1980 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

300TD Diesel Wagon

5 - Cyl.

Automatic

123.190.12.011762

Diesel

1980 Mercedes 300TD (Touring Diesel – otherwise known as a Station Wagon). 244,600 miles. 617 Non-Turbo Diesel engine. W123 Body. Built 10/1979. 4 wheel disc brakes. Fresh Virginia safety inspection. AC and heat work great. SLS works but has to be manually actuated (there is a link that connects the SLS pump with the body of the car which I do not have). The pump actuator and its fluid reservoir could use servicing / rebuilding, but as she sits, it works (if you manually lift or lower the pump lever). Tires have about 70% average tread left. Spare is good too (mounted on a Mercedes rim which matches the others). Gets between 25 and 28 mpg. The dash does have cracks, I have always had a cover on it. This car is too old to run a CarFax Report on it. I maintain this car as if it were a helicopter. Every trip to the filling station I check the fluids. If there is grime on the engine, I wipe it off. When I’m driving I am always keeping an eye on the oil pressure and the water temperature. I once read another 300TD owner’s description of her car as “running like a sewing machine” – I have to agree. This engine runs like a sewing machine (my wife has two; they are well oiled and run very smoothly). All the seats are in great shape. I’ve always liked sheep skin covers, so this car comes with a set. The drivers cover is very worn, but the seat is not. Last year my wife had the front seat bottoms re-stuffed for me as a surprise. They feel great. I replaced the rear differential last fall, my son and I painted the new rear end John Deer green and the bolts yellow. Looks very cool. The gear ratio is higher (it came from a turbo diesel) – so the car starts off a little slower, but once on the highway the RPM’s are much lower. With the original low-gear differential, 65 MPH meant the engine had to run at nearly 4700 RPM (that is VERY high). Now she’ll do 80 MPH if you want. 65 MPH keeps the RPM around 3800. This was important to me since I was using it to commute to work (about 100 miles a day). The speedometer is the original unit, so the MPH is a little off (low) since the rear end gear ratio has been changed. I added an electric fuel pump to boost fuel pressure (helps with idle and acceleration). It also has a first stage fuel filter with a metal membrane (never replace, clean with a tooth brush). The engine also has a marine grade Racor water/fuel separator (which also has its own fuel filter). We bought the car in Tucson, Arizona – according to its service records it had spent almost all of its life in the desert. We moved to Virginia in 2008. Rust – our car does not have the “cancer” seen on most East-coast 300 series cars. There are a few areas that have begun to show a very small amount of rust (see photos). Some POR-15 would stop it dead. All of the service items listed here I conduced myself (except for the suspension parts, I hired that out). This car has never been run on WVO or VO. I thought about it when we lived in the desert southwest, but in the end gave up on the idea because of all the extra work. When the engine is cold, she’ll smoke when you accelerate. After the temp rises to a nominal level, the smoke all but stops. Oil consumption varies – I keep a gallon bottle of Rotilla in the back – if it needs oil, I add it. Factors like the weather, how fast I’m driving and the phase of the moon, all will affect how much oil she burns / leaks. She’s got over 246,000 miles – to stop all oil leaks and burning would require a rebuild. This is a fact of any old 617 engine. I’ve added 60K miles since 2005. She’s never let me down. Maintenance and Repair Items 1. Replaced all suspect vacuum hose lines and connectors 2. New 3/2 Transmission vacuum switch 3. Added 3rd row seat 4. Yearly diesel purge (just conducted last one today – 6-8-2011) 5. Yearly adjustment of valve lash (March 2011) – also replaced valve cover gasket 6. Flushed and serviced transmission (drained torque converter, replaced filter -SEPT 2010) 7. New exhaust hanger bands 8. New exhaust manifold gasket 9. Added digital Tach (Tiny Tach brand) 10. Replaced all rubber fuel lines with new Viton hoses 11. New antenna mast motor assembly 12. Replaced passenger side, rear window regulator 13. Replaced driver side, rear window regulator 14. New, balanced fuel injector nozzles ($450) from Mercedes-source. 15. Replaced left-rear link arm assembly (was missing) 16. New transmission shift-valve (vacuum shift valve located on top-passenger-side of trans) – also replaced its hose and both rubber connectors. 17. New driver side window switch 18. New hood emblem (broke first one with my butt) 19. Rebuilt front end suspension -$1400 20. All 4 discs turned, new pads, July 2008 21. New rear discs, pads, Sept 2010 22. New front pads, Sept 2010 23. Replaced front bearings, bearing races and repacked, Fall 2010 24. Replaced rear differential with clean unit from turbo-diesel (better highway RPM’s and mileage) 25. Differential fluid replaced (obviously needed when replacing differential). 26. Replaced starter with turbo-diesel type (faster starts) 27. Rebuilt alternator , now is an 85 amp unit (Feb 2009) 28. New rear axle shafts, Feb 2009 29. New flex-discs (front and rear) 2009 30. New motor mounts (Fall 2010) 31. New transmission support mount (Fall 2010) 32. New all-metal Bosch hand-pump (for priming engine) – these all go bad and leak diesel onto the motor mounts which makes them fall apart 33. Electric fuel pump with filter added to rear of car, ruggedized wiring harness added to supply pump with DC 34. RACOR marine grade water/fuel separator installed 35. New high output headlamps installed, spring 2011 36. AC recharge – Summer 2009 – still ice cold 37. New “evil-servo” with life time warranty ($600) Now heater / defogger work properly 38. New auxiliary water pump ($90) 39. All new cooling system hoses 2010 40. New water pump and thermostat Fall - 2010 41. Cooling system wash (block degreasing procedure, scrubs out the insides of the engines water journals) 42. New belts (Continental brand) 43. Front seat bottoms re-stuffed and made firm again 44. Replaced front door map pockets 45. New Rain-X brand wiper blades 46. Rebuilt wiper / washer tank motor, replaced it’s gasket and securely attached it’s hose (now it pumps and does not leak) 47. Blew out and fixed windshield washer nozzles 48. Replaced driver side backup lamp assembly 49. Replaced valve stem seals (kit from Mercedes source) 50. New ignition switch assembly with two keys (replaced before the old one totally failed) 51. Replaced all burnt out instrument cluster light-bulbs. 52. Replaced all brake hoses with new stainless steel lines (that have cool red-outer covers). 53. New Glow Plugs installed 2009 54. Replaced hood pull lever (these always break right when you need to open the hood) 55. Flushed all old brake fluid out of system, all new Mercedes brand brake fluid installed now. Stops so fast it hurts. As you can see from the list provided, I have done a lot of work on this car. We’ve owned her since 2006 and she has been a joy to work on and a pleasure to drive. I get more complements on this car than any other I’ve owned (including two Mopar muscle cars). My wife has kept almost every receipt and they will go with the car. I will include the original differential (it is fine, has been completely cleaned), two boxes full of misc parts and supplies for the car. There is a lot of money in these boxes (two window motors, rear axel bearings, Viton hoses, special tools, filters, German hose clamps, an accessory fuse box with relay, Mercedes source manuals and written procedures, etc). I am keeping my special valve-adjustment wrenches, sorry. Why am I selling her? Two reasons; Time and Money. Time: Now that we live in Northern Virginia, I have 4 hours of commuting time every day. I am a father of 3 and a husband to 1. I just don’t have the time to work on this car like I used to. We bought a bigger, faster car for me to commute in (a P71 Ford Crown Victoria cop car) Money: I am photographer, and in order to buy a new 400mm f/2.8 Nikor lens, I have to sell something. We decided to let our 300TD go. Her name is “Chloie”, named after a furry cat that was the same color as this car. Car is sold AS-IS, Where-Is with no warranty. I invite anyone who is serious about this car to come and look at it in person. We are located 45 miles south of Washington, DC. Otherwise, please feel free to ask me any questions you may have. This car is ready to drive accross country !On Jun-16-11 at 04:34:01 PDT, seller added the following information: I misspelled the word "Diesel" in my title, but am now not able to correct it (because I have a bidder), sorry about that. An eagle-eyed eBayer spotted in my photos that the cruise control servo is gone, and he's right! That was removed before I got the car in 2006, so, obviously, the car does not have cruise control. If you are the high bidder and wish to retract your bid, I won't have any hurt feelings ;-) Finally - if the final bid price is over $4000 I will include with the car all of the WVO accessories I've accumulated over the years (but never used); This includes an electric fuel pump with long hose and filler nozzle (this is used to move the filtered WVO from your storage-setteling tank into another tank or your car) and a two stage fuel heater that I bought here on eBay. You can see a similar one here - eBay item # 280694632003