I just wanted to get someones opinion.

I found a 1978 240d, rust free, interior in good shape, everything works, clean and smooth running engine for $2000.
All this is good and I know that 240d non-turbos have a good rep, but I had one question.

It has an automatic trans and it seems to me to shift excessively firm. At any throttle range its like I'm on the kickdown switch. Is this a normal thing with these cars, or a common problem with an easy fix?

Ive had 240d's before, but all of them were manual trans, so I dont know how the autos are supposed to feel in these. (In my opinion the manual trans makes the car just a touch faster too, although 65hp and 94lbft of torque isnt getting anywhere fast)

if this is normal, how difficult do you think it would be to change it to a manual trans? (im not exactly new to turning wrenches on a mercedes, ive had 6 of them now, and am also very close to completing school to be MB tech certified.)

 

2000 is a little steep for a 240 in my opinion. it it is the car your looking for and not much else is malfunctioning i would go for it. now seeing that trans may be in need of some work use that as a bargaining chip. the auto trans is controled by vacuum.there is an adjustment which sets the shift firmness level. it exists but i have yet to need to tinker with it yet. check for other things like the torque converter slipping excessively and check the dipstick to look at the trans fluid and make a ruling from there. in my 76' 300d the shifts are firm/not kickdown switch hard and then followed with a noticable amount of torque converter slip.

 

come to think of it, there did seem to be problems with other vacuum controlled systems, such as the door locks not all working from the drivers door. all the lines seemed in good shape. a vacuum pump problem perhaps?

i have had to play with those vacuum shift modulators before. they are very finnicky and hard to get at without the use of a hoist, but they do have an effect on the shift quality provided that the problem is not somewhere else in the system. it would be a hard component to check on a test drive, however.

i think the thing that im struggling with the most is that it would have to be my daily driver and the utter lack of perfomance would drive me nuts after a while.

 

Then hold off and get a diesel with more HP

 

My suggestion and only a suggestion for you is to find another car works, come to think of it, 240d is good but with all those problem that car have and you tend to buy is not worth of it. You might just end up buying more Mercedes 240d parts for that car... Beside $2000 is too much with all that malfunctions.

 

Hey I went through the same issues with my 1983 240D before I removed the auto trans and installed a manual ( which might I add if you have wrench experience is extremely simple requiring no fabrication). The motor produces vacum that operates windows, motor shut off, temperature sensor (located ontop of the thermostat housing), and the automatic transmission shift points. My problem was simple...leaks in the vac lines. Find a good vac testing tool and find the leak. The central locking system is usually at fault (vac lines entering the firewall). Also contributing the incorrectness of the automatic transmission I found that my fluid was well passed its time. One other thought is that for a well spent $50 take it to a good mechanic and have the adjust the bands on the transmission.

I live on the East Cost and to find a car like yours or even like mine with minimal to no rust alone is worth the 2k. If anything buy it and fix up those problems and sell it for a quick turn around.

Hope that helps,

Damon

 

If you can take the loud, buzzy, lawnmower, low HP engine then go for it and fear for your life when entering onto a freeway.

 

I just bought a 1981 240D with 125k miles for 2k. It was in excellent condition with a perfect interior and some minor rust spots. No AC and Malfunctioning windows. I spent about 1.2k fixing it all up and i am now using it as a daily driver. its a good car and feels solid, plus good gas mileage. the low horsepower scared me at first but it isnt as bad as i initially imagined, merging on the freeway isnt difficult at all. (mine is a manual)

 

From my experience (270K-280K mi.), a 240D is great! My wife doesn't like the low power and the rattle that's a bit looser now that it's broken in--she calls it our tank--but I find it's been a workhorse for the 20 yrs I've had it. I now use it infrequently but have it registered as an antique, and maintaining it is less expensive than renting a car if you need one more than 2 days/yr.

 

Believe it or not, our 240D's engine threw a rod a year ago after years of meticulous maintenance. Oh well; we responded by pulling the engine and dropping in a 3 liter turbo motor from a T-boned 1985 300SD. Ahhh, sweet delight!