Well I am deciding whether to keep my old 240D or sell it. This is a 1982 240D 4-speed manual with almost 270,000 miles on it. It's not perfect but is a lot better than you may think. I will try to describe its condition in detail.
The car spent most of its life in Georgia until 4 years ago the 2nd owner brought it to Florida. I am the 3rd owner I think. The first owner was a minister and a good friend of the 2nd owner. The 2nd owner pegged him for many years and one day finally won it. Being a southern car it almost has zero rust except one place - under the lower left corner of the rear windshield seal - the 2nd PO waited too long to replace the cracked windshield seal. It's very small (1/4") and is not visible (under the new windshield) if I don't tell you. I had the seal replaced soon after I bought it. The front windshield and seal have been replaced and is in great condition. Other than this spot, the car is pretty much rust-free. The bottom of chassis is in a beautiful condition. Engine: The engine has always been well maintained. 2nd PO used Amsoil 15W40 synthetic oil while he owned it. I use Mobil-1 15W50 and Amsoil 15W40 (most of the time). I have replaced timing chain, chain tensioner and valve seals soon after I acquired it. The chain was riveted with the OEM tool (SIR tool not the Mercedes tool) and was returned to 0 degree stretch after the chain was replaced. Right now it is close to 2 degrees so I think the gears and other parts had some wear. The valve seals were replaced with the OEM tool (SIR tool) as well. The car does not smoke at start up or warmed up. The engine does have blowby and at this time I think either rings are still sticking or just plainly worn. It uses a quart of oil every 800 to 1000 miles, mostly on highway. I drive it at average 75 mph or sometime over 80 mph when passing (a pain with 67 HP). It has good power and can maintain the 75 mph cruising speed effortlessly. Thermostat has been replaced and I have always used MB antifreeze. The coolant temp stay at 80 to 82 degree steady. 2nd PO has all belts and hoses replaced prior to I bought it (60k miles ago). Fuel filters (primary and spin-on), air filters replaced every 15k miles. The fuel strainer and the fitted hose at the fuel tank are new (did last year). I took the tank out and flushed the whole thing. Cleaned fuel level sender and replaced the seals. Also put in a new fuel filler neck seal. Power steering filter and fluid were replaced by P.O. (60k miles ago). New glow plugs (Bosch, did last December). Transmission/Driveline: The clutch plate and pressure plate were replaced last year. The clutch plate was new and pressure plate was used. New throwout bearing. Mobil-1 ATF in the manual transmission. New clutch slave cylinder (gold ATE). New clutch master cylinder (FTE/Sachs?). 2nd owner did the flex discs (front and rear) 60k miles ago. One of the half shafts was replaced with a good used one (not rebuilt). Both half shafts are in good condition. All transmission linkage bushings are new (genuine MB parts, still has old ones, they are still good). All bushing in the shifter assembly are new too (MB parts). New shifter knob. A/C: This model has the manual A/C and heater control. A/C was retrofiited to the R-134A system. Remanufactured R-4 compressor. It works but is probably not satisfactory to many on this list. I don't usually use it around the town. I mostly use it on highway. It cools marginal - cold but not icy (I am in Florida). Need to recharge every two years. Heater on this car is toasty. The manual heater valve was replaced. Brake system: 2nd PO replaced all the brake pads (60k miles ago). I flush the system once a year with Volvoline syntec so it has been problem free. The seal beteen the brake master cylinder and brake booster may need replacing. It is a littel wet at the connetion surface. Suspension/steering New upper control arms. New steering damper and idler arm. Tie rods and ball joints in good condition. The only thing needs replacing at the front end are guide rod mounts. New sway bar links at the rear. Subframe mounts may need replacing. New KYB shocks at front and back (yes I cheaped out on this one). Ride ok but probably not as good as Bilstein. Cruise control: Not working presently. The AMP was bad. I have a remanufactured one but never put it in - I just don't have any use of it. Sunroof: Working properly. Bought the sunroof lube from Rusty but haven't got a chance to lube the rails yet. Tires: Almost new. Replaced 3 months ago. Kuhmo brand. Windows: Manual windows. Works properly. Extras: Passenger side mirror. Trunk mounted triangle (european delivery). I think I have covered the mechanical aspects of the car so now I will tell you why I am selling it. I had three accidents (minor) on this car this year. The first one scratched the driver side doors. The paint condition before the accident was very very good. Being afraid the new paint may not match the old in a couple of years, I had the whole car repainted including the wheel hub caps hoping I was going to keep this thing forever. A family friend who has 20 year experience in auto painting did the work for me. He put on 3 clearcoats after the base coat and guarantee the paint work however long I own it. It was like NEW when I picked it up. I paid him $1250 and it could have been easily double that money if I had taken it to a regular body shop. Not even a month after I had the car painted, somebody rearended it in a stop'N'go traffic. So while I was struggling with the 2nd accident insurance company, a pizza delivery girl backed her car onto the passenger side of my car in a parking lot, adding more damage. So I am thinking either this car is a magnet or I am at odds with it because I replaced too many parts on it. The new damages will cost me another $900 to have my friend to fix it but probably could be much less if you find a fender and front door for it.The car is 100% drivable. I have most records on this car from day one. The 1st owner has meticulously kept a log of the service history. Of course I have all the receipt for the all parts/work from the 2nd owner and the work I did on the car. I'd like to get $1500 for it. If I can't sell it at this price I may just as well fix the damage and keep it. But I already bought a rusty '91 300D 2.5 turbo to replace this so I'm motivated to sell it. If anybody or anybody knows anybody that may want a not-so-perfect manual 240D please let me know. I will get some pictures if someone has a website I could post them. Tan
