chrisgt

I've always driven subarus, had 7 or 8 of them in the last few years. I was a mechanic for a while working a at a shop fixing subarus. Two days ago I got into a bad wreck in my Forester. Spending a day in the ER with internal bleeding has beat some sense into me! .... maybe.
... If wanting to drive a 35 year old rwd diesel car in the winter is sense

I'm looking at getting an older diesel wagon, has to be a station wagon. EDIT: probably 80's om617 with the turbo era cars.
Living in Maine they're all pretty rusty, but there are some southern cars for sale from time to time.

Since I've always wanted one of these cars, but know little about them, what are some things I should be looking for when I inspect the car and take it for a drive?

Plutoe

Hey wake up from that very bad dream---go Moose hunting or bait some lobster pots and or stay with the Subarus!!

marc hanna

Go with the inline 6 engines. The 5 cylinder ones had a number of problems.

The w124 chassis came in a wagon, and was one of the best cars MB ever built.

Check to see that everything works - AC, all the gizmos, etc, feel for rust under the rocker panels and the rear fender and wheel well - that's where it always pops first.

You will absolutely have to use fuel additive because those older diesels were not designed for ultra low sulphur diesel, and it is the fuel that is solely responsible for lubricating the fuel pump.

chrisgt

It seems like the 6 cylinder cars are quite a bit more expensive. I've heard the 5 cylinder engine runs forever with minimal issues. But they are getting old at this point, so yea, I can see that they're all getting tired.

Anything to look for with the transmission? I'm not much of an auto trans guy, and they're basically full of blag magic that either works or gets swapped with a 5 speed. Which is easy in my subaru world, but as I understand, not an option here.

marc hanna

People rarely service the transmissions, so watch out for that. The oil deteriorates and the clutches burn out. Make sure it shifts well and change the trans oil flush immediately when you get it. I had an '87 300D and I loved it.

You can check the trans oil when you test drive by feeding narrow hose down the dipstick/filler tube and checking to see if the oil is black. If it's black it hasn't been serviced in a long time, and the transmission may be compromised.

marc hanna

The filler tube is at the back of the engine between the engine and the fire wall.

chrisgt

Good tip, thank you

DubVBenz

Huh? The 5 cylinder had the problems? This is the exact opposite of the truth. The early 3.5 liter 6 cylinders threw rods. The inline 5 is likely the most durable engine ever built.

marc hanna

I never had a problem with mine. The i5 engines were really sluggish in comparison.

DubVBenz

Oh, so the "number of problems" were that it had less power. Gotcha. Thank you for your valuable input .

marc hanna

The 350 "Rod-bender" is definitely one to stay away from, but I don't think there are too many of them left out there anyways - except in scrap yards.

a64armt

We've only lived in the north (Pennsylvania) for 6 years and I recently learned that used cars fall into two categories when shopping locally. Either you buy a late model used, or it is rusted junk. I am sure there are exceptions, but they are tough to find and demand a premium.

I recently went on a search for a used car for my daughter (sub $3000) and after viewing numerous rusted hulks that shouldn't be on the road, I extended my search to the suburbs of DC (about 2 hours from us). My rationale is that the area has plenty of money. Owners of such cars typically park their cars in garages, use dealer service and can afford to maintain them properly. When many of these residents are looking to buy a car, they are not likely looking at used cars.

In the end, I found my daughter a 2004 Volvo S60 2.5T with 160k for $2100. Dealer serviced, rust, dent and scratch free, heated garage, new tires and a recent $2800 service (shocks, struts, tie rods, brakes, etc). The car is in great condition for the year and price. It was a 2 hour drive to pick it up and I got to indulge in some Sea Food while in Annapolis.

No mater what you decide on, consider looking in way outside your area. I can't offer much in the way of advice on which diesel MB to select.

Good luck.

OJ

chrisgt

I hove bought, sold, and repaired many subarus over the years. I know how to shop for cars in general. I was looking for turbo om617 tips in specific.

Carsy

D
Interesting story. Your a good Dad. John.

chrisgt

So a friend of mine is very knowledgeable about Mercedes, and knows the pitfalls of the diesels. He lives out in Nevada and is trying to find me a good condition wagon. If I get a half way decent payout on this claim I'm hoping to fly out there with my tool bag (stripped down to weigh less than 50lbs...), buy a car, fix it up and drive it 3000 miles home

marc hanna

An older MB that lived it's life in Nevada is likely free from rust, so should be a pretty good score if it was taken care of otherwise.

marc hanna

Not a diesel, but fun video about the durability of the ww124. 4 parts:

chrisgt

I'm probably gonna get a w123 as the diesels in early w124s like to blow up.
I've heard really good things about the om617, and really not so good things about the om603 and its cousins.

chrisgt

So I'm looking at a nice fairly rust free 84 300TD in Virginia, about a 1000 mile drive. Sent the guy an email, when I talk to him if he convinces me it's likely to actually make the 1000 mile drive home... Monday is a holiday, so if I trust it's likely to make the roadtrip home a friend and I are gonna drive down in a rental car, pick up the wagon, dump the rental, and trip home.

Is there anything specific I should ask about in terms of maintenance? Any tools in specific I should bring with me, or any spare parts I should buy before I take on a road trip in a 31 year old car I know nothing about... I can turn a wrench, my friend has a smartphone. So as long as we're prepared with the proper tools/parts and nothing catestrophic happens.... I've done dumber roadtrips, but in cars I'm familiar with.

chrisgt

Ok, so the major issues the guy says the car has is a vacuum leak causing the engine not to shut off and also causing the trans to shift a bit hard. I'm assuming I can temporarily fix this issue by just plugging the lines to the power locks.
He also said it has a torn CV boot, so I'd probably just get one of those glue over the top deals to drive it home so I don't have to worry about ruining the CV axle.
Finally, the AC compressor was recently replaced and the system recharged, but the pump whines. He said apparently that's because it wasn't installed correctly? Not really too worried on this one.

Mostly wondering if vacuum leak is the cause of the trans shifting hard, or if there's a bigger issue there.

marc hanna

A burnt clutch(s) could also be the cause of the rough shifting. I wouldn't pay too much for the car because it sounds like you could have some costly repairs. If the body is in good shape though, everything else can be addressed.

chrisgt

He said it started shifting rough and not shutting down with the key the same time the power locks stopped working. So that tells me it's a vacuum issue and not a trans issue. I'll just plug the hose to the power locks before heading out to avoid more damage.
Also he said it recently started running bad over about 50 and that the hand primer on the lift pump did nothing. So he's replacing the lift pump. If that doesn't fix it, I'm not buying the car. If that repairs the running issue I'll be picking it up next weekend.

marc hanna

Well, hopefully all works out well. Keep us posted.

chrisgt

Any hints on the lift pump thing? Does that sound like it's the problem, or is that a major red flag saying RUN

marc hanna

The not shutting down issue is a concern. Although rare, it might be at risk for diesel engine runaway - that would be the result of much more severe problems - but that's quite speculative at this point.