hello everyone, i am new to this forum. i have been looking into purchasing a mercedes diesel now the w123 body for about 4 yeas. i have found a 1980 300d turbo with 83 thousand miles on it. the car looks clea,. the guy says that he is replacing the rear suspension links and the rear axle half shafts also he says he is replacing the injector pump seals. i love these cars with a passion, but i know nothing about them. it is about 2 hours away from my house and when i go there i want to purchase it. is there anything i should be looking for when driving this car, transmission? oil ? engine noise anything at all would be greatly appreciated. thanx alot everyone.

 

Welcome from another new guy on this site. I too am new to Mercedes diesels, but not new to diesels in general. I do not know where you are, but make sure you look under the floor mats for any signs of rust. Look under the car also as well as under the hood around the wheel wells and shock towers. See that the door locks operate smoothly and quickly. They are operated by vacuum, so let the car sit for a while without being ran and make sure they still work. Not a hard fix though, just time consuming. If you check the oil expect it to be as black as coal, just the nature of diesel engines and soot being a by product of burning fuel oil. Kind of hard to check in the daylight, but make sure the dash lights work. They are the two little rectangular boxes up on top iof the instrument cluster. They shine on the gauges from the front side. Still an easy fix, but just another time consuming job. In general, just give it a good look over.

 

I too am a first timer to the whole Mercedes Benz cult. Tomorrow I am going to P/U my frist MB in Toronto. It is a 1981 300SD, I really love th W126 body. She needs alittle body work but for $108.50 can I go WRONG? Yes it is a steal. My plans are simple:
1) fix the rusted rocker panels and the ruust on the rear wheel wells.
2) Run thecar with biodiesel.
3) ENJOY owning a beautiful machine!!!

Does anybody have any suggestions, the car has sat for 3 years. Owner bought the car 3 years ago, drove it from Montreal to Toronto, parked it in the garage, took some of the body panels off...and there it sat for 3 years!!! I am so excited, i cant wait. I also have a 98 Dodge 3500 duelly diesel, and run diesel(home heating fuel) in the house. If all works out well will use Biodiesel in those as well.

 

excellent. as fas as the w123 body goes does the turbo model get better gas mileage than the naturally aspirated one?

 

haha i gotta keep remembering that its diesel fuel mileage and not gas ill learn soon enough,

 

I got a electricical problem...12+volts at the battery but at the fuses 2+ tops any ideas? I already checked the ground and cleaned the junction (box where the aternater and starter, etc.) wouldlove to get it started today help!!!

 

Run a remote ground (jumper cable from the battery to the body or engine) then measure again. The ground may look good but be burnt inside or just have bad connections.

 

Makes sense will give it a try!! thanks.
I can Get the engine to turn over very nicely. Get white smoke out the tail pipe. Gave it a little starting fluid into the turbo but she wont fire!
1981 300SD she sat for 3 years in a garage,friend told me to put some "marvins mystery oil" into the injectors, they think that the pistons are stuck, said that this stuff would eat away the carbon and let them loose? what do you guys think?

 

The pistons aren't stuck if the motor is turning.

Don't put anything into the injectors other than clean diesel. Drain the tank, flush the lines and start over with new clean fuel. Never, ever, ever use starting fluid in any engine. This is how you fracture pistons. If the car won't start with good ignition and good fuel then it needs to be rebuilt.

 

the voltage to the block is good 12+. pulled injectors and cleaned them off(carbon buildup) not much fuel comes out the lines so Im going to battle them tomorrow. Now "Hidy" ( thats her name now) really turns over but the battery is so dead, even though I have it conected to the charger. I just know that she wants to start. is there a way to pull fuel out of a can instead of the tank. This way I can see if the fuel in thetank is the problem. thanks for your help!!!

1981 300SD "Hidy"