buying advice on a w124 300d estate

[abecketts]

Hi all I would appreciate your help on this. Been to look at a car local to me ignoring the usual 124 issues I wondered what to make of the following;

speedo, odometer and rev counter not working, is this an electrical issue and if so where would I look for a solution?

The kickdown seems very lazy and whilst the engine revs rise audibly (no rev counter) the gearbox seems slow to respond, when it does the change is very harsh.

I've never driven a 300d before so I know I can't compare with a 320 petrol but should the gearbox be a little more lively and perhaps is it linked to the lack of rev counter and speed readings?

Any help would be welcome

Many thanks

Paul

 

[rickw]

Hi there

I drive a W124 1991 300TD - bought nearly a year ago. Not sure on the odometer/speedo/rev. Generally speaking the gear changes are smooth - always so once warm. Kick down is abit slow. Its not noisy unless accelerating hard and thus holding in gear for longer. The 300TD will start in 2nd gear but drop to 1st if wanting a quick getaway!

Hope that helps abit.

Cheers Rick

 

[mattc]

try ringing Nick Froome and picking his brains.

 

[Sorry Pete]

Hi abecketts.

I'm no help with the instruments I'm afraid, though there are a few simple checks to see if you're looking at a dog or a prospect.

What year is it? The 12v I6 is pretty sedate, though very smooth and the gearchanges should be also. It could be a vacuum issue with the hard changes (cheap), or a worn gearbox (£1200 +/-). The lazy kickdown would lead me to lean towards a vacuum problem. Check the level, colour and smell of the ATF; clear cherryade red and not smelling burnt.

At any rate, even on the youngest cars the front balljoints will be needing replacement if they haven't been done (cheap and not hugely involving if you're competent at diy) and the engine mounts at the same time, (c.£60 x2) and a pretty straightforward fix.

From the sound of things, it depends if the price is right and how long you intend to keep it. If you're thinking of running them on veg oil there's a lot of information here and online.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Honest John has a very useful section on W124 issues, and this includes input from Nick Froome - W124 Bad Points

Two points in the rare fault section from Nick on auto gearboxes:

'* flaring autos on E300 Multivalve Diesels
* harsh / flaring / phantom shifts on cars with patchy history (walk
away)'

 

[JumboBeef]

Don't buy a 300D, buy my 220

 

[abecketts]

Don't buy a 300D, buy my 220

 

[Smiley]

They are slow to respond to kick down - and then if you keep the accelerator down it should rev round to 5k or so then shift up - if you do that then it will be a relativley hard shift - but if you let it shift before by reducing the pressure on the pedal then it should be smoother. Not the best test for this car really - they are much better driven more sedately.

They are different to drive to a 320 petrol - mainly because one is 136bhp and the other is 220bhp - you can make decent progress with the 320 at half throttle opening making it more relaxed. Where the 300 diesel wins is cruising at 75 or 80 or 90 mph - should be very smooth and relaxed - and at 75mph will be giving you 35mpg ish which the petrol will never do.

I have had one of these for many years great car.

 

[abecketts]

They are slow to respond to kick down - and then if you keep the accelerator down it should rev round to 5k or so then shift up - if you do that then it will be a relativley hard shift - but if you let it shift before by reducing the pressure on the pedal then it should be smoother. Not the best test for this car really - they are much better driven more sedately.

They are different to drive to a 320 petrol - mainly because one is 136bhp and the other is 220bhp - you can make decent progress with the 320 at half throttle opening making it more relaxed. Where the 300 diesel wins is cruising at 75 or 80 or 90 mph - should be very smooth and relaxed - and at 75mph will be giving you 35mpg ish which the petrol will never do.

I have had one of these for many years great car.

Many thanks, I agree that your driving style would vary vastly between the two vehicles, I will miss the 320 if she goes, my wallet may appreciate less trips to the garage. The great economic climate forces me to think of saying goodbye to the 320 and as they are the same colour and interior trim I could feed the other for some parts, also the 320 head gasket is beginning to go and that means a new wiring loom so cost wise on a car that is purely a workhorse spending £1k would be uneconomic me thinks.

Thanks for everyones comments on this topic.

 

[abecketts]

I have spoken to Nick and he was very helpful about what to look for, Thanks Nick! I'm going to see if we can get the car onto a ramp to look a little closer.

 

[jaymanek]

My brother has one and its extremely slow... i never drive it...

 

[mattc]

I have spoken to Nick and he was very helpful about what to look for, Thanks Nick! I'm going to see if we can get the car onto a ramp to look a little closer.

care to share?

 

[abecketts]

care to share?

As best as I can recall and I have just come in from the pub;

on start up if the car rocks or twists the engine mounts need replacing and also check how close the engine is to the fan as it moves fwd of the mounts have degraded.

cylinders 5 and 6 can suffer from fuel starvation and the valves can degrade leading to lost compression, the way to test this is remove oil filler cap and then start vehicle and rev, if spray/vapour comes out of the hole then exhaust gases are getting in there. I would have thought that doing that would lead to oil coming out anyway (not being the mechanic).

The clunky gear change could be in part due to the hydraulics and also due to the age of the main boss or summat like that not absorbing the gear change, check the fluid when warm to see if it is red and not looking burnt (previous posted also mentioned this)

He also talked about the gear box flaring on gear changes and that after say a couple of years it might need either replacing or some other smaller parts changing (can't recall the name he used)

The ball joints would probably need replacing for a vehicle with approaching 200k on the clock.

I'm planning to see if I can get the car on the ramp to check for other issues before trying to see if a deal can be done.

If because i've been at the pub and this all sounds complete cobblers i'll expect loads of abuse!

 

[Rich27]

The dash not working is due to the small fuse blown (in a red bulb holder) in the back of the instroment cluster.
Also the kickdown is really easy to adjust, just close the gap on the mechanisum, its easy to find as its the strange bit that goes over the rocker cover and looks like somthing the YTS boy thought of on a Friday.