Barton, I have possible plan "C" a 140M mile engine out of an 84 300D that my daughter lost a battle to a garbage truck with. I've sold the trans and the differential is in my SD, but the engine is still available less the starter and alternator. There is some damage to the die cast parts on the front of the engine, but as far as I know there isn't any damage to the rotating goodies. The engine is in Cornwall on Hudson, NY which, if I remember right isn't too far from you. I was planning to keep the engine for either the 325M mi 300D that my daughter is now driving or the 275M mile SD I have, but the current plan is to trash the 300D when it dies and wear out the SD which still has a long way to go. I'm getting too old to play musical engines;
On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 10:35 PM, vwnate1
<vwnate1@yahoo.com> wrote:
Bummer , this .
If you like the car (W-126's are *very* nice but not everyones cuppa tea) , I'd find me a good , _HONEST_ indie M-B Diesel rated Mechanic and give him the car and both engines so he can cherry pick the best parts & rebuild one.....
As I flew my old 300CD Diesel Sports Coupe up the mounatin at post legal speeds the other day for fun & lunch , I thought about the thousands and thousands of Dollars I've dumped into this grubby old car and every Penny was well worth it ! .
-Nate
Barton wrote :
>
> Fellow MB diesel heads....greetings, salutations and the best of the holiday season to all!
>
> Thinking it wise to have my car serviced while away on vacation, I dropped off Silvia ('84 300 SD) at my (very) trusted mechanic's shop for an oil change and a valve adjustment. Some of you may know I'm also a Saab-nut, and he's been my trusted mechanic for 15+ years with no problems whatsoever - so when I bought Silvia, he agreed to perform basic maintenance and the occasional non-vacuum/non-diesel engine work.
>
> So..this morning I get a call from the shop....and....after adjusting 1st first exhaust valve, he started to adjust the 2nd exhaust valve and could not get it to stay adjusted properly after loosening/adjusting/tightening several times. That's when he noticed that the entire valve was able to move as much as a 1/4" in the valve guide. He said he was amazed that it had not yet swallowed a valve already.
>
> So I'm looking for some advice here.....I can probably find a machine shop to do the work, but it could take some time - if anyone knows of a skilled shop in the greater Boston area, please advise. Also, I still have access the original engine for this car (you might recall previous postings from me documenting the engine swap some 3 years ago). This "spare" engine has approx 180k mi on it and was seized by the previous owner due to lack of oil. In theory, the head on that engine is good, and obviously that many less miles.
>
> So, what would you do? My brother (who has the spare engine), pointed out that if I recondition either of the heads, I could end up creating significant blow-by as if there are any "leaks", it almost certainly won't be through a reconditioned head. I would hate to spend $2k on parts/labor and head reconditioning just to put it al back together and destroy the lower half of the motor. One theory is to have the seized motor crated, shipped and re-built (I recall someone on this list reporting good success with a similar rebuild)....
>
> To be honest, we're all a little puzzled by this turn of events. The motor has been running smoothly with no outward problems - solid mileage, (22-25MPG city/hwy) and no significant or weird noises.
>
> I don't want this to be the straw that breaks the camel's back - but I also don't want to waste money chasing a problem that will just create new ones down the road.
>
> As always, I appreciate the advice and insights in this community. Awaiting your responses and until then, happy holidays and happy new year!
>
> -Barton
>
