83 240D needs work/help?
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2
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From: Chicago, IL
83' 240D
83 240D needs work/help?
Hello all, I just found this wonderful forum and have spent the last 2 hrs. reading all of your stories.
I just bought a 1983 240D yesterday for $1000 and it needs some help.
Also, the guy that sold it to me didn't know much about the car. I read the owners manual last night and I must say that I've never owned anything like it. I have a few questions/concerns and I hope I can get some advice from this community.
1. There's a dial on the center counsel that doesn't seem to do anything and I didn't find it covered in the owners manual.
2. Must you bleed the fuel line when the tanks low, it was covered in the manual.
3. The car has some strange burning smells after running for a while. It almost smells like a coated frying pan being burned, any ideas?
4. The guy broke the hood latch when he showed me the car (I'm guessing). It worked when I viewed it but once I got it home I wanted to check the fluids, because of burning smell, and the hood wouldn't budge. It's now my first task for Sat. morning. Is this a common problem?
5. Dash lights don't work. 2nd task for tomorrow.
6. Haven't exactly figured out the sequence of the vacuum locks. Sometimes they work, other times I can only lock it with the key from the outside.
7. I know the car is known for slow acceleration and the manual suggest hitting 4th gear by 34mph (?, don't have manual in front of me). I'm wondering if I'm losing power some where or if all 240D's are as slow as mine. (not that I mind, just wondering).
8. I realized the OD was broken as I drove it home, it reads 229,xxx which I know is not to bad for one of these models. What can I expect if it actually has many more miles on it.
9. Is the timing chain as much a concern on this make/model as other cars?
I really hope to be able to enjoy this car for some time to come, I love the ride and the style is beautiful. On the other hand, I can only afford to spend so much money on this project per month. I've read that they are extremely reliable and I hope that holds true with mine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I just bought a 1983 240D yesterday for $1000 and it needs some help.
Also, the guy that sold it to me didn't know much about the car. I read the owners manual last night and I must say that I've never owned anything like it. I have a few questions/concerns and I hope I can get some advice from this community.
1. There's a dial on the center counsel that doesn't seem to do anything and I didn't find it covered in the owners manual.
2. Must you bleed the fuel line when the tanks low, it was covered in the manual.
3. The car has some strange burning smells after running for a while. It almost smells like a coated frying pan being burned, any ideas?
4. The guy broke the hood latch when he showed me the car (I'm guessing). It worked when I viewed it but once I got it home I wanted to check the fluids, because of burning smell, and the hood wouldn't budge. It's now my first task for Sat. morning. Is this a common problem?
5. Dash lights don't work. 2nd task for tomorrow.
6. Haven't exactly figured out the sequence of the vacuum locks. Sometimes they work, other times I can only lock it with the key from the outside.
7. I know the car is known for slow acceleration and the manual suggest hitting 4th gear by 34mph (?, don't have manual in front of me). I'm wondering if I'm losing power some where or if all 240D's are as slow as mine. (not that I mind, just wondering).
8. I realized the OD was broken as I drove it home, it reads 229,xxx which I know is not to bad for one of these models. What can I expect if it actually has many more miles on it.
9. Is the timing chain as much a concern on this make/model as other cars?
I really hope to be able to enjoy this car for some time to come, I love the ride and the style is beautiful. On the other hand, I can only afford to spend so much money on this project per month. I've read that they are extremely reliable and I hope that holds true with mine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 332
Likes: 0
From: LI, NY
02 W163, 84 W123, 03 E39, 98 E39
Congrartulations: I had an 83 240D that went 235K miles before the rear suspension rotted out and it wasn't worth it to fix. I also have an 84 300D with 225K miles and had an 84 300TD that had 225K miles when I sold it, so I have had some experience with the W123s.
1. There's a dial on the center counsel that doesn't seem to do anything and I didn't find it covered in the owners manual.
Is your car a US spec car? Are you talking about a round wheel that is in the area of where the rear lights/antenna switch is? Is it an additional switch that dosn't show up on your US owners manual? Did the previous owner have European headlights or do you currently have european headlights on the car? If yes, this is a switch that adjusts the european headlights up and down to adjust for loads in the car.
2. Must you bleed the fuel line when the tanks low, it was covered in the manual.
When you change your pre-filter & fuel filter, or if you run dry on fuel, you will need to prime your line or the engine will never start. There is a pump, that is a white plastic that you unscrew, on the drivers side of the engine just back from where the filters are. You need to crack open the fuel line going from the fuel filter to the fuel rack a bit to bleed the air. You unscrew the white plastic wheel, then pull the pump out about 4 cm and just pump until fuel starts to come out of where you cracked open the line. Re-secure the line, and then try to turn over the engine. One thing the owners manual mentions about cold weather starting is very important. With diesels, you have to keep cranking the engine until it starts or the battery dies. I have had to crank a diesel for 60-90 seconds to get it to catch on a cold (0F) day, if I did not have the block heater plugged in.
3. The car has some strange burning smells after running for a while. It almost smells like a coated frying pan being burned, any ideas?
Can't help you. Dose you car have undercoat that may have been applied to the muffler?
4. The guy broke the hood latch when he showed me the car (I'm guessing). It worked when I viewed it but once I got it home I wanted to check the fluids, because of burning smell, and the hood wouldn't budge. It's now my first task for Sat. morning. Is this a common problem?
Happend to me many times. Either the cable in the passenger compartment by the drivers left leg is stretched, broken, or the screw/bolt that attaches it to the side of the car is broken, or the gray toungue that pops out of the grill is broken. If the gray plastic tongue is broken, you need to get a pair of needle nose pliers and reach in through the grill to pull the release. This plastic part is inexpensive and easy to replace.
If the problem is in the passenger compartment, you may need to grab the wire with a pair of pliers and pull hard to release the hood.
5. Dash lights don't work. 2nd task for tomorrow.
Dash light bulbs burn out and need replacement. You may need a special MB tool or a jurry rig tool to pull the instument cluster out to replace the bulbs.
6. Haven't exactly figured out the sequence of the vacuum locks. Sometimes they work, other times I can only lock it with the key from the outside
Vaccuum leaks are common. If your engine dosn't stop when you take your key out of the ignition, you have a major vaccuum leak. The heavy plastic tube that goes from the front/drivers side of the engine to the master brake cylinder booster is your main vaccuum line. The two plastic nipples that come off and go towards the engine are you vacuum for the engine and the door locks. If the rubber connectors are old and cracked, they may all need replacement. I use silicone cement to help seal the connections. There is a yellow, one-way valve near the fire-wall, next to the oil filter. Often when changing the oil filter you can jostle the connections to the one-way valve and cause a vacuum leak. Always check after an oil change that the vaccuum tubes are all secure.
7. I know the car is known for slow acceleration and the manual suggest hitting 4th gear by 34mph (?, don't have manual in front of me). I'm wondering if I'm losing power some where or if all 240D's are as slow as mine. (not that I mind, just wondering).
The 240 is slow, as it only has 67 HP when new. I would shift my manual transmission where the little dots were on the speedometer. Two dots for second, three for third, etc.
8. I realized the OD was broken as I drove it home, it reads 229,xxx which I know is not to bad for one of these models. What can I expect if it actually has many more miles on it.
Can't help you. Mostly used the odometer to religiously change the oil every 5,000 miles and ATF every 30K miles.
9. Is the timing chain as much a concern on this make/model as other cars?"
Never had a problem with any of the timing chains on my W-123.
I did/do a lot of my own maintenance. Filters, fluid changes, brakes, rotors, wheel bearings, alternators and starter motors.
The one adjustment I did on the engine that is important is adjusting the valves. This needs to be done every 30K miles, and there was a special set of wrenches that MB sold for this task. If you have access to a repair manual, for the instructions and the procedure and the gaps for the intake and exaust valves, and the instructions for which are exaust and which are intake valves, you can do it yourself. If not, you should have a mechanic do it for you.
Good luck. If you have other questions, feel free to ask.
Steve
1. There's a dial on the center counsel that doesn't seem to do anything and I didn't find it covered in the owners manual.
Is your car a US spec car? Are you talking about a round wheel that is in the area of where the rear lights/antenna switch is? Is it an additional switch that dosn't show up on your US owners manual? Did the previous owner have European headlights or do you currently have european headlights on the car? If yes, this is a switch that adjusts the european headlights up and down to adjust for loads in the car.
2. Must you bleed the fuel line when the tanks low, it was covered in the manual.
When you change your pre-filter & fuel filter, or if you run dry on fuel, you will need to prime your line or the engine will never start. There is a pump, that is a white plastic that you unscrew, on the drivers side of the engine just back from where the filters are. You need to crack open the fuel line going from the fuel filter to the fuel rack a bit to bleed the air. You unscrew the white plastic wheel, then pull the pump out about 4 cm and just pump until fuel starts to come out of where you cracked open the line. Re-secure the line, and then try to turn over the engine. One thing the owners manual mentions about cold weather starting is very important. With diesels, you have to keep cranking the engine until it starts or the battery dies. I have had to crank a diesel for 60-90 seconds to get it to catch on a cold (0F) day, if I did not have the block heater plugged in.
3. The car has some strange burning smells after running for a while. It almost smells like a coated frying pan being burned, any ideas?
Can't help you. Dose you car have undercoat that may have been applied to the muffler?
4. The guy broke the hood latch when he showed me the car (I'm guessing). It worked when I viewed it but once I got it home I wanted to check the fluids, because of burning smell, and the hood wouldn't budge. It's now my first task for Sat. morning. Is this a common problem?
Happend to me many times. Either the cable in the passenger compartment by the drivers left leg is stretched, broken, or the screw/bolt that attaches it to the side of the car is broken, or the gray toungue that pops out of the grill is broken. If the gray plastic tongue is broken, you need to get a pair of needle nose pliers and reach in through the grill to pull the release. This plastic part is inexpensive and easy to replace.
If the problem is in the passenger compartment, you may need to grab the wire with a pair of pliers and pull hard to release the hood.
5. Dash lights don't work. 2nd task for tomorrow.
Dash light bulbs burn out and need replacement. You may need a special MB tool or a jurry rig tool to pull the instument cluster out to replace the bulbs.
6. Haven't exactly figured out the sequence of the vacuum locks. Sometimes they work, other times I can only lock it with the key from the outside
Vaccuum leaks are common. If your engine dosn't stop when you take your key out of the ignition, you have a major vaccuum leak. The heavy plastic tube that goes from the front/drivers side of the engine to the master brake cylinder booster is your main vaccuum line. The two plastic nipples that come off and go towards the engine are you vacuum for the engine and the door locks. If the rubber connectors are old and cracked, they may all need replacement. I use silicone cement to help seal the connections. There is a yellow, one-way valve near the fire-wall, next to the oil filter. Often when changing the oil filter you can jostle the connections to the one-way valve and cause a vacuum leak. Always check after an oil change that the vaccuum tubes are all secure.
7. I know the car is known for slow acceleration and the manual suggest hitting 4th gear by 34mph (?, don't have manual in front of me). I'm wondering if I'm losing power some where or if all 240D's are as slow as mine. (not that I mind, just wondering).
The 240 is slow, as it only has 67 HP when new. I would shift my manual transmission where the little dots were on the speedometer. Two dots for second, three for third, etc.
8. I realized the OD was broken as I drove it home, it reads 229,xxx which I know is not to bad for one of these models. What can I expect if it actually has many more miles on it.
Can't help you. Mostly used the odometer to religiously change the oil every 5,000 miles and ATF every 30K miles.
9. Is the timing chain as much a concern on this make/model as other cars?"
Never had a problem with any of the timing chains on my W-123.
I did/do a lot of my own maintenance. Filters, fluid changes, brakes, rotors, wheel bearings, alternators and starter motors.
The one adjustment I did on the engine that is important is adjusting the valves. This needs to be done every 30K miles, and there was a special set of wrenches that MB sold for this task. If you have access to a repair manual, for the instructions and the procedure and the gaps for the intake and exaust valves, and the instructions for which are exaust and which are intake valves, you can do it yourself. If not, you should have a mechanic do it for you.
Good luck. If you have other questions, feel free to ask.
Steve
Last edited by sph17; Jul 16, 2004 at 09:10 PM.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Chicago, IL
83' 240D
thanks
sph17, thanks for the info, those were some helpfull tips. My brakes got a little soft on me as I was driving in to work this morning, other than that it seems to be running strong.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 332
Likes: 0
From: LI, NY
02 W163, 84 W123, 03 E39, 98 E39
Soft Brakes
Originally Posted by johnnyh66
sph17, thanks for the info, those were some helpfull tips. My brakes got a little soft on me as I was driving in to work this morning, other than that it seems to be running strong.
Changing the master brake cylinder was not a big problem. Found an aftermaket on for about $50. The important thing is prming the new master brake cylinder with fluid and bleeding the brake lines. This is a two person job, as one person pushes the brake pedel as the second person cracks open the bleed nut, then closes the bleed nut, before the first person lets up on the brake pedel.
