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Geeting an old 79' benz Diesel

Slappy00

Slappy00

Golden Member
Ok so a year ago my 92 camry (which i swore was immortal) took it death-by-oil-pump-failure. So for a better part of this year im without a car. Anyways my friend Steve has a Benz 300D that he was going to restore, but now has a Galant to drive around so he is "giving" the benz to me. I suppose that this is fine as I have no ride, but the car has been sitting in his garage for almost a year now. The car only has 70K on the engine (which is brand new i heard when it comes to Merc Diesels) and 30K on the transmission, the clutch is new/used (probably still good). The car has various dings and rust spots. The trim is missing on the passenger rear quater-panel and a few areas have a bit of rust on em.
What i need to know is two-fold:
1) how do you fight rust... i fought it with the camry and lost every time. I live in the upper midwest so it snows and there is salt on the street, which makes it quite a problem. I guess i need to figure out what tools i need and how to use the power of bondo to help me.

Finally how do you start a engine (diesel for that matter) that has been in storage over a year. Im pretty sure a fluid change is in order, but can i just add one of those gas preserving (in this case for diesel) additives to the diesel and start it?

I think that this could be a really cool car to own if i can get it back to its former prestine shape, but i dont want to hack away at something that will give me nothing but grief. ...

Ill post pics sometime tommarrow as they are in my laptop...at lab =/

here are some pics of teh same car (im better condition)
300D 1979
 
Is he actually giving you the car, as in transfering the title to your name? If not, and he's just loaning it to you, I'd think twice about spending money on fixing it up.

As far as rust, if it's not too bad, sand it off, bondo + touch up paint.

Not sure about the diesel motor, I'm not sure, someone else will have to speak up on that one.
 
welli gues i should have been a bit more clear ive known steve since preschool, we are now 26 He was going to do the paperwork for a title transfer (without paying him anything), but im not sure i want the beast, if its just goning to suck my wallet dry. But look at those pics, and tell me that car isnt cool to roll around in... you know in a "classic" sort of way
 
Rust removal = angle grinder (can be had for less than $20 if you look around) and wire cup brush. Then bondo over it immediately before it forms back. Sand, primer, then paint. It won't look beautiful (unless you know what you're doing) but much better than the rust.
 
Can't look at the pics right now, I'm at work and Ebay is filtered(yes, those in control are in fact nazis). If it's just surface rust and most the paint and body is fine then it won't be that expensive to fix. How's the interior?
 
You now have a tank on wheels. We sold our 240D a while back. It had 365k miles on it.

Take a look at the thickness of the metal on the bumper next time you look at it. Not this tin foil and plastic junk you get today.

I'm not sure if diesel goes bad over time. Never had any diesel setup for that long. Although you will probaby be fine just starting it up. If you want to err on the side of caution, you could remove the glow plugs and loosen the fuel line nuts going into the injectors. Then turn the engine over by hand.

Once you get it running, i'd strongly recommend using Diesel Purge by Lubro Moly. It cleans the injectors and makes that clackety old diesel a little more quiet. You'll also need to take the valve cover off and check the valve lash. That should quiet it down a bit more if it's out of adjustment. Lastly if it doesn't leak, try synthetic oil. remember diesels use a different oil. Make sure the API sticker on the back of the oil has a 'C' rating CI, CJ, CH whatever. C for compression. I use Shell Rotella T Snythetic. Walmart has a good price.
 
Diesel won't gel or go stale in just a year. 3 maybe. 2 possibly. But not 1.

Your biggest enemy will be water in the fuel. Even if the car has been shedded, condensation can form in the tank. If it has a water drain either in the tank, line, or bottom of the fuel filter, drain off the water.

I don't know if Mercedes have a way of priming (a hand-operated fuel pump) or not, but if they do, prime it for a while. I'll bet with a good battery, no water in the fuel, and primed it would crank right up.

As for fuel conditioner, use it all the time, not just in the old fuel. Old motors (like your '79) had fuel injection systems that were never intended to run with the low-sulfur (and therefore low-lubricating) #2 diesel we have today (thanks to the environmentalists). The older injectors and pumps need either fuel additive or #1 "premium" diesel all the time.

I recommend Howe's Fuel Conditioner. I burn over 6000 gallons of diesel a year in 7 different motors (I'm a farmer) and it just works.
 
1: Take out the glow plugs and squirt some engine oil in it, but not too much. This will help get oil to the rings faster. Let sit for a day. Then, try to turn the engine over by hand 1 revolution. If it is OK, then goto step #2.

2: Give it an oil change. Change the filter. Only use the Merc filter, or a Mann filter (OEM). Use Shell Rotella oil, same for step #1. It is made for diesel engines.

3: Start it up. Run the tank almost dry, then fill it up with diesel, and a conditioner that will absorb up any remaining water.

4: Change the fuel filter, as this is where all of the water will collect. If it has a water seperator (found on older diesels) drain the water from that as well.

5. I suck at bodywork, so I have no info for you on this.

6. Enjoy!


I had a 1983 Volvo 760 Turbo Diesel with a stick. It smoked bad! If somebody was tailgating me, I would floor it! Wouldn't go any faster, but man, what a cloud of smoke it made!
 
i like the look of them 300D's.... nothing modern about it, but that car just goes and goes.... there's some places where almost all the taxis are 300D's... and Merc Diesels are usually quite good... don't know what they were like back in 79 though
 
Originally posted by: acemcmac
Originally posted by: jkersenbr
...I burn over 6000 gallons of diesel a year in 7 different motors (I'm a farmer)...
Click to expand...

^^^ That, my friends, is a man's man ^^^

:shocked:
Click to expand...

Just part of doing business. But man do I hate payin' the bill! :frown:
 
Those mercs are INSANE. You can tune the living hell out of them, too, since they're (turbo?)diesels. A little tender love and care and you'll have the baddest car in town.

By the way, the Admiral in Vice City is a 300D. Best car in the game.
 
Just FYI, Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15W-40 has the best price/performance ratio of any oil that I've been able to find. It is an excellent oil for gasoline engined cars, too.

It is considerably better than Shell Rotella T Multi-Grade.

Since you live in a colder climate, make sure you use at least a 10W- oil in the winter time.

Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 10W-30 is an excellent choice..

There are no good 10W-40 conventional diesel oils. :|
 
Originally posted by: Slappy00
thanks for all the help...

/me takes notes....well copy and paste
Click to expand...

holy shiet! my grandpa had one of those but we sold it after he passed away 🙁 it had 405k miles on it... one of the best cars ever.
 
Ew ew ew. that first pic is not a water drain. That's a jack point. There will be 4 around the car. That's needs to be structurally sound so that you can change tires.

That's one sick puppy, going to take a lot of work to get it restored. I'd like to have a better pic of that 'crack' in the hood. That doesn't look good
 
Great advice in this thread so far. I'll throw my $.02 in here.

I've no idea on the condition of the motor...you'll need to get it started and see for yourself.

But IMO, judging by your pics, that car is in bad shape. There's a LOT of rust on that car. That rusty crack in the hood is indicitive of what's underneath the paint; a ton of rust.

Being that you're getting the car for free, I'd get it mechanically sound and forget about doing any cosmetic repairs. Get it road legal and deal with it. If you get a year out of it before it falls apart, you just drove a free car for a year.

Restoring that car to pristine condition will cost you a lot of money.
 
You can run that car on fry oil.
No sh1t.
There's this guy that's been on the local news here a few times that runs an old 197x benz diesel on used oil from chinese restaurants.
 
=/

well I do have a friend that teaches "body shop" at a CC in another town. I would imagine he would/could help me with restoring the car, but I really dont want to spend too much bread getting endless amounts of fixes for the car itself.

going to take a lot of work to get it restored. I'd like to have a better pic of that 'crack' in the hood.
Click to expand...

Well the car is not in my locale so i cannot get more pics till i ask my bud who's getting rid of it to take some more. It doesnt look too bad from the picture, nothing a little bit of welding couldn't take care of, if you know... i had a Miller TIG welder or what not.

I would usually pass a deal like this up but the car is mechanically in such good condition (other than the usual wear-and-tear parts) that its hard to say no because of some body work.
 
Rust: Por-15 is the best out there.

If you're really poor, there's a product at Lowes and Home Despot called "Prep & Prime" that's basically phosphoric acid. Converts iron oxide (rust) to iron phosphate which is much harder and protects the metal underneath. I'm using this stuff right now on the rusty floor on my 73 bus. None of the rust penetrates the metal, so I'm wire wheeling the paint and loose rust and applying Prep & Prime.

DO NOT DEPEND ON BONDO TO PROTECT THE METAL FROM RUST!!!

If you already have rust, the rust must be either cut away or treated in some manner.

If you don't want that merc, I'll take it. I love merc diesels. 😀
 
Looks even worse then my parents old 77 280e did and it wasn't pretty. That thing was more rust then metal when we gave it to my uncle but it still ran and drove great. Probably still wood if he hadn't ripped the front suspension off it well it still runs good just no longer moves.

In that shape its a beater and nothing else. They aren't worth anything so trying to fix it up doesn't make sense. Do whatever halfassed repairs you need to to the body to keep it legal and drive it till either the body falls apart or something major dies.
 
If you're really poor, there's a product at Lowes and Home Despot called "Prep & Prime" that's basically phosphoric acid.

Hmmm i can hitup the lab for that..anyone know what concentration i need it (1M 2M ?)


yah i think im just going to get some tires and run it in the ground...after drillin/bolting on the bumper, and fixing the taillight... i might ask that guy that sells the mercs to swap the engine with another merc that he has (that has more miles) . so i can have a better body for the car.... I really dont think that this is impossible, its really not time to fix the body that i have a problem with its cost.
 
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Great advice in this thread so far. I'll throw my $.02 in here.

I've no idea on the condition of the motor...you'll need to get it started and see for yourself.

But IMO, judging by your pics, that car is in bad shape. There's a LOT of rust on that car. That rusty crack in the hood is indicitive of what's underneath the paint; a ton of rust.

Being that you're getting the car for free, I'd get it mechanically sound and forget about doing any cosmetic repairs. Get it road legal and deal with it. If you get a year out of it before it falls apart, you just drove a free car for a year.

Restoring that car to pristine condition will cost you a lot of money.
Click to expand...

BS. Paying someone ELSE to restore that car to pristine condition will cost you a lot of money. Doing it yourself will cost you a lot of TIME.

And the bondo goes ON TOP of repairs to make it look pretty. In itself, it is not a repair.
 
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