I have heard it has 6 cylinders and a Turbocharger to Boot, which makes me very interested. I am driving 180 miles tomorrow to look at one... Any hints?
For those of you who know me I have had spectacular failures and spectacular luck rebuilding both the 5 cylinder and 4 cylinder engines.
I got at least 110 K off both rebuilds, but I have done some amazingly stupid things too.
I ruined a great 240 D earlier this year in an accident after rebuilding the transmission and then last month I ran the oil very very low on my 300D when I installed a rubber hose from my Valve Cover to air cleaner intake and then "crimped" it when I closed the hood, thereby plugging the breather.
But I think I am undeterred. I would like to try a different car. Its summer and I miss working on Cars...


http://mywebpages.comcast.net/snow7ice/BENZ.html

Do a search on w124s and gxsr: he's the reigning expert on 1987 300Ds on this board. Very helpful.

__________________
'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate

I love my 124. Great car!

__________________
www.jerseyplanning.com
1987 300TD 440K - My car
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 107K - Tim's car
2000 - CLK320 100K - Deb's car
1994 C230 150K - Josh's Car

The 300SD in my garage will probably never leave my posession. However, someday I must have a 400E!!!!!!!!

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Use the search function, look for information on the om603 engine. A couple of high points -

1) Most important thing to look for is cracked cylinder head that occasionally happens to these engines. Check the radiator hoses for pressure from a cold start, presence of oil in the coolant, coolant in the oil, overheating, etc.

2) Make sure the trap oxidiser recall has been performed.

3) Compared to the OM616 & OM617 diesels these cars are amazingly quiet, smooth, and powerful. If it doesn't put a big grin on your face and make you want to buy it right away, then it isn't running right.

4) Everything else is pretty much standard 124 issues. Make sure the a/c system works acceptably well, car drives straight, is smooth at high speed, sunroof works (both tilt and slide), cruise works, etc. etc. Check that both the ABS & SRS dash lights come on during preglow, then go out after starting. Again, the archives will be a big help.

I'm sure Dave will be along to chime in - I have the advantage of being one timezone East of him, so can jump into this thread first!

- JimY

jcyuhn gives a great summation. Remember, the 124 is a more complex and more difficult to work on car than a 123. IMHO they break more than a 123 as well.

Where they FAR exceed the 123 is when sitting in the drivers seat. They are incredible driving machines. If you are willing to take the risk on the air conditioner and the aluminum cylinder head and are willing to "pay the price" when something goes wrong in these areas, then you may very well be happy with an early 124 diesel.

Be warned that the evaporator is a common point of failure in the early 124 and is a HUGE job to replace. It is listed as 15.5 hours R&R. That said, my '88 still has the original evaporator with no problems (knock on MBTex.)

Best of luck with your decision,

And I actually did the evaporator in my '87 124 a few months back. It leaked like a sieve! It's actually not a difficult job, but they are NOT kidding about that 15 hours of labor. Figure on 20 hours to DIY the first time.

- JimY