My 87 300TD has a cracked cylinder head - my own fault for pushing it too hard on a leaky head gasket - 300,000 miles and a great body. My mechanic says the rest of the engine is still great. A southern USA car originally now in Canada. Trying to decide if to keep it going. My independent mechanic says if I'm going to keep it a few years it's worth repairing ($5k+/-) but if I'm going to sell sooner it's probably not worth it. My wife says sell and all my freinds say dump it. I love this car, and we feel safe in it and like the diesel but I'm wondering if 300k miles is too much and the transmission will be next, then the exhaust, then???? To be fair to my wife she is willing to entertain keeping it but wants to know things like the passenger safety since there is no passenger airbag. Is this an issue? We also worry about continuing access to parts and good independent mechanics who know the old cars. Thanks for any advice. Reality checks most welcome; I'm already a fan.

 

If you really like the car, I would have a competent mechanic that knows Benz's check out the transmission, rear end, the entire drive train. The lower, also the lower half "looks great, but I would have the oil pump and all moving parts replaced, plus the transmission rebuilt and perhaps the rear end. Then you would have a car that is reliable. One thing to consier after you sink that kind of money, especially in Canada (valuation between US money). You will never get your investment back, other things to consider is the car a possible collectors car someday,if no then there is no hope of getting your investement back. I am in the trucking business and we usually run a diesel cab 500K miles and then trade them in, in that time is there is no major problem, the engine goes thru at least 1 rebuild, new sleeves, gastket etc. Personally, there are a lot more modern cars out there today, safer, etc. But you seem to really love this car, so get a price on a driveline rebuild and then go from there. One other point a x neighbor of mine has a diesel Benz going back to the 60s and he is turning 600K miles, had the engine rebuilt around your mileage 300K and some rust repair over the decades, the last time I spoke to him, he and is wife moved to Fla 10 years ago, the car is still running strong.

 

Jperkins23

I recieved your message in my email and returned a response. I hope you got it, and if you didn't, I'll post a site that lists all major recyclers in the US and maybe Canada too!

If you are considering $5K to spend, I have a few suggestions that may help you.

First, as you know, I also own an 87 300D and like you, I love this car too! It is a very safe tank to be in if ever hit, hopefully never, it is unfortunite that only one air bag was offered for the 87, but later 124's did offer passenger airbags.

The 87 300D is the most sought after diesel benz in the 124 line-up, and the fastest production diesel automobile in the world offered up to very recently.

Will this car be collectible? Very likely yes, because of it's popularity amongst diesel benz lovers. Another reason is that the for the US market, MB stopped production of the car after only one year and did not reintroduce another diesel after 1987 to the US market until 1990, because of problems meeting the California emissions mandate.

Many people in the US had to wait in line after placing orders for the 87 300D for as long as a year!

I don't have the number of 300D's that were produced for the US market in 1987, but I can tell you that they are considered rare today.

The OM603 engine is as near bullet-proof as any engine could be. I have recently dismantled one that logged 223K and examined main and rod bearings, rings and piston also, for ware. There was almost no negligible ware to any of these parts appearing in almost new condition. I would have had no doubt that this engine could have achieved 500K with proper maintenance. But like your engine, the head cracked and the owners were ready for a new car anyway.

Since the introduction of this engine, MB has made design modifications to the aluminum 60X heads and no more do they crack.

I could suggest buying a used OM603 with later head, and with anywhere from 100K to 150K miles for around $3000 they do exist!

Or, you could replace just the head, either new, rebuilt, or from a recycler rangeing downward from $3k

Another alternative would be to buy another 87 300D I have seen a few, one recently claiming to be in A-1 condition with 260K for $5K but I have also seen others with lower miles and in good condition for $3K You have to shop around and be willing to travel some distance.

If you need anymore advise, please drop me a PM

Source for parts: Car-Parts.com

Good Luck, and let us know what you finally desided to do.


Steve...........

 

in my understanding, his cylinder head got leaky...

the coolant level goes dangerously low...
the temperature goes high...
head cracks, and therefore got warped also.

getting a brand new head is the best thing to do. no fear at all.

then check the cause of the problem so it won't happen again... then fix it.

replace the head bolt as well, since they are "stretch" bolts, and may have elongated.

 

I had a leaky head gasket on a 300e and I used a product called Thermagasket. It is a 2 part chemical that goes in your cooling system and hardens at the leaks. I was doubtful at first but I tried it and it worked great. I had oil in the cooling system and would lose water and the car would overheat. Go on the web and search for it. They claim that it is 93% effective. It costs about $100.