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They take a lot of oil. I always got my air fuel and oil filters at the dealer, especially the oil filters, since then you know they'll fit right. They are a pain to replace and you don't want to have to do it twice. There are two fuel filters, a big cannister type and a small little white one by the injection pump.
You might also consider a diesel fuel additive, like made by Redline...always a good idea in a diesel car. To clean your injectors, you might try BGK-44--that might cut down the smoke as well.
If you have excessive smoke and a very noisy engine, even when warmed up, you may need to adjust injection pump timing, which only a specialist can do.
This forum discussion might help you:
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?t=113823&highlight=Tachome- ter+repair
I took the car to a mechanic who seems to be well-regarded by biodiesel fans in the East Bay, and he told me the car was basically in decent shape, but needed the following repairs:
Tachometer 85
Water pump housing/thermostat 240
Oil leak
- turbo drain seal 100
- Cooler housing gasket 120
- Injector pump gasket 250
Rear brake pad 95
Tank grommet 25
Driver's door (rattling noise) 25
-------------------------------------------
$940
(forgive me if I've mistranscribed any part names--I'm fairly clueless about cars, and the mechanic's English isn't so great).
While not mission-critical, he also felt the following ought to be replaced:
Lower ball joint 250
Right stopper bushing 380
Rear shocks 380
-------------------------------------------
1010
The A/C doesn't work, but I'm willing to live with that.
The owner originally wanted $2100 for the car, but after seeing the list has agreed to sell it for $1250. Does that sound like a decent deal?
My main worry is not so much the above lists of expenses, but the prospect of some really huge cost like getting the transmission or engine replaced. The mechanic said the engine ought to be good until 280K or so, and that the transmissions last longer. This surprised me a little, since I'd gotten the impression that the engines on these cars last longer, but the transmissions often go out at around 250K.
I guess I'm worried about buying a money pit. I'm willing to buy some car manuals and learn how to fix some things (though I really am starting from scratch--virtually no experience fixing cars), but I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do myself, and dread having to drop loads of money into repairs.
Advice appreciated!
P.S. This list has been great reading.
P.P.S: Do I really need a working tachometer on an automatic transmission?
If you don't know much about cars, it is almost surely a bad deal for you in particular.
Given the repairs it needs, the car is literally "totalled"...it isn't worth anything. You might as well just take $1,200, then add the $2,000+ in repairs you were planning, and skip the whole deal and go buy a much better running one for $3,500 -- $5,000.
Your mechanic is correct---280K miles for a 300D would be very respectable. All this talk of 300K miles and 500K miles always seems to neglect the fact that the car has probably had engine work in the past and god knows what else to keep it running that long...if in fact the claims are even true....I think the most I ever saw on a 300D was about 325K and that's only what the speedo says...I had no idea if it had engine work---I suspect so in the last 25 years.
In short, keep looking. Miles too high, price too high, and sounds like the turbo might be on the way out if it's sucking oil.
Then you might sink some $$ into it because you'll have something on the other end.
Speaking of cars worth $3.5-5K, does a "well-maintained" 1984 300CD with 152 K miles fit the bill? Here's the ad:
http://www.craigslist.org/eby/car/169205111.html
Looks more promising?
I mainly just want a reasonably cheap/reliable car! Ideally it would run biodiesel, and/or the car would look and handle in a way that makes me happy. I recently bought a dud of a 1991 Toyota Camry V6 (I didn't take it to a mechanic first, which was very stupid of me), and it made me realize that I find those cars just plain boring. Bland-looking, and with a terrible turning radius, too (why do they design cars that can't make tight corners?). I started looking into biodiesels, and saw that mid-80s Mercedes were one of the few options for that.
After test driving a couple, I also realized that I just like the look of old mercedes a lot better than more recent cars. In fact, the older the better: the car my heart *really* wants to buy is this one:
http://brisull.com/mercedes/
But, as I mentioned, I've got no experience fixing cars, and have no idea how much it would cost to maintain that old of a car. A 1980s mercedes seemed like the sweet spot between "old enough to be affordable" and "recent enough to not require lots of specialty mechanical work".
I don't have a good sense of what's realistic for me to learn how to fix on a car, and how to best go about learning this stuff, short of quitting my job and going to mechanic school. I don't have a garage, or even a driveway, or any tools (I could buy some, of course, but I don't even know what to get). On the plus side, I do learn quickly, and I'm willing to put some effort in.
In summary, I don't really know what I'm doing, and I'm really wide open as to what car to get. Perhaps I should just be super-thrifty and suck it up and buy some very reliable mid-90s Corolla/Sentra/Civic. But I'm hoping there are more interesting options out there for not much more money and/or effort. I'm not in a huge hurry, at least, so I can troll through craigslist for a while--if only I know what I'm looking for!
Any advice?
Thanks.
P.S. Just to make sure everyone knows that I'm insane, my main project these days is to save up and buy a sailboat in a couple of years and sail it around the world for a while. I'm busy learning to sail, and how to fix fiberglass boats, etc. Most sailboat engines are diesels, so I figured I'd start learning about diesel engines now by buying a diesel car. But most of all, I need to save up money for the boat, which is why I've been trying to buy a car on the cheap.
That coupe does look nice, odd color.
even get outside cool air thru the vents as only hot air comes out. Mech. said Climate control is faulty and replacement is over $1,000. Not an option given that AC is
also not working. Question is since car is never driven in winter I thought of installing a tap or shut off on incoming coolant hose under the hood which feeds the heater. At least I could get fresh air thru vents. Can I
simply install the shut off valve or would I have to complete the circuit by bypassing the heater and rerouting
coolant 'around' the heater? Thanks for advice.
This is done typically when the core is leaking, but it will serve your purpose also.
Is it worthy to buy Merc 300d 1995 w/ 200k miles for $5000 US? I kno you have said earlier that its all about maintenance and if you keep it well maintained it might last you even 500k. Every single maintenance done is by the dealer at the exact mileage intervals according to the manual. Also how much would a rebuilt transmission and engine cost for this vehicle? I read some previous post and you mentioned 1400 for transmission some year back, is it still the same? Thanks in advance.
I think the odds of a 300d making it to 500K miles are pretty miniscule. Most are good and dead at 275K--300K and that is a realistic goal, unless you want to sink a fortune into rebuilding everything.
A rebuilt engine would not be worth doing on a '95 300D with 200K miles on it. It would cost more than the car, so that's kind of crazy. A rebuilt transmission would probably be about $2,000--$3,000, depending on who did it and what their idea of "rebuilt" is. $1,400 sounds more like the price of installing a scrapyard transmission.
The price of $5,000 is exactly normal "retail" for a '95 300D with 200K on it. Not a bargain, not a rip-off...book price. Fair enough
The best thing to do with a car like this is to have it thoroughly checked out, and if it passes the test just drive it until something big goes out and then dispose of it. If you got another 100K out of it with only normal maintenance costs (maybe $800 to $1000 a year) that would have been a good deal for you.
Sounds like it's worth checking out and spending a little money on for an inspection.
Unfortunately, door locks still have leaks in the doors- so bypassed the door locks vacuum. And didn't fix heat either- maybe the climate control unit or something else.
But at least my brakes are good now!
My 1982 300D starts immediately in all weather, but oil is sprayed up onto the air filter and there is a white gas evident when one takes off the oil filler cap right after the engine has been running.
Diesels run on very high compression, perhaps 22:1 or so. You aren't going to stop that kind of pressure with GOO!
Thanks,
Chintan Talati
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
I do have another question for you experts though...
My '92 300D (replaced the SD) has been babied by the same mechanic who took care of the SD passed away a few months ago. I don't really trust anyone in my area to deal with this car, so I changed the oil yesterday on it. Delvac 15w40 and a purolator. Everything went according to plan and seems fine; I have 3 bars of pressure when driving, and about 2.25 when idling. My question is: when I open the Oil fill cap, I see no oil flying around. In all other cars I have done an oil change on, I've been hit in the eye when opening this up. Shouldn't I see oil moving??? Like I said, it has full pressure and has oil just between marks on the stick. Is this normal?
*EDIT*
Looking back on the original post about the SD: 470,000 miles on my 300SD transmission and NO WORK AT ALL. Fluid and filter on a regular basis and shifts normally. Also, don't even worry about the oil leaks; park it over cardboard and you'll be fine. I once met a guy who dubbed his car "Mercedes Valdez" (they all leak like rusty oil tankers). The 300D transmission was replaced at 220,000 miles, however. I doubt it actually needed to be replaced, as I soon realized I have a MAJOR leak up on the coolant lines and this is what probably caused the slipping and the slipping was what provoked the previous owner to go for a rebuild.
Funny you don't think rebuilding the cylinder head is "major engine work"--that's not exactly a tune up! But it's what I would expect on an old 300D. Cylinder heads on old diesels are very vulnerable to cracking and warping, especially if you drive them too fast. The newer diesels seem more tolerant of higher speeds than the old 300Ds. Fortunately, only a few people have the guts to drive a 300d over 85 mph. They sound like they are going to blow up (and maybe they will).
Thanks for the advice, I'll swing over to my dealership and pick one up to replace the Purolator. (I was a little uneasy when the guy at Advanced told me it was just 6 bucks)
If the coupe is genuinely nice, and comes with 2 parts cars, $3000 is a good deal.
I have a 1985 300D my heater works only full force, nothing in between. then after a while it shuts off completely, then for whatever reason it turns back on. Any ideas
You might browse around this site for ideas:
http://diymbrepair.com/
The Russians used to add gas to their diesel tanks to get them to start in winter, so maybe your formula would work after all. But I think the proportions were greater than 1 quart to five gallons diesel.
Maybe if I owned a restaurant I'd be more keen on messing with cooking oil every time I wanted to go somewhere.
And of course, there's the dreaded supply and demand problem. Too many people in your neighborhood all scouring for cooking oil, and it's going to either dry up or become more expensive.
Still, I like your basic idea. ATF is extremely high detergent, though, so I trust you will change your filters often.
i have a couple questions for you
when driving you can "feel" when the car changes gear. nothing hard, just a slight shift. is this normal, or is it something that needs to be fixed
also my ac doesnt work (no ac belt) i plan on getting one put in, but is that expensive, and what other problems could i come in to with the ac?
my glow plug indicator does not come on. car has started fine since i got it, so do you think it would be the bulb that is out, or do i need to get the glow plugs changed?
and one more thing, i always put my parking brake on as a precaution, ive had it slip out of park a coupla times and hear a "clicking noise" from the car. what do i need to do here?
one more, haha, the front seats are wearing out, and springs are basically dead. could i do anything to "spring" back the life in my front seats?
how expensive would it be to get these various items fixed. and suggestions? thanks in advance, all is appreciated
oh and btw the model is a 76 300d w 107,106 miles
SEATS: common problem, the springs are broken. An upholstery shop can rewire the broken springs, put in some foam and slip the old covers back on...maybe $250 per seat.
TRANSMISSION: Normal---the transmission is a neck-breaker by nature
SLIPPING OUT OF PARK: probably a worn parking detent. A clever transmission shop might be able to drop the trans pan and diagnose further. Might not be too expensive if it's just bent---finding new parts might not be so easy though.
GLOW PLUGS: Not sure....if it starts, then the glow plugs are working...could very well be the bulb....you can pop the instrument panel out very easily and replace this, as long as you are careful and don't mind some tedious work. It just pries out.
So really your only big problem is the AC, but that's everybody's big problem who owns a 300D.
And once you fix it, plan on fixing it once a year.
about 3 weeks after i got the car (had it about 2 1/2 months now) my car wouldnt start at all. i figured it was battery, but then again I don't know that much about cars. we have state farm insurance, and they came and jumped it for us, and he said it was the battery. however i went to oreilleys auto parts, and auto zone (dunno if u have those shops near u) and had a battery and alternator test and was told it was my battery, of course this had me scared, so I took it to a local altenator shop, that specializes in american and foreign alternators (repair, replace etc) they told me that it was the battery and to get it replaced. i did and the car has been running fine since then,(about month and a half) but do i need to be watchful? i trust the alternator shop over the auto parts store, as i had been refered to by many people, but i just want to be careful
thanks for all your help and putting up with my simple questions