A buddy here in northern VA is selling his '85 380SE w/ 79K miles, and I went by our local "purveyor of prestigious pre-owned autocars" to get their opinion, and the guy said these gas engines were trouble.
What is the story?

TIA,
John in VA
unfamiliar with M-B, but what a well-built machine - makes my '86 BMW 535i seem cheap!!

Early 380 engines had a single-row timing chain that wears very rapidly and can break unexpectedly, This results in a valve job, and with age the head bolts can stick in the block, ruining the threads. The necessary repair is also expensive, as it requires special steel inserts and a jig to install them (Jig was $1500 a few years back).

Otherwise they are as good as any other M116/M117 engine -- valves every 250,000 miles or so, the rest of the car will be a pile of rust before the bottome end goes.

Convert to the double-row chain if you need a valve job (it's expensive, but less than the work required to repair a broken chain) if it has not been done.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

85 is double row.

John, where in Va?

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

in Northern VA. I've had the car since this past weekend, showing to some interested parties.