Anyone running a '87 300D Turbo on Biodiesel? Is the Trap Oxidizer a problem? Not sure how this works but the manual warns about not using Diesel additives.
Thanks

Do you mean the oxydising catalyst in the exhaust? Main problem is lead or excessive sulphur. Biodiesel is fine in Euro diesels with catalysts - removes the frying smell.

Jim,
If your car still has the trap it was recalled by Mercedes. They will still remove it and replace your entire exhaust system at no charge. Many cars also get a new turbo at the same time.

How long (miles) have you been running your car on this alternative fuel?

I have an 81 300 TD-T and am wondering about the turbo...seems erratic lately. I'd love to get a new one!
Thanks,
Laurie in Sonoma County
www.northbaybiodiesel.org
2500 miles on biodiesel

Laurie....a couple of things about the Merc 300 turbo....

1.) My neighbor (service and parts manager for local MB dealership) says the turbo is ready to be refreshed at about 100,000 miles. Typically the shaft bearings wear out by then unless special care has been taken of the engine.....religious oil changes and controlled cooldown after speedy blasts up the road.

2.) Many of the 300 turbo's have a Garrett AirResearch TO-3 turbo unit. This unit is very popular with other car manufacturers and turbo experimenters. Turbo City in California sells a rebuild kit for the beast for less than $100 US. Already rebuilt units run a few hundred dollars.

3.) The rebuild of the turbo is about as difficult as pulling an exhaust manifold. Lots of good help info is available on the net of from TC. I just put a kit in my beastie. No really special tools required, either. Only hard part is getting the nuts loose on the turbo spindle without breaking blades off the wheels. The rest is childs play.

4.) Don't be mad when you see how little you get in the rebuild kit for US $100.

5.) Don't let an old turbo go too far before you decide to do the overhaul. If the unit "crashes" and the compressor blades rub the housing, the whole unit is scrap and you get to buy a new turbo unit instead of the kit. Worse case to consider: the compressor blades come off and get into the tiny clearance area between the piston crown and the cylinder head.....it might cause serious engine damage along with the turbo replacement...

6.) It sounds like a couple of mechanics lurk here at Biodiesel/SVO city. Don't be too proud to ask for advice!

I'm interested in getting a Mercedes diesel of similar vintage ('80-85). I really want a wagon but they seem to be rare. Does anyone have recommendations on what to look for or avoid? Any Achilles heels in these cars? How are they to live with from day-to-day?

Thanks, Scott

I have 2 of these 300D wagons running on SVO (actually beef fat). I haven't had any real problems. The thing to check for is engine wear. The engine seems to last about 3 - 500,000 km. Just take the oil filler cap off with the engine running. If it blows like a steam train then go for a much lower price. One of mine is nearly at 400,000km and has this problem but it still goes although lacks power and can be hard to start on cold mornings (below 5 C) I reckon it will last another 100,000km.
The wagon is a very heavy car and performance is poor at the best of times.

Andrew.

I can forgive any mechanical, electrical, or spiritual problem a car has (as long as the price is right!) Engines can be rebuilt, electric problems can be located and fixed, and evil spirits can be exorcised to Cleveland but rust is really difficult to conquer.

Mercedes can look very nice from the shiny side and conceal a multitude of corrosion sins. Take the time to pull the trunk liner (sedans), open the doors and look carefully UP IN the door seal gasket area, in the lower fender wells on the dirty side. Look at the body seams where the front/rear fenders mate to the body, around the trunk where the tail lights fit in. Look in the hood hinge mount area of the front fenders (has anyone seen a 240/300 with working hood hinges?)
How about under the accelerator pedal where all the sand accumulates?

A good looking car at first glance can be hiding loads of BAD rust problems. Here in Florida the rich mama's boys do donuts on the beach in daddy's toy.... and many cars end up with incurable rust. And it doesn't necessarily show. Rust will cost more to maintain in the long run than a bad engine or tranny.

When I finally found a turbo 300, the only one which met my specs was a twice-faded, dual-earl- scheib peeling, 99$ paint job monster. But the rust was far less than many primo-looking beasts going for 3 times my price range.

My $1,400 beast (now 112,000 miles!) is still veeery ugly but solid.

Beauty is only skin deep. Ugly (and rust) are to the bone.

PS....look for cars "growing grass"...driveways, side yards, under car covers. I bought my first 68 GTO convertible for $200......

I just bought a '78 M-Benz 300 CD. I'm excited to start making and using my own homemade BD! Does anyone know of any quirks peculiar to M-Benz 300 CD's that I should be concerned of with regards to Bio Diesel?

They are the best cars made on the planet,i have had 5 all diesel.and have sold them for the same or more than I payed for them. Just look for the same things that you would look for on any other car,they are the best to run on bio,they will run on SVO with no mods in a warm climate.and boy can they take a hit. if princess diana hah been wearing a belt she would still be around

On any of these 123 chassis, 300 models, does there have to be any adjustments to the engine to use bio-diesel? Any washers or tubes or bolts or filters or gaskets changed? (can you tell i don't know much about cars?)
cash cat

any mercedes will run on bio with no mods.there is a guy in germany who runs on straight veg oil with no problems, In the cars that I have made fuel for the only ones that have ran well with badly made bio were mercedes,the rest had starting and smoking problems I try not to make it as badly any more

Good to hear AlPal
Ive done a bit over 7100klms on 87 Landcruiser with no mod's & no problems.On mondayI pick up a NEW (to me) 1981 300D it will be eating B.D by next week. It's for the wife to get her out of the Hyundai crunch buggy. By the way the Lcruiser dealt with lets say some of my "EARLY" batches without a problem. All has been washed.
Still confused always learning.

...is about to be on B100 in a matter of days, hopefully for the rest of it's life. I've looked through the records from previous owners, and it did require a lot of maintenance, although most of it was cosmetic and/or not completely necessary

I'm expecting to put time and money into this car, but at the same time I expect the engine to last a long long time. These cars basically have truck engines, which is why my girlfriend and I zoomed in on the merc. Yes, they're reasonably hard to find, and if they are in good condition, they are always above bluebook price.

I'll let you all know how it goes on biodiesel, and, if anyone has any ideas on replacing springs in the front seats, or possibly the whole bottom section of the front seats, please e-mail me. They have, after all, been sat on for 17 years/181000 miles!

-kumar

I have two 300s one 94 six cylnder and a 83 5 cylnder the new one is much better as you would expect in every way ie more mpg and quicker,they are both none turbo, and in the long run that i think is better the old one has done 230000miles and starts with a bang even 20c below. so just keep changing the oil and dont reve the nuts off before its warm you will be fine. the seat has a rubber sheet which tears after a long time or a heavy butt. i have had lots of mercs they are never cheap to buy ,but as you will get that back when you sell on it all the same. They are cheapst car to own all round. But they aint the fastest,however they make you a better driver and after all getting there is more importent i feel

Keep in mind that those ThemoKing units on the front of reefer trailers rolling down the highways are for the most part powered by the same Mercedes engine as the cars. This also applies to the power units used on containerized reefers. This unit is mounted under the chassis and can be seen around any port city with shipping container facilities throughout the world. Only once have I had one of these units fail because of the engine, the bearing in the fan drive seized and the overheat tripped the shutdown. A Mercedes dealer replaced the bearing in about an hour and had the unit purring again.
Bottom line is that this engine is just about as bullet proof as they come. If the rest of the vehicle is good then they make excellent investments. I used to use them as barter, buying mid 70's 240D's and fixing them to trade for things I wanted. After trading off 6 I decided to get a real job.

Good Luck,
Capt Ron

Kumar, my 84 300 turbo has the factory lower-back-twisting seat failure with 112,000 miles.

So did my 67, 68, and 71 Karmann Ghias and my wife's 64 Notchback.

I think it's a Teutonic thing....we wouldna understand.....

Hemihead,

I can appreciate buying cars cheap. My daily driver is an 87 Mazda RX-7 that I bought 1-1/2 years ago for $1500. 25,000 and only oil changes so far.

But not a diesel....

Hence the interest in a 300TD. However, most of my other cars tend to have a large amount of horsepower and/or torque. You could say I'm spoiled. I'd be sad to be relegated to the slow lane. Can you do anything to the 300 motor to wake it up? Increased boost? Larger exhaust & intake? Bigger turbo? Any of the usual gas engine tricks work?

Thanks, Scott

My 300 turbo made a hydrogenated veggie oil powered trip for Jacksonville to Daytona Beach on Saturday. It ran 70-80 mph for 90 miles with no sweat. It has seen 90+ mph on veggie oil.

Being the owner of a 426 Hemi V8 powered Dodge Challenger, I smell what yer stepping in when it comes to driving underpowered vehicles.

The Jacksonville Knowlege Cartel (consisting of the All-Knowing Dave and myself, the All-Seeing Hemihead) believe that the ticklet for those wanting more performance from an already turbocharged diesel engine is to investigate an intercooler kit from one of the turbo kit engineering companies like Gale Banks or Turbo City. The 300 Mercedes already is running 0.7-0.8 bar boost pressure....a fairly healthy amount of boost already....cooling the inlet charge air would definitely help make more HP. Doesn't hurt the engine longevity to get rid of that turbo "heat-of-compression" either.