I'm looking to purchase a 300D turbodiesel sedan or wagon and have a few questions. I've found a good example of a 1985 300D sedan with 206K miles on it, but I need some advice on the car's problems.
1. The steering feels loose and at slow speeds feels like it is wandering even when the road is smooth. It seemed like it needed constant correction to keep a straight line. Am I looking at a steering rack replacement or tie rods or just something simple?
2. The brakes felt VERY tough. Master cylinder problems? Does it need it's fluid purged and bled? I can't imagine that M-B would have brakes this hard to press to get decent stopping performance.
3. The left rear floor had standing water on it when I looked at it Saturday but didn't on Friday. It's been rainy here but the sunroof and roof didn't show any leaks. Aside from an open window, are the seals in the windows or doors of these cars really bad?
4. The pictures of many of the cars in the gallery show the air filter for the engine as having a large pan-like housing near the top of the engine with a ram scoop in the front. However, this car has canister type filter near the front passenger side headlamp that seems to gather air from the fender area. Is this a stock set-up or what is going on? It looks like a M-B set-up but it doesn't look exactly like the pictures I've seen in the gallery.
5. What kind of performance can I expect from this car? I'm not looking for 0-60 burning performance, but can it cruise comfortably and quietly at 80-90 mph for many hours? Mileage?
Sorry for the long post, but I didn't see these questions in earlier posts.
1. The steering feels loose and at slow speeds feels like it is wandering even when the road is smooth. It seemed like it needed constant correction to keep a straight line. Am I looking at a steering rack replacement or tie rods or just something simple?
2. The brakes felt VERY tough. Master cylinder problems? Does it need it's fluid purged and bled? I can't imagine that M-B would have brakes this hard to press to get decent stopping performance.
3. The left rear floor had standing water on it when I looked at it Saturday but didn't on Friday. It's been rainy here but the sunroof and roof didn't show any leaks. Aside from an open window, are the seals in the windows or doors of these cars really bad?
4. The pictures of many of the cars in the gallery show the air filter for the engine as having a large pan-like housing near the top of the engine with a ram scoop in the front. However, this car has canister type filter near the front passenger side headlamp that seems to gather air from the fender area. Is this a stock set-up or what is going on? It looks like a M-B set-up but it doesn't look exactly like the pictures I've seen in the gallery.
5. What kind of performance can I expect from this car? I'm not looking for 0-60 burning performance, but can it cruise comfortably and quietly at 80-90 mph for many hours? Mileage?
Sorry for the long post, but I didn't see these questions in earlier posts.