i had a 1985 190D, had done 250,000 miles. the engine was still sweet as a nut when i sold it 50,000 miles later. no leaks anywhere on the motor. i changed the oil every 3,000 miles. not using synthetic, as that is plain overkill and a waste of money on that type of engine. the best gas mileage you will get from a diesel will be by using part-throttle, so go easy. although having said that, i used to get very high mileage even at full throttle on a long motorway run.
as to why these engine are so good, one word: overengineering.
It is a little under powered, but benefits from a lead foot after the engine is warmed up. Regular valve adjustments and 5,000 mile oil changes will keep the engine going for a long time while the rest of the car's systems can deteriorate. If you have just bought it there is a list of things to do, most of which can be done at home.
Change all the fuses and clean the contacts, replace with the glass versions and apply conductive grease to the ends.
Check the fuel filters, there are two if I remember, and always carry a spare line filter. The line filters are cheap and clog before the main one, often rapidly and can shut the car down in seconds.
Try to keep the tank full if parking for weeks and add an anti algae treatment especially in the autumn.
With no records, I would change the brake fluid immediately and probably the transmission too, changing the transmission filter. Changing the fluid may also erase some of the shift problem if you have any. The throttle has a kick down facility that is achieved by flooring the accelerator
Check for transmission line leaks where they go from the transmission to the radiator, the metal clips sometimes wear through lines and only drip while under pressure.
I have a 76 300D with 400,000 miles and it still does over eighty.
I just drove my 88 190D from san diego to phoenix and back. It got 32mpg!!! It has 227K miles on it now. Don't put synthetic in your old diesel. It will just start everything leaking. Two rules with a diesel
I agree about synthetic oil especially in cold climates. It significantly improves cold start.
I disagree about letting a diesel warm up before driving. Diesels require load to warm up. When they are idling, they do not produce much heat. The best thing to do is to start the car, and drive off slowly. You should not rev a cold diesel. Also, idling a benz diesel for more than a few minutes is also not a good thing. This allows the carbon to build up over time.
Once it is warmed up to its proper running temp, drive it like you stole it!
Actually I don't think that is it at all. Any diesel, not just MB will last a very long time compared to gas becasue diesel is, after all, a very light oil. Powers and lubes the engine at the same time.
I have an '84 300D TD that I bought at an auction with a bad transmission (couldn't test drive it!) w/190,000 miles. So I put a tranny in it and it lasted to 260,000 miles before it lost compression and got hard to start in cold weather. I pulled the engine and did a basic ring and valve job and fixed all the minor problems I could find. Now it starts up instantly, run good with lots of power, and quit smoking-- either at start up or with heavy accelleration. I'm glad I went to all the trouble to fix the car instead of buying another one with new problems, and my wife is very pleased-- she likes the car and feels safe in it when she uses it to commute to work.
Say not the Struggle nought Availeth hat in Betrag news:rQgob.22351$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com dies gedichtet:
First of all: People like to repeat what they have heard elsewhere.
Indeed the 240D engine ist very sturdy. OTOH it delivers only 30 HP per litre, this is half the output which you can get from a modern diesel engine and only a third from what you usually get from a high performance petrol engine. Modern Diesel engines with CDI fuel injection do have engine problems and require expensive repairs. My boss has a Citroen with a 2.5 litre turbodiesel engine with 130 hp. The car is 250.000 km old (155.000 miles), and now he needed a new cylinder head for 3k dollars.
As modern Diesel engines deliver the same (or more) power as their petrol colleagues, their longeviety (spelling?) will go down to a similar level. OTOH: 25 years ago, a car in Germany with 100.000 km on the clock generally was at the end of its life. Today everybody expects at least twice of that.
If the engine always has been and still is running on mineral it should stay that way. Start using synthetic now and your engine will be leaking oil as never before!
Even if you live in a cold climate, stay with what the engine is used to.
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