An Introduction to my 1997 E290 Turbo Diesel - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dude99 · #1 07-07-2015, 11:29 PM

So I've already asked some questions about it in some other threads, but have yet to write up an introduction for it, or post pictures of it (and we all love pictures) so without further delay here is the story of how I ended up with it (this is a long one, so feel free to skip down to the pictures):

My last Mercedes, a 1990 300TE (listed in my sig) had left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. After two diesels (both of which I loved), I decided to buy a 300TE. Mostly because I wanted a wagon, and 300TD’s were out of my price range. Around me a 300TE usually goes for between $2000 and $3000, while a beater 300TD W124, if you can find one, goes for $4000+. So I decided to settle for a 300TE, and honestly, I found the M103 to be an absolute pig (I now many will argue this, but it’s my opinion). It sucked fuel, was a bear to work on, common troubleshooting technique on them seemed to be throwing money and parts at them, and I never could get it to idle smoothly. I did however love the utility, ride, versatility, and everything else about the wagon platform, however the M103 was enough to get me to sell it after about 7 months of ownership.

In enters my first BMW (and my first ever car that wasn’t a Mercedes). After looking at a couple w123’s and hunting for a 300TD w123 and turning up nothing, on the advice of a friend, I decided to buy a 1992 525i sedan as they were supposed to be easy to maintain, reliable, and decent of fuel. Well the first two turned out to be true. It was nice to work on, and it never left me stranded or gave me any trouble. It drove nicely, ate up the highway miles, and was sporty enough that you could toss it into corners and it would ride them out with surprising agility for such a big car. I have to say, the M50 absolutely destroys the M103 in every category. It’s torquier, smoother, uses less fuel, and seems easier to maintain.

However with a new job, my commute changed and I was now driving (idling is more like) to and from work about 45minutes a day. The onboard computer was nice enough to tell me that my average speed during my commute was 40km\h…. Now, while the 525i got good mileage on the highway, this city commute was another matter. Here it averaged about 18.5-20 MPGus depending on if the A\C was on and what traffic was like (still better than the m103 which I got an all time best highway run of 20 MPGus with no traffic at all). So there was the fuel mileage, and since I’m looking to buy my first house, and the only place I can afford is about 15 minutes further out than I live now, I knew my commute was going to get longer. In addition, anything I’m able to buy will be a fixer upper (which I’m fine with, I’m a pretty handy guy), but this meant that I needed something that I could haul building supplies (2x4’s etc etc) in and preferably toy a utility trailer with.

The e34 525i, believe it or not, has no NA hitch available for it. The only one you can purchase is the euro hitch for around $800. I found that to be ridiculous. Add that to the fact that every time I drove my GF’s C230K I found myself liking the ride of the Mercedes better than the harsher, more sporty ride of the BMW. So with all this in mind, I put the Bimmer up for sale….

While I was waiting for it to sell I started looking for a wagon. After several months it became clear that the prices for the 1987 300TD hadn’t come down at all, in fact they had gone up. I found one for $4000 but it was full of mold, still had the #14 head, and looked to be in poor condition when I went to see it. I also found a 2001 E320 wagon for $4700 that I went to see. I loved the way it drove, and I’ve always liked the face of the w210. However it had rust on all the doors, around the back window, and the fenders. So I passed on it.

At this point I was becoming discouraged, not only could I not find a decent wagon, but the bottom had fallen out of the E34 market in my area. Suddenly there was a glut of them in nicer shape, for less than I had paid for mine 6 several months earlier, BAH!

There had however been a silver E290 turbo diesel that had been on craigslist during this time. It had been listed for $7800 for a while and I had emailed the dealer several times with low ball offers (although they were all I could afford) and had never heard back. About 3 weeks ago it was relisted with the heading “Must sell, trades considered”. So I thought, what the hell, and sent another email asking if he would accept $4000. He countered with $6000, which seemed like a fair number, but was out of my range, so I offered him $4000, plus my E34 in trade. Turns out he was a big E34 guy and accepted my offer.

Next up was a meeting to see each other’s cars. So off I went to take a look. While not perfect, it seemed to be in pretty good condition, it doesn’t have a little rust here or there, and a small rust hole int eh sheet metal under the passenger side and drivers side. But it drove well, was a diesel, should get great fuel mileage, had a hitch, and it was a wagon. I decided as I was driving it back from the test drive that I wanted it. However about a block from the parking lot the transmission locked into 3rd and stayed there (limp home mode). I was totally bummed….. However I told him that if they were to have it fixed I was still interested. So, much to my surprise, they said that not only were they willing to do that, but they would take it to the shop of my choice. I was very impressed.

So three or four days go by and I get an email from the seller saying the car had been fixed, to the tune of $1100, and it was ready if I was still interested. So a couple days later I drove back out, test drove it again, did some paperwork, and took it home

Here it is

Next to my GF's C230K

Cloth Euro interior

Low mileage for a diesel (it in km remember)

No third row, but its got the double roller blind and the storage bin will probably be more useful to me anyways

Back seats

Found these in the back, probably the original dealer in Germany

The Heart of the beast, the 2.9L OM602.982 direct injection

tjts1 · #2 07-08-2015, 12:03 AM

Very nice purchase. If you ever get bored of it, take it south of the border and pawn it off for $10k or more. It looks like it came with the W202 15" wheels which means it has the smaller W202 brakes also used on the 96 and 97 E300 diesels sold in the US and Canada. You can alwas swap in larger E320 brakes and whels if you need more braking power. The cloth seats and turny knoby CCU is a nice touch as well. It also lacks the giant lumpy knee bolster fitted to US cars which I had to modify to sit comfortably. I wish we could import these to the US when they are 15 years old instead of 25.

I agree on your assestment of the M103, its a dog. I lived with that motor in my old 190e only because i came with a 5 speed manual transmission which I wanted to bolt up to a diesel. I tried to find a 300td and they were either too expensive or beat to hell. I settled for a sedan which was in much better condition and cheaper than any wagon I could find.

enjoy the ride.

dude99 · #3 07-08-2015, 12:15 AM

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it. I don't know about it being a $10,000 car though. There are a lot of little imperfections, and like I said, some rust in the sheet metal underneath. We'll see how much of it I can fix. If I get 6-10yrs out of it before it dissolves I'll be happy. Shame though, its a great little motor.

I've already been into it, I had to replace the o-rings on the fuel lines and the fuel filter as the rubber seal attached to it had dried out. It was sucking air ad making cold starts an absolute b*tch since it kept loosing its prime.

I had a bit of laugh the other day though, I pulled out the owners manual to read (because I'm one of those people that does that for fun) and it was all in german... hmm... guess I won't be reading that...lol

Of more immediate concern is the passenger side mirror. The glass was barely in their when I bought it so I removed it when I got home to keep it from breaking. I didn't want to risk it as I've not seen mirrors like these on NA spec w210's, the outer 1/4 of them is convex. Seems some had broken the plastic mount on the motor and just double sided taped it in there.... Motor isn't working properly either..

Are the side mirrors on all w210's the same or are the post facelift ones different?

euroamg · #4 07-08-2015, 02:47 AM

Your wagon looks great! Nice color and interior too..

Finally you found the diesel wagon you have wanted for a while... Looking forward to it soon...

tjts1 · #5 07-08-2015, 03:58 AM

Post facelift mirrors are different with integrated turn signal. Also take a look underneath the battery under the back seat for rust. Mine was very rusty in that area and it was a socal car. I would go all over the car especially underneath to find and mitigate any surface rust. Unfortunately the paint process used on the w210 left it extremely vulnerable to corrosion. Spring perches, springs and control arms are also susceptible. Fixing it all now will save you a lot of trouble down the road.

Somebody in SoCal had built an E300 diesel wagon out of an e320 wagon and e300 sedan. He was asking $15k. It eventually sold but for how much I don't know.

Stretch · #6 07-08-2015, 05:49 AM

Looks like a really nice car - and I must say for a cloth interior of that period that is one of the less gaudy designs I've seen. Some of them are absolutely horrific (in my opinion) making leather a must even though the leather seats don't seem to wear too well on the W210 (though that could just be abuse and lack of love on the second hand market).

dude99 · #7 07-08-2015, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Post facelift mirrors are different with integrated turn signal.

So the inner working are different as well? I really only need the motor assembly if its the same

Quote:

take a look underneath the battery under the back seat for rust. Mine was very rusty in that area and it was a socal car. I would go all over the car especially underneath to find and mitigate any surface rust. Unfortunately the paint process used on the w210 left it extremely vulnerable to corrosion. Spring perches, springs and control arms are also susceptible. Fixing it all now will save you a lot of trouble down the road.

Definitely will... like I said though, it already has rust. I'll be saving up over the next 6 months or so to hopefully buy a gas welding setup so I can weld in some new sheet metal underneath

Quote:

Somebody in SoCal had built an E300 diesel wagon out of an e320 wagon and e300 sedan

Interesting, I may end up doing that with this engine. I'm hoping by the time this body dissolves the w210 prices will have come down far enough to make buying a gas wagon to drop this motor into a viable option.

Quote:

and I must say for a cloth interior of that period that is one of the less gaudy designs I've seen. Some of them are absolutely horrific (in my opinion) making leather a must even though the leather seats don't seem to wear too well on the W210 (though that could just be abuse and lack of love on the second hand market).

Thanks. I think lack of love has a lot to do with it. The w123 and w126 leather seats look pretty tatty as well after a while and fall apart. They all dry out and crack.

Quote:

Your wagon looks great! Nice color and interior too..
Finally you found the diesel wagon you have wanted for a while... Looking forward to it soon...

thanks, its pretty close to what I wanted, its no w124, but it'll do

dude99 · #8 07-17-2015, 11:12 PM

Well, it took 3 weeks, but I finally got through my first tank of diesel. My commute is about 80% city and the wagon netted me 7L/100km or 34MPG (US) for the metrically challenged. I realize that this is fairly meaningless as its only one tank full, and you need many tank fulls and thousands on kilometers to get a decent set of data. None the less, I'm very impressed and happy with that first number.

tjts1 · #9 07-18-2015, 02:03 AM

Thats really impressive. The direct injection cylinder head is a lot more efficient than the IDI engines we're all familiar with. The tradeoff is lower redline for DI vs IDI.

97 OM602 DI

97 OM606 IDI

VW1300 · #10 07-18-2015, 10:20 PM

Wow, congratulations on the diesel wagon - sure wish we had those down here in the US! Do we know for sure the 15" W202 wheels are correct, or just something the PO swapped in?

dude99 · #11 07-19-2015, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Thats really impressive. The direct injection cylinder head is a lot more efficient than the IDI engines we're all familiar with.

I was quite surprised. Of course, like I said, its only one tank so we'll have to see what sort of trend it sets. What I did fiind interesting is that according this page Mercedes-Benz - E-class (W210) - E 290 Turbo-D (210.017) (129 Hp) - Technical specifications, Fuel economy (consumption) The 7l/100k is exactly what I should be getting during mixed driving. What amazes me is that its supposed to get 5.4l\100km (44 MPG US) on the highway!

Quote:

The tradeoff is lower redline for DI vs IDI

.

I actually don't feel that the redline is much of trade off with this engine compared to other engines. I drove a VW TDI a while ago, and while it did redline around 4 thousand, it absolutely fell on its face around 3000 making reving it any higher quite pointless.

The OM602 in this pull all the way up until the tranny shifts and full throttle. It feels like I seem to remember my previous om617's were in that regard. I believe the 617 redlines around 5000 some odd RPM, and to be honest I really don't notice or miss that last 1000RPM... Of course the 5 speed transmission probably makes up for it.

Quote:

Wow, congratulations on the diesel wagon - sure wish we had those down here in the US! Do we know for sure the 15" W202 wheels are correct, or just something the PO swapped in?

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it so far. As for he wheels, I have no idea, tjts1 would have a better idea than I would I think.

Stretch · #12 07-19-2015, 06:24 AM

I think your wheels are standard - I see lots of W210s with wheels like that over here

Mölyapina · #13 07-19-2015, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjts1

Very nice purchase. If you ever get bored of it, take it south of the border and pawn it off for $10k or more.

I don't think you can legally bring that car across the border.

tjts1 · #14 07-19-2015, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

I don't think you can legally bring that car across the border.

Yes you can once its 25 years old. If its legally registered in Canada, a bit sooner. A lot of kei cars imported to Canada made their way to WA state, all perfectly legal.

MBeige · #15 07-20-2015, 01:07 AM

Congrats on the acquisition. Interesting story too!