My new daily driver - '84 300TD

My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Printable Version

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My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Secondaries - 05-01-2012

Hello again, all. I was here a couple years ago when I had my previous Mercedes; an '83 300D sedan. I was mostly a lurker trying to fix problems with that car, and after I sold it due to an unfortunate accident I only visited sporadically. Well, now I've got a shinier, newer toy that makes me want to take a more proactive approach to using this wonderful forum.

Without further ado, here is my beautiful blue beast.

[Image: 20120406164546373.jpg]

It's got a few issues. AC compressor, blower motor, few interior bits, few body blemishes. But it'll slowly but surely get nicer and nicer Cool

. I've gotta run to the store now for some groceries, but I wanted to take the time to start this thread. I will be back with more pictures....

Alright, I'm back. Let me list a few problems, mostly for reference.

* Compressor seized. Does anyone know the most reputable brand compressor I should look for? The ones I see the most are Four Seasons, but I've heard bad things about 'em...

* Blower motor doesn't seem to blow. I can feel warm air when defrost is selected, but only very slight air movement that gets a little stronger with speed. Where should I start with this hunt? The fuse looks questionable, but I haven't gotten replacements yet.

* The inside lever is broken on the rear hatch. I can't find a "proper" replacement. There exists new ones for the left and right doors but I don't know if either one interchanges with the rear hatch. Anyone? Anyone? I might try to JB weld the broken piece back together if all else fails.

* The windlace on the driver front door is completely gone. It was there but hanging off and laying on the floor, so I cut it off at the door jamb so my foot would stop getting caught in it when I drove. The passenger rear windlace is also starting to peel up. Does anyone know of a way to replace this? Or at least, what the material is so that I can find something to replace it?

* Had a leaky caliper. Noticed after I did a brake job but didn't realize how bad it was til my pedal went all the way to the floor. Here is the aftermath.

* There is an ugly rust hole underneath the rear quarter trim strip. Ewww! The only bad rust I've seen on the whole car. Wonder how hard (read: $$$) this will be to fix...

* The little rubber bits that hold the rear belt buckle releases are both broken. Almost unnoticeable to the outside observer but my OCD wants these things fixed! Any way other than seat replacement?

* Any way to make the seat back storage netting not be saggy?

* Can I find this little strap anywhere online?

Here are a few more pictures that I took today. When you can't see the dents or the ugly grille or the cracked headlamp covers, she's pretty photogenic =P.

And one more shot of where I work. If you live in Houston, come on down! $0.30/gal cheaper for fuel than anywhere else in the city.

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - sassparilla_kid - 05-02-2012

I would check the connections for the blower motor, its pretty easy, mine has stopped working a couple times. Just gotta remove the passenger side kick panel or whatever it is called, and there should be a plug for the blower. Mine was corroded so I just rolled up a piece of fine sandpaper and cleaned out the plug a little, and cleaned it off on the blower side and it worked again! Another time the fuse didn't blow for some reason and instead the same plug ended up melting but its all good now lol. SO long story short hopefully the plug is just corroded and there is not another problem elsewhere.

That is one sweet looking wagon by the way, I hope to someday add one to my fleet, to use for camping and what not

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - willbhere4u - 05-02-2012

If you take the seat back off I think you can tighten the set net with a zip tie or small bungee cord on the inside

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - JustPassinThru - 05-02-2012

(05-02-2012, 10:17 AM)willbhere4u If you take the seat back off I think you can tighten the set net with a zip tie or small bungee cord on the inside

Or simply get a better net with a still-elastic top cord from a fresher donor car.

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - sassparilla_kid - 05-02-2012

I just tied a knot in mine to tighten it up, works just fine

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Secondaries - 08-08-2012

Long time no post. I've got either in my hands or on the way, a few cool bits.

-OEM three-piece Hazet valve adjustment wrenches
-Injection pump timing lock pin and right-angle 13mm wrench for pump bolts
-EGR delete kit from Brian Carlton @ PeachParts
-a high quality aftermarket third row seat

In the next couple weeks, I plan on adjusting my valves, timing my IP, installing the EGR delete and the third row seat. I'll take plenty of pictures and post up my progress. I'm sure these jobs have been done plenty of times before me but it's always nice to have multiple points of view for reference!

Car updates:

-I pulled the blower motor. Looks like the commutator is worn down and the brushes are nubs. Weighing my options re: rebuild this one, used or aftermarket new replacement.

-Lost the center driver's door trim piece to a vindictive ATM machine (my fault Tongue

). I bought a replacement from a part-out thread (along with the ignition switch trim ring) but lo and behold, UPS lost my package. That was a month ago Still waiting to see what happens with that...

-The other day I was bored at work and I decided to play with the ALDA. Loosened the locknut and turned the screw out 1.5 turns. BIG difference. More power off the line and the transmission seems to shift much more smoothly than before. This is after I adjusted the throttle linkage and that also made a big improvement. Damn, this car is starting to feel more and more like a Mercedes should!

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - zacharias - 08-08-2012

(08-08-2012, 12:58 PM)Secondaries Damn, this car is starting to feel more and more like a Mercedes should!

Just want to say congrats on the car. The wagons look great in dark blue. I used to have a 240d that colour.

Now I have a beigey wagon (no, not maple, just beige). Big Grin

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Simpler=Better - 08-08-2012

Retrofit a Sanden ac compressor, they have the best reputation.

Remove the ALDA completely.

Build or buy a boost controller and set it at 12psi

Advance your timing to 26* BTDC

Go to a straight through exhaust.

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Secondaries - 08-08-2012

Funny you should mention a couple of those things.

I an talking to the guy on PP who is working on fabbing Sanden brackets for 150ish. I'm #7 on his list of ten. I'm planning on going that route.

I've thought of going ALDA-less but i like what it is meant to do. Adjusted properly, it should get me the best performance without smoking.

Boost controller is in the cards. I dont really want a boost gauge inside simply because I don't have a way to mount it without it looking ricey. But i guess i need one even to set the boost...

As far as advancing timing is concerned, how do i do that with the lock pin tool? Is it as simple as setting the motor to 26° vs. the stock timing setting before using the pin?

And I doubt I'll go straight exhaust. Its a Mercedes! I want it to sound like one too. What about either/or resonator delete or muffler delete? What's the difference in sound in either?

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - willbhere4u - 08-09-2012

I found this in a box of VW parts and it fit perfect under the radio. I got VDO boost EGT and oil temp gauge's and it looks nice and I can live with out an ash tray

note it not full installed in this picture it dose sit back flush

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Simpler=Better - 08-09-2012

It will be louder without the resonator or muffler, some people have had good results with an aero turbine brand muffler. I always ran mine open, the turbo whine was nice Smile

You can always stick gauges in the center vents, or inside the glove box. The window switch panel would make for a clean install as well, or hide something off to the side under the dash. You can rig up a gasser's economy gauge to read boost if you want to have it in the instrument cluster.

I don't know about timing with the lock pin, I've only done drip timing.

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Secondaries - 08-09-2012

willbhere4u, i like that gauge solution but where the heck could i find something life that? I intend to keep all for of my vents operational so that idea is out.

I've heard good things about the stock Mercedes mufflers so probably leave the exhaust stock until sometime in the future where more fuel/air necessitates the widening of the system Tongue

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - sassparilla_kid - 08-10-2012

It shouldn't be too much louder if you cut out the resonator or pre-muffler or whatever that one in the front is, and will probably get a little more pep out of the car

RE: My new daily driver - '84 300TD - Secondaries - 08-18-2012

I adjusted my valves a couple days ago. Man, what a difference! Car runs much more smoothly. After adjusting the ALDA, the motor shook somewhat more at idle, but now there is almost no shake, although i still feel a smooth vibration due to the worn motor mounts. The car feels quite a bit torque-ier and highway rpm is butter smooth. Compared to before, the engine sounded like a death machine at 85mph/4000rpm!

I started to take pictures of the process but stopped after i got the valve cover off. This was because of a mix of laziness, the intense heat that afternoon, being rushed for time, and being very annoyed at the ninth and tenth valves. There is practically no room to move those adjusting wrenches! But the MBZ branded wrenches did make the job much easier. It took a small amount of trial and error to figure out exactly which parts of the linkage had to be removed or disconnected but overall it was a pretty easy job.

Next week, I'll try to tackle seeing pump timing! And maybe advancing it...