Casey's 1982 300CD

[Casey]

You might want to consider putting your seat belt on when driving on public roads

By the way, the driver seat belt latch is broken in the 300CD, presently.

[Casey]

Somebody stuffed up the rubber gasket between the air filter holder and the plastic U-shaped connector to the turbo, so it was leaking like mad.  Plus there weren't any clamps on the hoses on top, so those were really nasty too.  Underneath the air filter I found lots of oil and chunky debris.    The air filter itself is probably the worst condition I've seen.

I pulled it I scraped a good half inch of crust off of the hose connecting the engine to the top of the air filter holder.  Took the whole thing out, cleaned thoroughly, and got it back together.  New air filter should arrive tomorrow...

Replaced both fuel filters.

Replaced alternator belts, installed missing A/C belt (A/C still doesn't work, but climate control seems to), and put old power steering belt back on for now until a new one arrives.  Identified broken/missing parts for brake booster and ordered those too.

Girlfriend cleaned up the interior and window glass.  It now smells a little less like an ashtray.

Installed some junkyard parts:
* New-condition driver-side inner door handle (from a rear door of a sedan, need to grab a passenger side one next time I go).
* Center console ashtray.
* Spare tire retaining bolt.
* Spare tire cover.
* Trunk carpet.

I got a replacement window motor for the driver side but it doesn't work.

I got 2 door check straps from a sedan (turns out I only need one), but unfortunately, the coupe uses a different, longer one.  I could theoretically combine the longer part of the broken one, with the center piece and bearings from the sedan one, but the design of these is such that the parts are held together by two marble-size ball bearings pressed by springs.  I have no idea how I could get one apart safely and then back together again.

There's a LOT more cleaning to be done in the engine bay, but other than that, I'm probably not going to do too much with this car for a while - just start using it as my daily driver (starting tomorrow!) and getting a good feel for it.  Will be hitting up junkyards this coming weekend to see what I can find.

[jjb-w116-hu]

in the twilight light it still looks bloody amazing - even more so! sod that long dent / scratch along the side
i have to get some of the meguiars stuff though - wow!

[Casey]

Drove to work today.  Took the back road for part of the trip - handling of these Michelin tires is amazing compared to the other car.  A good thing because this car has serious acceleration power compared to the W116 currently.  When I got to work I careened into the empty back parking lot and turned hard - even when the car slipped a little it still retained impressive traction, and no side rubbing at all.

Issues were mainly wind noise from bad seals ($450+ each to replace, sadly) and some noise in the rear suspension - I don't know what that could be but I'll have to check it out - especially on the driver side.  The shocks could also use replacing, but they're not completely shot yet so it's not urgent.  Air filter rattles when in idle because of the broken bracket, but that'll be fixed soon enough.  All in all a very fun car to drive.

Turned on the vents for a bit, which had the effect of making the car smell a LOT like wet dog.  Still need to do a lot more interior cleaning and possibly try to get up into the ventilation shafts too.

[WiSeGuYY]

hey RAPTELAN,
my i have a look on the engine please, is it the 5 cylender 3000 liter diesel engine , cause i have this on my W108

REGARDS
TAREK

[Casey]

hey RAPTELAN,
my i have a look on the engine please, is it the 5 cylender 3000 liter diesel engine , cause i have this on my W108

Yes, it is the exact same engine as my W116 1980 300SD, which you can find a lot of pictures of here:
http://casey.shobe.info/images/?s=Interests%2FCars%2F1980+Mercedes+300SD

[WiSeGuYY]

Thanks RAPTELAN , it looks exactly as the one equiped on my 108 ( it is from a 116 in the 80's)

REGARDS.
TAREK

[Big_Richard]

I think youll find only very large ocean going ships will have 3000 litre diesel engines. 

[WiSeGuYY]

 LOL , so sorry MT i mean 3.0 liter diesel , my apology.

REGARDS
TAREK

[WiSeGuYY]

pitty i don't know how to add image in here.

TAREK

[WiSeGuYY]

 here is my engine photo

[Casey]

Thanks RAPTELAN , it looks exactly as the one equiped on my 108 ( it is from a 116 in the 80's)

It's a great engine, will last you a looooooooooooooooong time...can't tell from the picture whether you have a turbo or not but here's hoping you do.  You'll want to do a valve adjustment if you haven't already.  You'll want to run a couple cans of diesel purge through it to clean out your injectors for a lot more power (you'll also need to replace the fuel filters afterwards because they'll be full of freed debris!).  And then if you're nuts like me you rebuild the turbocharger and crank up it's power too (haven't done yet, but am planning to soon)!

[Casey]

Lost power steering on the freeway yesterday, checked under the hood and sure enough, the old worn belt had come apart badly and was totally off the engine.  Just threw it away.  Bought another cheap one to use temporarily, but then when I parked I noticed the engine was knocking so it needs an oil change and flush of the old cheap crappy oil that's in there before I drive it much more anyways.  Here's hoping my latest order from jbrasile gets here shortly (included both oil filters and the belt which I was guessing wouldn't last much longer).

Changed out the cigar-shaped fuel hose since a new one came with the car, and put the new air filter in.  Once I have some more money to spare I'll be jacking it up and checking out the suspension as there's some definite issues especially in the back.

[1980sdga]

Do you think it feels more powerful because the car is lighter? Is it lighter?

Sounds like you're livin' the life!

[jbrasile]

Casey,

I was on my way to California all day yesterday but you should have your parts by Tuesday or Wednesday, sorry for the delay.

Tks,

Joe