'87 300D question

A friend of mine purchased an '87 300D since I had highly recommended an MB diesel in the 300 series. I was on vacation at the time and when I returned he brought the car by for me to look at. This is the 124 body style with a six cylinder turbo, much different than my earlier 300D. He says the previous owner claimed this car was imported from Germany for only the one year although it was manufactured for sale elsewhere for at least a couple of years. I drove the car and it runs great with gasoline-type acceleration once the turbo kicks in. Anyone had any experience with this year/model MB? Anything in particular he should look out for?

Reply to
Ernie Sparks
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This six IS is good engine but not as tough and durable as the old 5 cylinder diesels. The owner MUST NOT OVERHEAT this iron block, aluminum head engine. That means good maintenance of the cooling system and taking it easy on long grades in the summer.

Otherwise, what happens is a blown head gasket (that's the least of it) and / or a cracked cylinderhead.

So there it is, nice car but with a caution about its cooling system.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

Amen. The early six diesels did not have nearly the development pedigree of the five-cylinders. The aluminum heads caused problems over time even without major cooling issues. At the risk of sounding "old-school", the five cylinder iron/iron engines (and for that matter the four-cylinder engines) were damn near bulletproof.

Cheers,

Conrad

Reply to
Conrad

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