totally nuts for wanting a 350SDL??
 

Am I totally nuts for wanting one? I have had my eye on one, a 91 with 194K, very clean with supposedly a new improved MB crate engine which was installed at a 100K. Drove it, had a good bit of spunk, lots of torque, didn't leave me feeling like I was losing much when compared to my current 420SEL. The car does have the usual vacuum element problems, air going defrost at most all settings. The seller is wanting 14K for it which although it is a clean car he is probably more nutty than me for even asking that much. Any ideas on how much these cars usually go for? How can I tell what engine it has and did they actually come out with an improved engine.

Chas,

I drove that same car. Nice driving SDL. Noticed the brake warning light fading in and out.

With 194K on it (94K) on the engine, how much longer will it go before the big repair bills come in?

I think it's priced 10 grand too much.

You know better. Those cars are a disaster.

I'm sure they are great when everything is right, and sure, the engine may never blow. But can you drive the car and not think about the engine bending rods everytime you look at it? How can you enjoy a car knowing catastrophic failure may be around the next corner?

I looked at a beautiful '93 300SD (same engine - as you know) 3 years ago and was SERIOUSLY considering it - someone bought it as I was driving onto the lot to buy it. I am glad they did. 4 months later I was at the dealer to buy parts and guess what was in the service bay? You guessed it! Threw a rod through the block - felt really sorry for the schmuck that bought it but heaved a huge sigh of relief I didn't. FWIW, it had had the engine replaced at 63,000 with an "improved" crate engine from MB. It was sold with 72,000 miles on it and the odometer showed 73,500 after the "incident". They wanted $19,500 when I looked at it.

I've been wanting to get a MB diesel for a while now. What exactly makes this car a nightmare? The fact that it needed a new engine at 100k is suspect but is this a normal problem for this model?
What are the most trouble free ones?

Any 350SD, 350SDL, 300SD produced in '92 or '93, and S350 MBs are trouble waiting to happen. Correct me if I am wrong but MB tried to increase displacement by honing out the cylinders which, in turn, weakened the cylinder walls. The pistons, doing what they do ie: moving up and down, eventually would cause an "eliptical" cylinder which caused the piston to wear more and more of the wall away leading to increased oil consumption (as much as 1qt. per 100 miles as some people have reported). Also, beefier pistons and weaker connecting rods led to many punched holes in the side of blocks. MB does not say this is a design flaw for obvious reasons - however, they have been known to fix some engines per "good will". Do a search on the 350 diesels on the diesel forum and you will get TONS of info about this. I hope no one is rude enough to tell you, "this subject has been discussed to death" as I was once told.

The 603.XXX or the 3.5 liter 603 had weak connecting rods, I would love one but wouldn't buy one unless I could afford $7k to get a new short block when it blows. Now the 3.5 was used in two different cars 90-91 in the W126 the 350SD/L and in 92-95 in the 300SD's. But the later ones are W140's a W140 and a rod bender is made for someone with deep pockets.


$14k is a little high but not as high as you might think. These cars hold a lot of value. Probably around $10k give or take is about right.

Frankly considering you can get sub 100k, mint 1991 560SEL's for less than $10k, your better off with a newer gas W126.

Thanks to ya fellas for talking me down off the rod bender.

Yes Anders, I do believe it was the same car. Looked sad sitting in a sea of Jags didn't it? It was a beauty huh?

Chas,

Nice looking car. Great shape for the miles too. Too bad it was not an 300SDL eh?

1) I thought MB's diesel were sleeved, this model isn't? What other engines aren't?

2) Did they ever fix the problem or is this engine bad news wherever you find it?

3) I hope the post police don't come after me since I didn't start a new thread to ask my question.

4) I want a nice MB turbo diesel. I'd like to try the alternative fules, too.

Thank you for answering my questions.

I think that the price is high for a car with 194K on it. The problem with the 350SDL and the S350 Turbodiesel was the engine and there were 2 problems (depending on the year). One year had problems with cylinder head cracks causing overheating and others with bent piston rods. My dad has one that had to have the engine replaced at 45,000 (S350 Turbodiesel W140 body style) and has yet to have another problem with it (at 125,000). If it truly has the new engine I would say that it's probably okay, but I wouldn't pay over $9500 for one with those kind of miles.

No matter what, I would still be very leery about buying one. There are some really good '86 and '87 300SDLs out there that can be had for less money because unknowledgeable sellers think that the newer models (ie: 350SDL) are better. As with any engine you may get a really good one or you might get a dog. I agree with the previous thread - if the engine has been replaced with a newer crate engine I would be more apt to buy it.