home (possible vacuum leak?). It is not really leaking, and the suspension and everything feels right on.

I think the previous owner is a local rock star of the more mild variety. He doesn't know anything about cars. While he dumped a lot of money keeping the car running well ( think he took it on tour around the US?), at the same time he let it get real dirty while he neglected maintenance. It now is my job to get things caught up again.

So that is that. I have a nice little veggie wagon which needs some serious cleaning and a bit of love. After figuring out the manual switching system, I can see the potential charms of running alt fuels. I kind of got the feeling that you guys feel the veggie stuff can really clog up a 123. I would definately like to learn more about the pros and cons of WVO.

Thanks for reading, and I will be sure to post more as I get to know the car better.

peace and grease,
Steve

looks like wagons + veggie systems = a mess! i think they have a spare tire tank.

I forgot to mention that I sorted out why the car was running like a total turd last night.

It was the crankcase breather line. Someone replaced the correct hose with some random heater hose or something like that. When you closed the bonnet it kinked the hose, choking the motor. So I drove home with it disconnected. Look again at the pic below:


I have already ordered up some parts from Mercedes:
fuel tank screen, o-ring and sending unit seal -- the current mechanic said the tank is pretty goopy inside, so I will be dropping it and cleaning it out.
both rear reverse light covers (they're as smashing pair together)
that breather hose (the new flat kind)
valve/head cover gasket (It might have only been leaking because of the pinched 'breather hose.'
oil filler cap gasket ditto for the gasket
the bushing set for the auto tranny shifter. Mine is wobbly enough that it is hard to find park.


I still need a brush set for the heater blower (where do you get those?)
and an antennae mast ($80, and I can live without it for a few weeks)

Peace and grease,
-fang

A kinked pcv hose will build up internal crankcase pressure which mimics vacuum being pulled on the shut off valve which in turn shuts off fuel to the IP. This explains your previous experience of the car running for a while and then shutting off.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Another running wagon! Like bluetypewriter, I also just got one, but it needs lots of stuff to even run. Mine never ran on VO, and needs an engine, so go figure.

Still love the car though, that looks like a decent example with a grease car kit in it. Cleaned up, it could be very nice, even with the VO system. Ive known a couple guys who buffed up the tanks so they gleamed. Looks like the PO forgot the cardinal rule of VO use which is clean up your spills immediately before your car looks like a used frying pan. Congrats on the purchase!

You will find that everyone (EDIT- Many of us ) on this board has an opinion on VO, like all the forums I imagine. Its a debate as emotionally charged as abortion, or gun control in certain circles. You can join the small, but growing circle of people who love and cherish their cars, keep them nice, and also use VO without making the car look like a grease bin.

Personally, I love it, think you should keep the system, clean the wagon, buff the tank, and get her running and looking perfect!

Another question- How are the brakes on that car? It looks like the PO deposited a couple brake pads worth of dust onto the rims.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I have no opinion on VO.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Sorry, edited to reflect this information!

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

First congrats and welcome to the forum. 2nd. Buy yuor parts from here it supports the forum and phil is a wealth of knowledge. Not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper.

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86 300SDL. 250,xxx on #14 Head. One eye always on temp gauge.. Cruising towards 300K