Mercedes 300D 10,000 Miles Later

It's finally been 10,000 miles since I did the engine swap in my Mercedes. How is it holding up?
Music courtesy of Joakim Karud
joakimkarud.ba...

[@williamgrissom9022]

Great result. After the engine in my 1985 CA 300D failed, I bought a 1984 w/ frame damage ($400) just for its engine. I ended up fixing that damage, then later finding an engine (~1982) on craigslist for $300 (incl. starter). That engine was like new (>400 psig all cyl). Had those cars for 17 & 9 yrs, resp. now. Vibrations at idle are usually from the engine mounts (cheap India ones, get Lemforder). Much info on the forums to help keep them running.

[@KB4TAD-Radio]

I have an 83 300D. I love the car. It has also been very meticulously maintained and I have every single service record and receipt from new. I admire your obvious love and dedication to the vehicle. This is a car that is worth putting some money into - and to keep for a long time. Much better than a soul sucking Japanese appliance. I have some newer cars, but the 300 D is the favorite by far. Keep up the great vids.

[@glendaly6367]

I think it sucks that the Japanese have us beat when it comes to longevity in cars. But they do. Toyota's are the most confidence inspiring when it comes to driving older cars on long trips, in the cold weather as so on.

[@shanechostetler9997]

I found a 1984 300D turbo up here in Western Washington 2 years ago, white just like yours but with only 143,000 miles on it. It had been sitting in a garage for 4 years but started right up. It was so clean I had to buy it! Probably paid too much for it at $3500. I got it home, drained the fuel, changed the filters etc. it needed a new priming pump on the injection pump. New front calipers because they were dragging real bad and rebuilding them didn’t make sense when you can get rebuilt ones for reasonable prices locally. It’s fun to drive and being so clean it gets some good attention plus it’s fun to talk about it because it’s a simple car and I can understand it. We call her the flying cloud!

[@rivermonsoon7009]

Everyone of my diesel benzs I've owned have all leaked oil. And they all lasted me years. Don't worry so much about it. It will drive you nuts. Good reviews. Love that you find passion in them. How old are you? Tripin to see there are still a few Americans like me so into these cars.

[@TheStuit2it]

I wish I had your mechanical ability! I've got a few of these cars. and I love them to death! keep up the good work, man.

[@JamesCooperider]

Thanks! I come from a family of mechanically-inclined people so I guess it just makes sense? Haha, nah. The peach part forums have gotten me through almost everything with this car. There seems to be an answer for every little issue I had, whether it was with the swap or just with the dash lights quitting...

[@poepflater]

That vibration that calms down at higher speed, is the injector pump that is in need of service. at low speed the defective injector bits hardly produce any pressure, which it is running like it is missing cylinders. You can buy the tools and kit and recalibrate it, but you will also need the diesel pulse thingy with the 2 LEDs to set the timing.... yes the timing adjusts according to what the injectors are doing, so it needs to be set as a unit. DIYable with the right tools.

[@ItsTimePictures]

Get those minor issues taken care of. Do not defer! :) I am 16 days into owning an 87 560SEC and whoa am I loving it. I have discovered a few issues that I will have fixed straight away. Then it goes into storage for the winter. I'll cry while I am unable to driver her.

[@JamesCooperider]

Ive taken care of the majority of the small ones that have cropped up, but the driveshaft is definitely the biggest one right now. I have to order a re-manufactured unit from Cali and that'll run me in the neighborhood of $500... so it's easy to put off for right now, haha. I'll be sad to lock mine away for the winter as well... luckily spring is just around corner.... right?

[@ItsTimePictures]

James Cooperider Spring is forever away LOL. By the way, your smooth panning shots are making me look lazy. Stop it! 👍

[@jggarage5584]

great video I wish mine w123 would look as good as yours.and you are right 300 D Mercedes are pretty much Bulletproof....mine is pushing 310,000 miles.and I've had no issue with that whatsoever since I bought it....except the water pump lol

[@JamesCooperider]

Thanks! It was kind of thrown together... just on a whim, haha. I've done a lot of preventative maintenance (like a water pump) to avoid any failure and *knock on wood* it's been truly fantastic and trouble free. The only issue I had semi-mechanically was the glow plug relay went out but that was a super easy 5-minute fix. The body of mine has 216,000 and the engine has 238,000 and the trans is somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000... pretty fresh.

[@juliansowards6036]

nice vid I have a 83 fully restored w123 turbo diesel sedan. I love it, boosted the turbo and have some extra aftermarket stuff for more horsepower for my tank but I love it! these things go forever

[@christopherfaeth9903]

Also have a 84 Mercedes 300d. Was my first car

[@rylansford2227]

Same here 84 300d

[@k.j.g.9601]

Thanks for posting these. I hope you still own the car and are still posting new vids. I just purchased a 1984 300TD from California that I am having shipped back east to South Jersey. The car has been owned by the same family since new which is nice to know and has had lots of work done to it over the years (Total Front end rebuild as of 3 months ago, new injectors, tires, oil changed etc)s however the drivers and passangers MBtex looks to be shot, the AC compressor is not working, small dent on the driver side fender, the hood has some ripples and it needs a new Windshield. Zero rust anywhere and at 189k the owner has taken miticulous care of servicing it. It will be the perfect restore job for my son and I. Any advice on where to get interior parts other than ebay? Specifically seat covers? I can find some new but they want both my arm and my leg and have been eyeing up my other two....Great vids, please keep posting them. Just subscribed

[@adventurousairman]

I love the old Mercedes Diesels, they are the best, it will keep going and going and going. What did you adjust to get more boost ?

[@johanvandyk]

But... other than that.... 🤣 Love the car. Love the video. Thanks for sharing!

[@mushedroom]

so the flex disks didn't solve the vibration problems?

[@blinkfan305]

These cars are getting rarer. Good to see another pristine example out on the roads still chugging along! Have you had to deal with any rust issues? I'm not experienced with body/paint work and I'll probably need to involve a professional.

[@JamesCooperider]

My previous Benzes have had really bad rust issues but luckily with this one, it's from Az, so no rust issues. I'm thinking about having this one painted this year, so if I find any rust, I'll have it fixed promptly. My first 300D was so rusty I had to patch a hole in the floor the size of a dinner plate... it was really bad.

[@larrytipton2868]

Dude. I had a 78 300d that rusted out to the point i had to junk it in 2013. Had 330,000 miles on it and still ran. Those cars had a fatal design flaw when it came to rust, but they fixed it i think roughly 5 years after 78, i think.Something about Mercedes for a few years using rubber along the bottom sidepanels where if even a tiny crack from a rock for example would breech the rubber. Then air, dirt, water, ect would get inside the small openings, and eat the car inside out. Thats why cars like these survive in certain climates. Don't know how to fix that, but i would look there to maybe clean the debris inside those panels, then reseal it with something other than that rubber. Probably costs too much, but still look to see if that's a problem. If it is, unless you live in a warm, dry climate, it's gona get worse. I saw it on my car over a roughly 18 year period the last 18. Good luck, best car i've ever owned.If you live where they put salt on the road in winter, or near an ocean, that will do the most damage cause it gets inside the breeches in the rubber and salt is very corrosive.

[@momcilogavric4930]

Im very close to buy one. Just must find a decent one.

[@190mex]

Hello I wonder whether you have play in the steering wheel when driving straight ahead? Is it normal for older Mercedes have play about 1cm in driving when driving straight?

[@JamesCooperider]

190mex I do indeed have a slight bit of play in the steering wheel. I would imagine most of the cars from this era do. All of my 300D's have had the same feeling steering and I would credit the play to the steering box. It's a design shared from even earlier models and brought over to the 123 (and up) chassis. A little dated but certainly a tried and true design!

[@VilleVallaton76]

There's a certain limit for play for that steering box, ca. 15 mm measured from the steering wheel rim is acceptable, when the steering is in straight position. It is a feature of the circular ball steering. It can be adjusted, but if you tighten it too much, there's a risk it locks into right/left end position in certain circumstances, so if not extreme, don't mess with the steering box. If the steering/play feels nasty with that 15mm play, like if you feel you need to correct all the time when driving over unevennesses on the road, and the ball joints are ok, then I'd change the steering damper before anything else. That damper doesn't last forever, cost ca. 40 euros in Europe (ca 44$), and make a dramatic calming effect.

[@glendaly6367]

I have to assume the a/c doesn't work? If it does you're going to be in for it! Then it seems all the power window regulators crap out at some point, the brakes are very temperamental and it seems the brake pads don't seem to hold up as well as on domestic cars. But that's just my observation.

[@JamesCooperider]

Glen Daly Yes, A/C is a no-go. I deleted everything associated... and then regretted it 3 months later when summer had come around, haha. Actually, the regulators are all working great! My biggest problems lie within the switches that control the windows... namely the driver's window. You can put it down with ease but putting it back up requires a butter knife... the details get a little messy. Actually the brakes have been great! Granted it has new pads and rotors but the worst thing is brake fade. The front rotors are pretty large and they aren't drilled or slotted. Otherwise, it's dandy

[@VilleVallaton76]

Nice car. Those u-joints you had worn out, are pretty inexpensive and an ordinary workshop task to change them, are those rubber dampers also shot so that it is worth paying 500$ for a new complete driveshaft?

[@JamesCooperider]

Risto M. The rubber 'flex disks' are brand new. Honestly, when I installed the new ones, it did help with some of the vibrations. HOWEVER, I wish the U-joint service was so simple... Mercedes did us the favor of making the joints irreplaceable. They're completely sealed and not like any Imperial-style joint I've seen. I've been on the phone with 5 driveline "specialty" shops in central Ohio who have all turned me away and want nothing to do with Mercedes or BMW shafts. If you know something that I don't, please fill me in... otherwise, it looks like a re-manned driveshaft is in my future, agh!

[@VilleVallaton76]

They do such u joint replacements for w123 regularly here in Northern Europe at least. They grind the seals out. But here those old w123 are much more common than where you are living, so it's not a rarity which random workshops don't want to mess with. And typically they are not particularly the mint condition hobby cars of the wealthy but rather workhorses of the poor people deep in the forest (ok well w124 has mostly replaced w123 but still a long tradition in keeping these cars running after 1 million km). So, I guess you need to deal with the realities of your environment.

[@VilleVallaton76]

An update to this: the way the u-joint renewal is made in my hoods, if it is made in an ordinary workshop: they secure the new u joint with a few tiny welded pearls per bearing/mount. Slightly brutal, but hey it's an old car, and don't think that'll ruin too much, or maybe the bearing geometry and hardening might suffer a bit, but it gives you plenty of inexpensive kilometers in comparison to renewing the whole driveshaft due to a worn out u joint. Does this sound terrible?:D

[@woodstockpaul6066]

I am a fan of these cars but I am having a hard time with everyone saying these cars are bulletproof......after an engine swap, oil leaks, broken ac, windows don't work, etc. etc. etc. Everytime I think I want one, it looks like a whole lot of trouble to own one! But I sometimes still want one. ????!!!

[@JamesCooperider]

Woodstock Paul A lot of what was wrong with my car was ‘operator error.’ The original owner ran it low on oil and ruined the engine. I deleted the A/C (shame on me), otherwise I could’ve made it work! These cars are really, really great but a lot of them are 40+ years old with sordid pasts. Maintenance is a big part of keeping these things alive. The engine I swapped into this car is a great example; 260K and it runs perfectly with proper compression. These are incredible cars that will outlast most everything else but they’re old!

[@woodstockpaul6066]

Thanks James. I am really going back and forth as to whether or not to get a 300d. My wife and I have 2005 Honda Accord that has been well cared for and is totally reliable, but it lacks character. I must be insane to think of getting rid of the Accord in exchange for an old Mercedes!

[@hondayamahafan]

@@JamesCooperider I enjoyed the video. What was the total cost for the engine swap?

[@JM-gu3tx]

What kind of engine did you swap into it????

[@isaaclemasters8432]

Hood pad!

[@mustafakhasawneh4713]

is there a manual 300SD??

[@JamesCooperider]

Abu Mohammad Khasawneh Only the 240's (of this generation) came from the factory with a manual. However, that particular transmission can be retrofitted into other body styles. I've heard a lot of mixed info on how they come out.... I have a friend in Texas who loves it but another guy I know hates it.