Hello, I bought a new to me Mercedes 1981 300SD with the broken odometer stuck at 175,000 miles. The engine was the cleanest external engine I have ever seen. The car had been sitting outside for 5 years. It started and drove onto the trailer with no issues. I am now starting to fix problems after a 30 day lien sale.

Here are some problems:

1. Starts OK but seems like it's not hitting on all cylinders but starts and clears in 30 seconds then idles fine. After it warms up #3 starts to fall off and the engine rocks pretty bad with a small amount of blue smoke out the tail pipe. I can "tune" the shake out by cracking the injector line and bleeding off some fuel just before it goes to full miss opening the line completly. Open all the way it rocks and closed with full fuel to the injector it rocks. I am thinking a DV problem??? This is the smoothest sounding 617 motor(after 1000rpm) I have ever heard.

2. Under full boost I get a squeel from the right side of the engine. It sounds turbo related. I ran it with the EGR off and the sound stopped. Then I put a egr block off plate in and the noise returned. It has good power and I pulled the u-tube to watch the turbo and it looked and sounded fine.

3. There was a large amount of new clean oil behind the driver seat in the carpet. I would say it had to be a quart or better. It almost has no smell. The car also had a new driver seat that matched well but had a different seat belt attachment. I replaced the seatbelt and it all fit fine. I can't figure out where the oil came from. I pulled the rear seat to see if it was fuel but it does not look like it came from that area. I am thinking it had a quart of oil in the rear seat back storage and it leaked?

4. The turn signals won't cancel both directions and I hope they are just stuck and need lube.

5. Last major issue is the lower wiper blade is loose and follows once in a while most of the time it stays down.

This car sat in the sun so the paint is done and the pretty plastic inside snaps with a gentle breeze. That is the west coast version of rust. Someone had removed a few pieces of the carpet in the interior and left them on the package tray turning the blue to a golden blonde. The package tray has a fine layer of golden powder fuzz that was once blue.

Those are the initial problems that I am going to deal with.

So far I have:

Done a valve adjustment, nothing too abnormal found.

Changed the oil, installed a new group 49 battery, new tires.

Drove it 15 miles. The brake calipers need work(cleaning) and the system needs flushing.

Other than that it's great! Oh! The center vents work!

Any thoughts and advice are welcome.

#3 Could have just spilled oil.

#4 - The notches on the "gear" that hold the the turn signal in place are probably worn down and/or too sharp. You'll need to grind that out ever so gently with a file or Dremmel. There's a "how to" in the reference section that worked for me.

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1974 240D "Boldie" 170K.- New timing chain/freshly rebuilt IP/replaced valve seals/injectors/upgraded stereo/new Bilsteins with Yokohamas/fresh paint and rocker panels plus lots of welds.

I am not a mechanic by any means....but I did stay at the best western!!!

#2 sounds like you need a seal for the turbo "U" joint, mine did the same thing and had it replaced and the squeal will quiet down.
The stumbling upon start up could be glow plugs are old and need replacing, replacing your fuel filters wouldnt hurt either.
Blue smoke? I have no clue...maybe unburned fuel from the starting?? Not sure
The other thing about the miss when you open the fuel line, could be you need to rebuild that injector..maybe find a JY one or two and try replacing to see if that will help...if any of my info is incorrect...forum members feel free to correct me! I am still learning too

The motor rocking could very well be that you need motor mounts

Compounding and buffing and polishing does wonders for the paint
Mine was all chalky, and just compounding and meguires polish cleaner wax did a good enough job to make it shine again! I am in florida so the sun does a lot of damage to paint here if you dont have a garage

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I've got an oil spot (about 8" round) in the back floor board of one of my cars. Someone may have been transporting an old part and forgot that it had oil on it. If it's on the mat, it can be replaced. If it's on the carpet, get some new mats. They always make you feel better, anyway!

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"Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do." Goethe

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1951 Chevy 3100

2003 Indian Chief Roadmaster

1983 GMC 1 ton Dually

1982 Chevy 1 ton Dually, service body (sold)

'90 GMC Suburban 6.2 "SS Veg-Burban"
(single tank WVO\diesel conversion) SOLD

'81 300D ~ Mama's car...my job (now my car)(but still my job) SOLD

'83 300sd ~ rescue car SOLD

2005 Ford Taurus (Mama's new car)(NOT my job!)

not the very first thing you have to do, but when I bought 300sd donor
for my 500sec diesel project, odo was not working either, but I manage
to replace those two rubber parts that were missing a teeth or two ...also
some glue on little shaft is applied...

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w126 500SEC gen II euro, powered by OM617 turbo stolen from 84 300SD 2.88 diff,EGR blinded
next wish/project: w114 coupe OM603 powered

I would try swapping the injector now in 3 into another pot before I messed with the delivery valve. On the OM617 a dirty injector that displays problems when the engine is warmed up is more common than a pump issue, to cause this.

Just get some new heat shields (washers) and swap injectors between cylinders, and see if the miss follows the injector.

You should also look at this thread: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/310523-ill-cure-male-baldness-before-misfire.html

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Hello, back from desert trip and back to real world.

I Fixed(got most of it) squeel, turned out to be loose intake bolts, I could actually see oil leaking/ bubbling out of back area of intake using a flashlight at night. It took an hour to set up a socket that would reach and I ended up removing 12mm banjo bolt and bracket 13mm bolt to push trans dipstick aside. I got the back two nuts tight and about 90% of noise gone. I will remove air cleaner and get to the rest of them(I hope).

I have switched out injectors on number 3 and delivery valve from my old engine with clacking/slapping sound that ran smooth as could be at idle. It did not get rid of the rocking. I also switched rack damper bolt too. It still rocks once it's warm but runs smooth cold. I also found that the glow plug on that cylinder(3) was not working either. It has an audible miss sound with slight blue smoke that smells like unburned fuel. I will check out the thread about baldness to see if I can find anything there. I need to do a compression check at this point. Has anybody ever had a motor sit for 5 years and have a ring unseat? As far as motor mounts, could the rubber be cold andstiff and as the engine warms the mounts they get loose? They look factory and perfect but they could be 30 years old too.

Could I have a valve too tight on #3?? I may go back and see what the #3 valves adjustments are set at.

The turn signals cancel in a wide turn and once in a while in a shallow turn. I will check the thread on them as well.

I am now finding the fact that if a car sits for five years un-touched it will have lots of aches and pains when you wake it up, no matter how nice it looks. Thanks for the help.

If you think the rings are stuck put a couple ounces of Seafoam in there and soak it for a day or two. Turning the engine over a couple of times with the injector out will expel most of the Seafoam. If anything will 'unstick,' a ring Seafoam will. I use it to decarb outboard engines.

Warning: You might want to change the oil after doing this. I have never used this process on a automobile and don't want anything in my auto's crankcase except clean oil.

Oh heck, five years? If this is all you're dealing with, you're doing really well so far.

I agree with the seafoam suggestion and 2x with changing the oil after.

I've had several cars that sat for less time than yours and I inevitably find that lots of stuff goes in the first six weeks or so when they go back into service. (Or much sooner, pretty much all together as a matter of fact, if you put the car into service in the Canadian winter, as I had to one December when I lost one cylinder on my 240d.)

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

If seafoam not available, there's always soaking it with Marvel's Myster oil.

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1983 300D, the "Avocado"
1976 240D, 4-spd the "Pumpkin", SOLD to Pierre
1984 190D, 2.2L, 5-spd, my intro to MBZ diesels, crashed into in 2002

Now, check the rear of the dip stick you pushed out of the way... The dip stick base is flat metal with no gasket, and "pushing it out of the way" can bend that, causing it to leak... ask me how I know. To fix, you can remove it and try and flatten the base again, I ended up sealing it with Red RTV., basically making a gasket. so far it's held up for 10k with not a drip.

Ditto on swapping the injectors around... get some new crush washers and heat shields before you do...

Engine mounts... sometimes can look good but be shot. I had a set where the engine rocked but looked fine, I replaced them and shake was gone. Be wary of the little shocks buy those mounts... they are VERY expensive to replace it you break them. like 130 bucks each. There is a thread on the forum where a member redid his own basically pouring in a hardening substance to replace the worn cracked rubber. Interesting if nothing else.

After sitting that long you could also consider the mystery oil trick... remove the injectors and pour MO into each cylinder let the stuff sit and soak in a week, turn the engine with injectors out after, put it back together and fire it up...

Blue colored smoke indicates burning engine oil.

Also check the fuel return lines between the injectors. Any leaks can allow air in, and that can also cause a miss. A compression test is a good idea. It may have a stuck or broken ring, especially since it sat so long.

How does the engine run at normal operating temp?

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

The car does not have the cigar return line and I was wondering if this can cause issues?

It runs near perfect cold, as it warms and coming off the freeway it starts to shake more, if it were a high lift gas motor it would be cool. The other thing I notice is it will run good from cold until I get on the throttle and rev it up then the miss starts.

I will replace all of the return lines this weekend, there are no visible leaks but they are the original and it starts like there could be air in the injectors thus air allowed in the line but no fuel leaks out.

Now I'm worried this car is going to self destruct from sitting too long! That sucks because after 1000 rpm it is so smooth and quiet and running down the freeway at 75 it just hums perfect.

For the best part of the story I traded my buddy my other car for a HK USP 40SW and he and I installed my spare good engine me keeping the engine with the slap in it. Well we had one heck of a time doing the swap and he was regretting the trade. His car(my old one) is running great and he has become a 126 300SD fan after driving it in the mountains and now understands why I go to all of the trouble to get them going. He can't believe the car get 23-25mpg no matter how or where he drives it. Plus the car drives and handles so much better than the 240 he bought before this one. He actually said it is hands down the best driving/handling car he has ever owned. Now I'm regretting the greener side of the fence.

You should put on the proper cigar hose (not expensive), but lack of it isn't causing the problem you're seeing now.

Nothing is going to self-destruct here.

The rack damper bolt isn't just a matter of changing it. The bolt has to be adjusted by loosening the locknut then tightening the bolt all the way in, then VERY slowly turning it back out until you get a smooth idle. Some cars can drive you nuts with back and forth before you get it JUST so. Others seem to be more forgiving.

If you can't get it smooth at your current idle setting, experiment with it.

Adjusting the bolt for a smooth idle has to be done with the engine HOT (I was taught that you ideally need to do it within 10 minutes of a good, high-speed run) and it works in conjunction with the idle speed setting.

Not every OM617 can be adjusted to a smooth idle at the same idle speed. Some are easier to set than others, and faster idle speed won't necessarily get you a smoother idle condition.

My '79 SD liked about 900 rpms, which I thought was too high. My '83 only wanted to idle smooth at about 650, which I disliked even more. My '82 was about 750, IIRC, as is my current 300d.

You are using a GOLD rack damper bolt, right? The original bolts were silver and they were just a hair too short to compensate, as the pumps aged. You need the updated gold bolt.

If you can't get it smoothed out via those adjustments, it's time for a compression test.

I agree that a bad motor mount may be causing part of what you feel inside the car. But if you feel like you're got a cammed V8 under the hood, when you come off the highway, there's way too much rocking happening for just a mount issue.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Could also be an exhaust leak. It doesn't take much of one before you start to hear turbo whine. It's pretty common for the downpipe to crack.

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1981 Mercedes 300TD, 1994 Honda Civic Del Sol
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