Good afternoon all!
I am a new member. Losing my virginity with this post. I hope it is the first of many.
I'll cut to the chase..
Done a lot of research and have brought myself up to speed as best as I can on the older diesel's out there in hopes of getting one. The time may have come. I have found a reasonably priced 85 300td for sale in my area on good old craigslist here is a link

1985 Mercedes 300 TD - $1000 (Flint Hill, VA)

I have spoken with the gentleman who is selling it several times now and he assures me he has all maintenance records going back 15 some odd years ago when he purchased the car. When he purchased the car it had 150k on it. It now has somewhere around the 335k mark. His listing states that the motor has "low compression" however after speaking with the seller he states that the vehicle is hard to start. The hard to start is the sole reason he believes the vehicle has low compression. I asked him if he had ever had the valves adjusted and he says 'not to his knowledge." Also the car has been sitting for around a year. It was taken off the road after he purchased a new vehicle. He does state that other than the hard starting the car ran and drove great before he took it off the road.

Im going out to look at and drive the car later today and was hoping I could get some advise on areas to look at and check to ensure this vehicle is a good buy.
As I said, ive done my homework and have even read the Mercedes Diesel Buyer's Survival Guide that is available through **************.com

If the car is a runner with little blow by and a solid body with little to no rust through, even if she is hard to start..if she shifts smooth and feels in overall good shape. ...if I can scoop it up for around what the seller is asking do you guys think this is a good buy? My plans for the car would be to tune it up and use a daily driver.
thanks so much in advance.

"Hard to start" could be as simple as a few bad glow plugs. Easy enough to check that with a volt meter on the plugs during the glow cycle. If working properly, the current draw should result in a 2-3 volt drop from battery voltage at the plug. Of course if it's been sitting for a year you will probably have to jump start it, but the test will still be valid.

__________________
Joe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1980 300SD - 495k miles - 'The Ambassador'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Former Family Members
95 C280
73 280SEL
90 300D
87 300SDL (X2)
86 560SEL
84 300D
80 300SD

It is hard to believe that someone drives the car for 15 years and 180K miles without a valve adjustment. Did he wrench it himself or out-source it?

Hard to start could be one or all of the below, glow plug(s) not working, valve adjustment or low compression. OTOH, it is a good deal if you can wrench it yourself and the car has little rust. I would start with $600 and see how it goes from there.

Good luck.

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

If the body is rust free it is worth more than 1000 imho. if you are looking for a reliable car though you will probably have consideralby more into it to get there. If the glow plugs are not working that is usually the most common reason for not starting. There is also a strip fuse in the glow plug relay that can go out occasionally.

Its pretty hard to tell from pics but the car looks reasonably clean.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

x2 on the rust free.

If the body is solid, you can get replacement engines for not a whole lot of money. I wouldn't focus on the engine all that much except as negotiating leverage. The key is the body.

Valve adjustment, injectors, glow plugs, filters and fuel should make a huge difference in making it run better. Blow by could be a decent indicator of condition.

__________________
Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

You should edit your first post and take the link out.

The car looks pretty darn good. I'd be a definite buyer if it was located within 100 miles of me.

Worse case would be it needs an engine; you will want to keep the 300TD head though --- it has the SLS pump on it.

__________________
daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
No longer selling Cluster Needles Paint
No longer selling New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

True, but it is harder to come by the wagon engines with the SLS pump in the head. I know there are other options out there but that is more money and a lot more work.

If you can get it for $1000 or less and it ends up not being too much work for you, you could probably get most of your money back (assuming you don't dump a bunch into it) pretty easily and more if you sell it for parts.

If he truly has never done a valve adjustment, I would start there and see how it runs.

__________________
2009 ML320 Bluetec
1985 300CD
1981 300TD

Past Mercedes
1979 300TD
1982 300TD
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1998 E430
1984 300SD
1980 300SD

As long as the body is good, $1000 is a steal for a 300TD. Even if the engine has a rod sticking out, that is not a bad price. You can find OM617 engines at almost any junk yard for a few hundred but the only issue is the SLS pump. Maybe that can be converted to belt diven, etc worst case scenario.

__________________
1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

I'd go look yesterday. Take it for a drive. Stop in gas station loosen oil filler . If it is reasonably stable, buy. Interiors don't look that nice unless taken care of.

Plan on $1,000 in parts to bring to reliable with you doing the wrenching.

__________________
85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Total steal for a wagon, from what I have seen. They go for $3000 plus in my area almost regardless of operating condition as long as it's not full of holes. Average is $5000. Buy quick before one of us does!

Run don't walk. The hard to start bit might be low compression, but it could be other things too.

For $1000 if it looks as good as the pics suggest, and no rust is hiding underneath, goferit.

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Wow that looks like a nice wagon, its worth that with no engine!

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

update!
So the pictures in the sellers posting are from sometime last summer. The car is currently sitting in a barn, pretty grimey and no shortage of bird dropings on it. lol
However,
the body is in good condition, typical rust around the wheel wells and jacking points but nothing too too major. No rust through save for a nickel size hole under the passenger rear floor mat.
Car hasnt been started since last April but after putting in a fully charged battery and several minutes of starting attempts it did start with smoke out the rear.
car did stall out after it started and would not idle at first.
After holding open the throttle and keeping the rpms up for 15 minutes the car would hold an idle and she purrs fine.
minimal oil in the filter housing and the oil cap holds steady. (did the tea kettle test)

Tachometer functions intermittently.
other than that most everything checks out.
shifts relatively smooth. no clunking.
what say you all?

sounds like a decent bargain. Just a word of warning, if there is rust around the wheel openings there is a good chance of it in the floor pan so I would suggest lifting the carpets and seeing if you can see the ground.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

also. The oil pressure indicator held towards the higher end of the gauge, it would drop slightly but always held high. is this normal?
after a solid 30 minutes of running and a short trip around the neighborhood the temp. gauge held steady in the bottom quarter of the meter... out side temp was in the 40's today. after running for some time she did start back up no problem.