Since the engine is probably the most important thing when you acquire an older Mercedes diesel you need to make sure. Here are some tests you can do yourself ( even some on the road ) to determine if the engine is healthy.
Kent, I am an Australian living in Africa. They say that Mercedes go to Africa to die. We try to save as many 123's and 126's as possible. We are achieving extraordinary life out of our diesels. Thank you for your service in keeping these truly remarkable vehicles alive.
The outside world takes note of the US, amongst other, by "there is no substitute for cubic inches". Also. Bear firmly in mind. There is also no substitute for experience. What a vault of knowledge you are. Thank you.
Congratulations! This is Tom from Germany. I´ve been growing up with a lot of W123 and 124 Diesels. But this is the ultimative master explaining for testing these engines. Thank you!
Hi this engine sounds amazing. W123 is really hard to get now. I bought w124 om605 just to be able to listen to this. You just presented very good testing. Greetings from Poland
I just got a 83 300td wagon and I’ll be doing these tests tomorrow morning to see how the engine is. It has 326k and starts right up but does blow smoke till it warms up. Awesome to know you are up in Washington as I am only 4 hours away
Wow, this was good. A question about smoking. What is the smoking that occurs when moving into high speed (entering the freeway from a ramp)? Sometimes when I floor it I look in the rear-view mirror and I am reminded of the Aston Martin in the original James Bond films (smoke screen). Not sure that is normal because when you revved the engine, after the adjustments, there wasn't much smoke. Can't wait to do the testing on my 300TD. 👌👌👌Thanks for your superb knowledge and willingness to share it.
I have two questions you could answer: First, did the 300d Turbo Diesel have air conditioning? Second, did the engine have removable cylinder liners that would make rebuilding much easier? Thank you for your answers.
Hello Sir Kent, if the cap dances and hops on a cold start and cold day 35 degrees is that excessive blow by or for that test car needs to be warmed up ? Thank you, you are a legend and as soon as your online shop opens i need the compression test pack with injector tester and cleaner
Remember the cap dance test is only one indicator. Better indicators are compression tests and high oil consumption. If it blows off the engine completely while idling that is bad. If it does not move at all, that is very good. Anything in between is okay provided other tests prove acceptable.
Thank you so much for the video. I Have a 1984 300d 4 speed and the oil presser gauge stays on 3 all the time. I this okay? Or is it problematic of something bad? Thanks!
Hi, thanks for the video! I have a question: how much smoke coming out of the exhaust do you consider normal? I'm in the market for one (1972 W115 OM616) and saw one put out a lot of smoke. It was mostly black, not blue or white. Just wondering what all this might indicate, and whether I should ever expect the exhaust to be 100% clear. Thanks!
That is the cleanest engine I’ve ever seen! That’s an engine that’s gonna be around for a long time with the right care. What a lucky find that was! Well done Kent!
Does the oil pressure apply to gasoline v8 m119 engines as well? Cold start and at idle I usually have low oil pressure reading on my gauge. I’ll check tomorrow but I’m sure it moves up when I’m driving 😅
I really learned a lot but as someone who’s never owned a W300 TD and is looking at on nearby I wonder how acceptable it would be to test all these things before making a purchase. I guess I should feel just in doing so since I am the customer but damn
I asked the same question @gabrielayers It probably depends on the seller. Some might object to it, which maybe that means walk away from it especially if the price is low. We don't want to find out it fails all of the tests AFTER we take delivery of the vehicle.
@@vintage76vipergreenBeetle From where I'm from, diesel w123s are non existent because they were never imported. Only the gas ones are running around and I see alot of them.
