1983 Mercedes maintenance

1983 Mercedes Diesel Wagon 300TD-T 5-cylinder history

• 3.0 litre
• Chassis: 123.193
• Engine number: 617.952

November, 2006 MBI

• adjusted transmission (to extend life)
• fix heater blower button
• fix door locks
• new starter
• replace rear wiper gasket
• tried to fix leak in back door (still fills with water)

December, 2006 Jiffy Lube

• oil change
• new radiator cap
• change fluid in rear differential

December, 2006 MBI

• adjust headlights
• stop back door from filling up, rear drains both sides
• fix rear wiper (new motor?) [postponed until leak is confirmed fixed]
• connect front windshield washers, fix tank, replace grommets, replace hose from pump to valve

October, 2007 MBI

• replace thermostat (was overheating)
• replace oil filter housing (fix leak)
• oil change
• tune up

April, 2008 MBI

• roaring noise at 30-60mph

it was the front wheel bearings. Repacked and greased.

• blowing heater fuses all the time

cleaned connections.

• rear wiper isn't working

rivets had popped. Drilled new holes and secured wiper motor.

• trim missing on passenger door

installed used molding.

October, 2008 MBI

• new brake pads (with warning indicators)
• fix driver window switch
• AC recharge
• oil change
• door trim installed
• AC aux fan fuse fixed

October, 2009 MBI

• oil leak
  • found and fixed oil leak near air filter
  • replaced dirty air filter
  • found and fixed fuel leak at fuel filter (fuel filter was not tight enough)
• vibration noise
  • found and fixed vibration noise due to loose air filter
• broken backup light
  • fixed backup lens and light

• found missing rear axle boot
  • replacing rear axle
• found brakes at 10%
  • replacing brakes

• found exhaust manifold leak. It would cost $700 to fix. Not fixing.

October, 2009 Les Schwabb

• four new tires

P195/70R-14 90S Eclipse All season blackwall x4
$472.16

October, 2009

• new battery

December, 2009

• hard to start when cold
• glow plug light doesn't always come on when starting
• blows lots of smoke when it finally starts
• probably will use this procedure from Diesel Giant

http://www.dieselgiant.com/glowplugrepair.htm

• ordered 4 glow plugs and a relay from partsgeek.com for $103

January, 2010

• now it won't start
• found a loose connection to one of the glow plugs, tightened it
• replaced glow plug relay, still won't start
• ordered air filter, fuel filter, oil filter, one more glow plug, windshield fluid
• replaced both fuel filters and air filter, still won't start
• replaced all five glow plugs, found 3 were bad, still won't start
• found the new glow plug relay fuse had shorted, put the old relay back in, now it starts
• removed hood insulation so it doesn't fall down and impact accelerator linkages
• heater hose failed near number 5 glow plug and dumped all coolant
• ordered a new hose from MBI

January, 2010

• oil change

September, 2010 MBI

• fixed engine overheat problem
  • new water pump
  • new regulator
  • replace belts
  • reseal oil leaks
  • new oil pan
  • replace alternator voltage regulator
  • reseal dipstick tube
  • replace front timing chain rail pin
  • reseal turbo return tube

Total of $1898

October, 2010

• driver-side headlight out
• replaced bulb and cleaned corroded connection

the connection still does not seem solid. I might have to replace the connector

August, 2011

• John and Sam put new brake pads and rotors in front
  • Napa part 4885940 front rotor $36.98 x2
  • Napa part D311 P brake pads $59.69
  • Napa part 1385 oil filter $7.24
• new fuel filter
• new window and interior light fuses

August, 2011

• driver's door window regulator has two sheered pins, window won't operate
• I removed the regulator and tried to disassemble and repair, but it looks like I'll need to replace it
• a new part is $297 from AutoHaus and $98 from Parts geek or $438 for an original Mercedes replacement part.

July, 2013

• air conditioning is less effective than normal
• took it to MBI Motors and had this work done:
  • found AC compressor has two of three bolts sheered off
  • wiring and fuse fixes to allow troubleshooting of AC
  • new compressor and coolant would be about $1500
  • decided to disable AC for $106

October, 2013

• front passenger window won't operate
  • checking switches first, we spill a lot on those switches
  • disassembled and cleaned. satisfying, but didn't fix anything.
  • further details here: Mercedes_power_window_repair

Notes and Part Numbers

oil change procedure

• Oil capacity: 8 quarts
• Oil grade: 15W40 Delo 400
• 2 13mm bolts hold the oil filter cover
• drain plug is 13mm
• a little glue to hold the gasket helps hold it in place while lining up the filter

replacement bulbs

Osram/Sylvania Light Bulb
1979-1987 Mercedes Benz 300TD
12V - 10w - Tail & Clearance Lamps.

Osram/Sylvania Light Bulb
1979-1987 Mercedes Benz 300TD
12V - 21w - Blinker, Stoplight & Backup Light. Nickel base

Halogen headlight
High and low beam
H6024

replacing fuses

tire size

P195/70R14 90S

fuel filters

There are two filters, primary and secondary.

• The primary is the smaller, in-line plastic filter.
• The secondary is the larger, metal filter that looks a lot like an oil filter.

These need to be changed regularly when running on bio-diesel or else power is significantly reduced.

dashboard indicator light

This warning light was puzzling, so I had to look it up in an owner's manual: