Matt in Poway

I have my sights on a 1980-84 300d. I've always been a honda and nissan guy and the older MB's are calling to me. I've never had a MB or a diesel. I like the long term reliability, the mpg, the option to go svo/wvo, and I don't mind losing the jack rabbit starts. My concern is maintenance. I don't do a ton of miles, but I need the car to start, get me from a to b, and stop (turn off). And, this is the kicker, I need my wife to be comfortable hopping and and driving as needed.

So - do I take the leap and get a 28yr old mb or get a 10 yr old civic.

Thanks in advance.

Outre

This is going to be negative but I want to qualify it some. I went to Trade School to learn Diesel Mechanics and worked at that for 18 years.

I have owned my 84 300D for about 4 years now and I have to say it has been more work keeping it on the Road than any Vehicle I have owned.
And, I from what I have read the issues I have had to fix with mine have not been abnormal at all considering the age of the Car.

When something does go wrong and you are in a hurry to get it fixed the Dealer and the Dealer prices will be nearly your only resort.

So if you have another vehicle as a back up incase your Mercedes has to sit till it is fixed I say it is OK to have as a hobby Car.

Some have been lucky an gotten one that they do not have to fix much on and get several years of driving before the deal with any major issues but that does not seem to be the norm.

AdrianL

Depends on the maintenance history of the car or how willing you are to stay ahead of the game. I've fully sorted out my W124 diesel in quite a short time and it's totally reliable. She's broken down less than my C63 AMG and certainly less than my Cayenne which is a $%^& in the reliability dept. I LOVE my diesel, but a 10 year old honda will likely take years to cause you a problem.

Matt in Poway

Thanks for the comments. I took the leap. I have maintenance records from date of purchase in 1983 (scheduled maintenance in the original owners manual) and additional records down to today! Garaged for most of its life. I have a little surface rust on a replaced front right fender, sag on left side of driver seat, vacuum leaks to deal with (I got the motor to shut off by pushing down the door locks), a loose air filter (rattles), and a taillight that doesn't work (new bulb did not fix).
For the record that was $1,700 in San Diego. I feel like it was a good deal. I love it already.

Outre

Check:
The Rubber Boots on the Rear CV Axles.
The Rubber Flex Discs on the Drive Shaft
TheRubber Drive Shaft Support.
The Rubber Motor Mounts (If the Drivers Side is squased enougn sometimes the Power Steering Belt cuts through the Oil Cooler Hose.)
The Rubber Transmission Mount
The Rubber part of the Oil Cooler Hoses.

Check the records and see when the last time the Valve Adjustment was done. I believe it should be done ever 5K miles.
If you want do the Valve Adjustment yourself It is way easier with the Special Wrenches that you buy or make yourself.

Lean how to Bleed the Air out of your Fuel Supply System and between the Fuel Injection Pump and the Injectors or you will kill your Battery and stress your Starter trying to get the Air out of the System and get your Engine Started.
The above sort of trouble happens after the Fuel Filters are changed or you have run out of Fuel. Keep a 17mm open end or combination Wrench in the Trunk for that purpose.

It is common for the Fuel Injector return Hoses to leak. Vacuum Hose will only last a week or 2 before it gets eaten up and leaks again. NAPA, the VW Dealer (for the old VW Rabbits fromt he 80s) and of course the Mercedes Dealer carry it.

If the Plastic Primary Fuel Fillter starts getting gray black slimy stuff in it you have something growing inside of your Fuel Tank.

Matt in Poway

Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Thanks for the help.

Matt in Poway

Looks like I need to do the rear cv boots and probably some work on my front suspension (I get a clunk on the front left when I'm turning slowly or the weight shifts forward).

What's the best way to acquire the know how?

Matt in Poway

So the mechanic that helped me with my '83 300D owns 2 of them. He told me to go for it on the veggie oil, "we can't detect a mechanical difference on the cars that are running veggie vs diesel". Wow! So one more question got me to the heart of the matter. Do you run veggie in your cars? "No"

Let's see here:
1) makes a living repairing cars
2) endorses veggie oil usage
3) doesn't use it in his own cars

This seems too complex for a simple person like me to sort out.

Outre

Concerning the Rear Axle Boots. No one makes a split Boot for the Axles (at least no one on any of the Fourms I frequent has found any).

At the Factory the Axles are Filled with Oil. Rebuilders often use Grease instead of Oil but it needs to be really well packed in.

If you replace the Boots with the same Stock type Boot it takes a Hydraulic press to get the Axle apart and assembled. You also need to cut the Crimp off of the Can and replace the Can and crip the new can.
I believe below is a link to someones thread who did it the Factory approved way.
AXLE Boot Link cutting the CANS
http://boostnbenz.1baddsm.com/DIY/CVboots/

You cannot do this with the Stock type Axle Boots but Astoria Flexx Boots and one of the Dorman Boots can be stretched over the Cans on the Axle. There is a special tool for that but some have managed to do it with an ATF Funnel and a lot of lube (need a Helper).

If you do something to the Front Suspension that requires compressing the Front Spring; that Spring must be 3 times stronger than a Gasoline Car front Spring.
(I tried this and bent mine. Installed thicker threaded rod on them and bent them again.) If you use the regular Strut type Spring Compressors you will bend they and create an unsafe condition for yourself.
Since ever the Copy of the correct Klann Spring Compresser is around $190 I ended up making my own Spring Compresser/s.

Read any info you get very colsely!!!

The use of SVO and WVO seems to work because it does not kill your Fuel Injection Pump or Engine right away.
SVO and WVO also need some special treatment to remove water and partical contaminates. Also not mentioned is that they contain unknown amounts of acid (your Fuel Injection Pump does not like that).

The small number of people who use SVO and WVO and get some longivity out of their Engines are ones that are carful where they get their Oil and how the treat it when they get it.
They are also people that have adequate heating systems in their setups to heat up the Oil so that it is thin enough to go through their Fuel System with minimum damage.

On a normal Sunny Day SVO/WVO needs to be heated. In Winter the need is even greater or simply donot use it.

Lastly there is a lot of bad recommendations circulating out there. Some of that information comes from Mechanics (I was a Diesel Mechanic for 18 years myself).
Take the time and research stuff for yourself.

Outre

When I first got my Car I had little repair info on it and was desprate to fix it enough to get it on the road.
I replaced my Axles with the Boot issues with Cardone Rebuilt ones from the local parts place (I have had no problems with them).
4 Years ago they were $75 each.

Since that time the Price on the Rebuilts has gone up and the market has been flooded by Asian made new Axles.
The Asian Axles have worked for some but a lot of folks have had issues with them. If you buy any I suggest you get them from a local Parts Store because if you have to exchange them they are a heavy item to have to pay the shipping on if you bought them on the internet.

Matt in Poway

Thanks for the links and help. Even in Sunny San Diego, BioD makes more sense. Especially since my normal drive is 5-10 miles a trip. I've found no sources of B100/99 and 1 source of B20 and it costs the same as DinoD! Where are all the hippies when I need them?

Not looking forward to the axles and suspension (but I may as well address both issues while I have the front end apart). My tool box does not happen to have a Klann Spring Compresser.