Hello there. I just purchased my second Mercedes Benz. The first was an old 1965 fintail. Didn't own it long so I don't remember it well. But, the new one is a 1981 W123 300TD TurboDiesel wagon. I purchased it from the estate of the original female owner who passed on. Her son, who has not seen the car in years, thought that his mother complained of a water pump leak before she died and the car sat. The car has 123K miles on it and is in really nice original shape. Complete maintenance records since day one, all done at the Mercedes dealership. EVERY single 3,000 the oil was changed with Amalie 40wt HD, religiously! Oh, by the way, not a dent on the car, and interior is in pretty nice shape. I wanted to pay $500.00, the son wanted $800, so we agreed on $650.00. Son thought the car would not run, and frankly, I had no such aspiration myself. The night before I purchased the car, I took a battery charger and put it on the newer Interstate battery (geesh that's big!). The next day, it showed a full charge - ok, I'm surprised. I paid for the car having never even attempted to start it before I purchased it. I wondered if I should drop the fuel, a full tank of diesel, but thought, let me see if this thing was overheated and seized, which would have been expected for the money. I knew a little about glow plug dash lights as a friend in college had a VW rabbit diesel and it too had a glow plug indicator which I knew signalled it was time to twist the key and start. Ah...what the heck, can't do too much damage...but just a quick tap of the key ONLY to see if it's seized or not. Un-bee-lee-vable! The car immediately started and idled perfectly. I couldn't believe it. My first diesel, and a running one at that. Opened the oil cap on the valve cover and it's perhaps the absolute cleanest, most pristine, perfect interior I've ever seen. Not a scratch on the cam shaft lobes, and NO oil sludge or any buildup anywhere! At that time I had NO idea as to the maintenance the car had, although I had all the records in the dash to be looked at when I got home. Aired up the tires, let her idle to check for leaks and wait for something untoward to happen, and nothing did. I deciced to further the test by putting her in drive and running around a few blocks. She drives absolutely wonderfully!!
At the time I purchased the car, I had no idea of the car's value, and neither did the son I guess. I just kind of liked the way the car looked sitting a couple doors away for over a year and figured any car that might start up and run has got to be worth $500 bucks, if for no other reason than to put her in the garage and tinker around and learn about a "diesel" for the first time, to see up close what one of those klankin cars are all about - cheap entertainment and lots to learn. Turns out, when I removed the original Mercedes Benz water pump, it was fine. No leaking from the weep hole and the bearings seemed fine. I did notice that the "short hose" was indeed leaking and I've already purchased a new German water pump for the car. With all the reading I'm doing and fun investigating the car, I've spent about 3X's more on books, manuals, maintenance parts and the like than I spent on the car itself! Soon, we're on to a WVO conversion, but first, I got to get the maintenance stuff up to date and up to my comfort level. I don't like driving a car that is not completely current as it relates to all the fluids.
My question here is this. The car has always lived in Florida weather where it is continually between 60 and 85 degrees, all year round. I only now understand that there is a difference between gas motor oil and diesel motor oil. I'm wondering what is the best motor oil to purchase. I can tell you that I have not investigated the Amalie Heavy Duty 40wt that the car has had all it's life. I did have the guys at Napa tell me to use the Shell Rotella HD 40wt as this is something a good portion of marine and commerical diesel trucks use routinely. I'm seeking recommendations then on the correct and best motor oil to use on this newly acquired W123 5 cylinder turbo diesel. Thanks so much in advance to all those who offer some advice. I sure do appreciate it!!
Sincerely,
JBeechcraft