HELP deciding whether to buy this junkyard 85 300TD engine

[dudemanstan]

my '80 300TD is slow as balls, and has lived a hard life. i'm trying to source a turbo TD engine for fixing up and eventually dropping into my wagon.

today i went to a junkyard - i found it an 85 300TD with its motor intact! looks to be in decent condition. no idea why the car was junked as it isn't totalled.

i tried just hooking a battery up and picking the ignition but that didn't do anything - no response turning the ignition. people have pulled parts from the interior but the engine compartment looks more or less untouched so far.

i checked shaft play on the turbo and it was good. i cracked open the opper rad hose and saw no sign of oil or much rustiness. i opened the oil filler cap and the oil looks normal, and the camshafts are smooth, oiled, and have no rust (so no coolant has been in there). nothing is obviously demolished, and it shows no sign of bad overheating or a BHG.

i can get the engine complete for roughly $300 with a warranty that will allow me to exchange it for another engine (any in any of their locations, all engines are same price) or return for "store credit".

should i jump on it? is there any further testing or work i can / should do to decide if its worth it? i'm afraid that if i don't get it, i wont find anything else for this good fo a price in this good of condition, and i'm afraid that if i do get it, there will be some sort of issue that will prevent me from being able to rebuild and use the engine......help!

maybe a fellow peachparts member wants to join me to look at it in person? . i found the engine at a junkyard in the long beach area, and i will say no more because i don't want to broadcast to the whole world about the treasure i've found! LOL!

[mike-81-240d]

Couldn't you possibly jump the starter motor?...

[vstech]

see what they want for the entire wagon.
the 85 is significantly better than the 80... and the parts that have been pulled off, can be gotten out of your car.

[dudemanstan]

Originally Posted by vstech

see what they want for the entire wagon.
the 85 is significantly better than the 80... and the parts that have been pulled off, can be gotten out of your car.

teh interior on this one has been pretty well gutted and the paint is damaged. i'm on a limited budget and really just want to snag an engine to slowly work on.

[vstech]

OK, gotcha.
the problem is, putting a top of the line 85 617 turbo into an 80 with NONE of the attributes of a turbo vehicle, is the transmission cannot handle the power, the differential will swing the torque in the wrong band, and limit the efficiency of the turbo, and other issues.
it'll be funner to drive, but a newer vehicle will be a lot better. unless you can drop a 5 speed into your car, but you'll still be stuck with the evil servo, etc...

[dudemanstan]

Originally Posted by vstech

OK, gotcha.
the problem is, putting a top of the line 85 617 turbo into an 80 with NONE of the attributes of a turbo vehicle, is the transmission cannot handle the power, the differential will swing the torque in the wrong band, and limit the efficiency of the turbo, and other issues.
it'll be funner to drive, but a newer vehicle will be a lot better. unless you can drop a 5 speed into your car, but you'll still be stuck with the evil servo, etc...

i know i know i know. i'm aware of all the drawbacks of having an 80 wagon. maybe when i have more money i will think about things like other wagons, other trannies, etc.

right now the question is buy the engine, or don't buy the engine.

if yes to buying the engine - what else to check / how to check it?

also if yes - do i need anything other than hand wrenches of 19mm or less to separate the transmission from the engine?


the point of this engine is so that in the eventuality my current engine dies (which is likely - its beat), i can have a nice fresh engine to swap in. it just makes sense to grab a turbo since it will cost me the same for any engine from the junkyard, why not get the best possible option right?

[layback40]

X2 with vstech,
What you are suggesting will work but its not ideal. A motor & trans swap may work. You would be better with the diff as well.
I have a turbo trans in my 300D na, 84, it holds on longer in gears than the non turbo trans did. The cooler lines are different for the turbo trans as well. I suspect there maybe some other differences as well.
I would want to start the motor before I purchased it.

[dudemanstan]

i understand what you guys are saying. i can always grab all the other parts later. what i care about right now is that i found a turbo wagon engine for cheap, which is likely not going to happen again. to do a swap i HAVE to have a wagon engine due to the SLS pump being integral. this isnt going to be swapped now. its going to get stuck in my garage and rebuilt i just dont want to waste 300 bucks if its likely to have some FUBAR flaw that i can't detect!

[charmalu]

The wagon might have been donated to a charity. then sent to an auction yard, then the JY bought it. so maybe there is nothing real wrong with the engine.
Was the spedo still in the car? might give some indication of milage if it hasn`t stopped at some point.

Look at the steering wheel, peddles, seats. wear around the door openings etc... could get a clue of high milage.

Turn the engine over by hand from the crank shaft pully. see how smooth or locked up it is. I turned one over, a Cali 85 300TD, turned over w/o much resistance. they were driving w/o the air filter element. pull the lid to see if it is in there. I have come across 2 85 w/o the filter. If it is a Cali model, would be a can behind the R/F headlight.

Iam surprised a JY would still have the fluids still in the engine. must not be PNP. If you can start them, jump the black box next to the battery on the inner fender. jump across 2 of the screws.

Grab the differential, it is a 2:88 used only in 85. your 80 must have a 3:46.

If you buy the engine and not the transmission with it, be sure to remove the 6 bolts that hold the torque convertor to the FW. acessed from the black plastic cover at the bottom of the trans.

$300 is not a bad price for a complete engine with all accessories. I thin k PNP is $257.00 out the door.

Before you go ahead and rebuild the engine, do a compression check to see the health of it.

Charlie

[t walgamuth]

I agree 100% with layback. It may be only 300 but if the motor is bad 300 is a lot to lose. I'd figure a way to get it started before shelling out my dough. I would also snag the diff, tranny and speedo too, and dont forget the rad. If you pay your cards right you might get it all for the 300.

The trouble with used engines is they might be good and might be not so good.

I own a perfectly lovely 85 sd that I got very inexpensively because the PO bought a used motor from another fellow who sold it in good faith thinking it was perfectly good. The motor had excellent compression and sitting in the car would run excellently. The car it came in was wrecked though so it was not possilbe to drive it. It turned out to have bad bearings caused by either a bad oil pump or being run low on oil.

It's unusual to find bad bearings on a benz motor but not impossible.

I'd have to hear it run I think.

Good luck.

[charmalu]

Buying an engine from a Pick N Pull type yard, you will not be able to start it before pulling it. they don`t allow it.

You would need to bring oil, filter, Battery, and they would not allow that either. all the vehicles are drained of fluids, so when they crush them they can just run them right through.

They do have a 30 day return policy, but you only get store credit.

There is something new they just started, is a warranty program. just another way for them to make money. http://www.picknpull.com/events_and_specials.aspx?View=Detail&ID=2605

Tom: you been around some of that funny smoke again?
there is no way you are going to play your cards right to get all that you mentioned for $300.00. now maybe back east the prices are cheaper, but our west, you`re playing with the big boys.

Charlie