W115 Owner Advice Needed: Buying a 1976 240D

[Screwdriver]

Greetings!

I own a '84 300D so I'm somewhat familiar with these oldtimers. I'm about to pick up a '76 240d 4 speed manual here in the UK. Claimed 86K miles which can be verified going back 15 years only. Wanted to know if I need to specifically look for trouble areas during my pre-purchase inspection?

The car looks 98+% rust free (aside from some paint bubbling on the trunk and hood) and the interior looks like it would support that mileage (ignore the floor mat). The under section has been waxoyl'd.

A couple issues spotted:

1) Water leak gathering near the floor panel. Presumed to the be the sunroof
2) Gear knob wobbles quite a bit. Bushing perhaps?
3) Door, sunroof and window seals are hardened/ cracked. Are replacements available?

All experienced owner guidance/ illustrated buyers guides are most welcome!

 

[alabbasi]

Rust rust and rust. The w115 would rust in the Sahara. Aside from that. Blower motor is a pita to fix so make sure it's working

 

[Scott_F]

A couple issues spotted:

1) Water leak gathering near the floor panel. Presumed to the be the sunroof
2) Gear knob wobbles quite a bit. Bushing perhaps?
3) Door, sunroof and window seals are hardened/ cracked. Are replacements available?

4) Floor mats are truly horrible. From a Citroen Saxo VTR ?

 

[Scott_F]

Dup.

 

[grober]

FRONT BULKHEAD/SCUTTLE , INNER WINGS,FLOOR, SILLS -- ALL RUST as said already ----water on the floor usually a bad sign of water ingress! The front bulkhead often rusts behind any sound deadening which hides a multitude of sins and acts as a moisture trap. With a small 4 cylinder normally aspirated diesel engine of the 70's expect leisurely progress

 

[robparker]

My 2 favourite cars I ever owned are my current c43 and my now departed 115 diesel.
You can buy the bushings for the gear stick from MB, fairly simple to do and makes a big difference.
Water could be leaking from anywhere, and if it has been it will have hidden rust. Honestly the best solution is to keep the car garaged and drive it in the dry!
Upgrade the glowplugs to a parallel setup if it doesn't already have them (yours is a facelift so might well have).
And enjoy this wonderful car!

 

[robparker]

My 2 favourite cars I ever owned are my current c43 and my now departed 115 diesel.
You can buy the bushings for the gear stick from MB, fairly simple to do and makes a big difference.
Water could be leaking from anywhere, and if it has been it will have hidden rust. Honestly the best solution is to keep the car garaged and drive it in the dry!
Upgrade the glowplugs to a parallel setup if it doesn't already have them (yours is a facelift so might well have).
And enjoy this wonderful car!

 

[alabbasi]

Upgrade the glowplugs to a parallel setup if it doesn't already have them (yours is a facelift so might well have).
And enjoy this wonderful car!

It won't. Those showed up in the face lift W123's (post 80)

 

[Screwdriver]

Roger that on the bushings, glow plug upgrade and garaging the car.

Is there a specialist in the UK who deals with W114/5s? Someone who is known to be very familiar and good with these cars?

 

[alabbasi]

Roger that on the bushings, glow plug upgrade and garaging the car.

Is there a specialist in the UK who deals with W114/5s? Someone who is known to be very familiar and good with these cars?

a trained monkey should be able to work on them.

 

[Darrell]

Hasn’t somebody from here had one rebuilt recently??

 

[Darrell]

 

[Screwdriver]

My word! Slamming this car is not on the plan.

 

[Screwdriver]

Purchased the car today and drove 175 miles from the Cotswolds back to London. The car drove in the most delightful way imaginable - very peppy and fun in the corners (I was expecting a slow barge!)

Ive noticed several small issues which I will post tomorrow but found nearly no rust under the car. I did find noticeable engine blowby (demonstrated by the dancing oil cap) but the car started instantly when cold, emitted no black or white smoke and drove like a new car (no exaggeration here). The previous owner did share that the car wasn’t used for nine years, which may be the cause:

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Going to run Auto-Rx engine oil treatment and do a diesel purge to try and cleanse the internals next.

 

[Screwdriver]

I noticed zero oil leaks underneath the car after a 180 miles of driving since purchase. Makes me wonder what is causing the blow by.

 

[Screwdriver]

List of issues found so far:

1) Brakes pulsing under pressure. (Could be uneven/ warped rotors or the front calipers. Rear calipers were just changed)

2) Car pulling slightly to the left.

3) Both Front Doors locks not locking & central locking not operational

4) Engine blow by (filmed above)

5) Injection pump oil change (Lubro Moly MOS2 10W40) + Diesel Purge + 3 fuel filters

6) Power steering filter(s) and fluid change - (Febi Bilstein -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...KL5A1OLE&psc=1)

7) Manual Transmission Oil change - (Lubro Moly Synthetic fluid- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...KL5A1OLE&psc=1)

8) All window, sunroof and screen seals need replacing

9) Front windscreen chip needs a repair

10) Gear lever bushings as the lever is very wobbly and imprecise.

11) Check subframe, engine, transmission mounts and driveshaft couplers

12) Lubricate speedometer cable

13) Minor rust repair on left hand side corner underneath rear windscreen.

14) Roof lining needs a thorough cleaning with minor repair

15) Factory power moonroof jammed but doesn't look rusted. Owner swore it worked a few months ago but I can't hear the motor engage.

16) Series to pencil glowplug upgrade

17) Turn indicator bulb isn't working and the stalk doesn't stay in position (Replacement likely required)


That's all I can find so far!

 

[Screwdriver]

Following parts being ordered from Mercedes Benz:

1) Bonnet Hood pad Part # 114 682 14 26 (W114 6 Cyl part # hopefully will fit my diesel)
2) Both replacement drive belts
3) Rocker cover gasket (for after the valve adjustment)
4) Engine stabilizer dampener (don't know the part number)
5) Turn indicator relay (The darn thing stopped flashing)
6) Alternator mounting bolts & nuts (Missing one at the very bottom of the alternator it would appear)
7) Front R&L brake rotors, front hose and brake pads and associated replacement hardware (pins etc.)
8) Replacement oil filter with replacement washer, rubber seal and pre-filter
9) Front R&L Anti- Roll bar drop links
10) All door, sunroof and windscreen seals ($ Ouch!)
11) Fuel filters
12) Gear lever bushing set
13) Monark hand primer pump (not from the dealer but looks way better than the Bosch)
14) Engine mounts
15) A boatload of the best fluids and additives out there! (see pic)

The driveshaft couplers, axle boots and subframe mounts look OK. Definitely not pristine but not collapsed or cracking in any way. Haven't looked at the strut top rubber but I'm guessing its the same. Would you recommend I preemptively replace any of those or have I missed something else I should replace?

 

[robparker]

I'm very jealous, I really want another. My 220d had a fair amount of blow-by, but even when left at -5c for a week it would start straight up, so I didn't worry about it.

 

[219]

I ran these cars back in the day - took over my dad's 220/8 which he'd had from new , then bought a 280E 5 speed manual ; had a bad crash in the 220 , did over 200,000 miles in the latter before rust killed it .

Mechanically , pretty much bulletproof , a lot of the mechanicals carried over to W123 so good parts availability .

As others have said RUST - they rust wherever there's metal .

In particular : inner and outer sills ; inner wings , boot floor , floor in general , front outer wings ( visible ) , scuttle , jacking points , suspension mounts .... check EVERYWHERE .

I bought a W111 that was reputedly 90-odd percent rust free - it was rotten in so many hidden places .

Oh , bear in mind there was a facelift around 72/73 : there were changes to the ventilation system so that front quarter lights were done away with , bonnet line lowered , different grille , different valance , different rear lights and lots of other small details , I only mention as parts are not always interchangeable between late and early cars . Yours is a very late facelift car .

 

[219]

FRONT BULKHEAD/SCUTTLE , INNER WINGS,FLOOR, SILLS -- ALL RUST as said already ----water on the floor usually a bad sign of water ingress! The front bulkhead often rusts behind any sound deadening which hides a multitude of sins and acts as a moisture trap. With a small 4 cylinder normally aspirated diesel engine of the 70's expect leisurely progress

Most of these features were carried over from the preceding W110/111 models .

Mercedes-Benz are nothing if not evolutionary.