Question re purchase of '84 300SD - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

charlie7 · #1 02-20-2004, 11:12 AM

I will test drive an '84 300SD today and would like to have some feedback about the things I should pay attention to. First, let say that I really enjoy this forum! I think that it is fantastic. I first became acquainted with MB diesels through my father and brother. My father had a 180D?, and my brother had a 190D. And I came to appreciate them then.
The car in question has 196K on it. The owner said that he put in a new a/c compressor. I have not seen the car as of yet. But, according to him all windows and sunroof work. It is a turbo, which he says works fine. He is asking 2000.00 or OBO. Is this a good price? What should I look for when I go and look at it? I read about taking off the oil cap to see if there is a blow by. I am going to meet him at a grocery store parking lot. This concerns me as well. Is it not true that if the engine is warm then it is easier to start? Any form of advice is greatly appreciated. I am in the south so it is not cold. Would it not be a better gauge to start the car cold? Again thanks for the help.

rickg · #2 02-20-2004, 11:24 AM

Just a couple things. I'm sure you're going to get a whole shopping list here.

A cold start would be helpful. It'll help you determine the condition of the glow plug system for one thing.
Has the A/C been also converted to the new stuff?(R14 or what ever it is) That would be an extra bonus.
Check the operation of all the air vents. These things are notorious for problems there.
Check for water leaks around the rear window.

Price sounds fair to me if it's in decent shape. Here's a price discussion we had awhile ago:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=58449

Good luck

Let us know what happens.

psfred · #3 02-20-2004, 11:24 AM

You need to start the engine dead cold -- this is the easiest test of engine condition. If it starts instantly, you have a good deal.

Dollar to a donut, it takes a while to crank this one up from stone cold. May just be in need of a valve job (almost certain at this milage and age), or it may have excessive blowby.

What you can do is pop off the oil fill cap with the engine idling. If you get more than slow whiffs of blowby, pass unless you think the car is worth an engine rebuild -- if the body and interior are more or less pristine, it is in my book. Some blowby on a 617 is normal, but puffing like a locomotive is bad news. Otherwise, pass.

At that price, chances are it's been neglected, and you are looking at brakes, suspension bushings, flex disks, engine mounts, and so forth.

Take note of tranny shifting and gear engagment -- slow engagement of reverse is a sign of wear, and sloppy shifts or failure to upshift normally are bad signs. Hard or early shifts are adjustment problems, easy fixes.

Peter

RockinWagin · #4 02-20-2004, 11:33 AM

Look in the trunk under the rear window shelf. If the rear window is leaking, it will show there and there might be rust there also.

Check the bottoms of the doors for rust.

Check the dash dimmer switch (button on left side of instrument panel).

Strongly push up and down on each corner and observe whether the shocks stop the bouncing within one bounce.

Better to check first while engine is cold (sat overnight):

Check dip stick for any sign of water in oil.

Start engine and check for blow-by. Oil pressure should go ritght up to 3 bars.

While still cold but with engine running,
open raditor cap and watch to see if any air bubbles come up.

Drive it like you stole it and check for excessive smoking under load.

Pay attention to the shifting of the auto-tranny. Shifts should be smooth not hard bump shift under normal acceleration.

Drive slow over some small bumps and listen for any sounds in suspension (I don't know what the problem is yet, but mine makes a bump sound when I back out of garage and the front wheels drop the 2" down to the driveway level)