2 questions about Diesel in U.S.A.

[MadMan]

Originally Posted by Colly0410

Here in England diesel is more expensive that gas/petrol, when I was in Canary Islands a few weeks ago it was the other way round. What's cheapest in USA?

Diesel used to be much cheaper up until... maybe 10 years ago. These days they hover right next to each other, diesel seems to be more stable and changes price slower, while gas prices fluctuate a lot more. I think last week I saw diesel the exact same price as regular unleaded.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by MadMan

Diesel used to be much cheaper up until... maybe 10 years ago. These days they hover right next to each other, diesel seems to be more stable and changes price slower, while gas prices fluctuate a lot more. I think last week I saw diesel the exact same price as regular unleaded.

Actually 15 years ago. When I bought my 2005 Diesel Jeep Liberty, Diesel fuel was about 10 to 20 cents cheaper than regular, then later in the year it shot up about 40 to 50 cents higher. That little scheme about lower operating cost backfired on me. Plus the oil changes were a lot higher too. The engine used synthetic oil.

[compu_85]

Nice find on that 300D. 84 is a good year.

I've been basically trying to give away my 91 SDL... nobody seems interested

Did you know that 1985 California market Mercedes diesels were the first vehicles ever to have a DPF?

[Kamakiri]

I just might be interested.....I'm quickly realizing that owning a '97 Miata in Buffalo means that you can take it out and enjoy it almost never.....so there's a 50/50 chance that's getting sold. I have a whole bunch of genuine Mazda tune up stuff coming for it, and it's only got 109K on the clock. Down side is that it's an auto.

I'm a neophyte when it comes to Mercedes, but I'm a quick study. I looked at an '83 W126 locally....looked decent from the photos, but although it ran, it ended up being a basket case.

[bgadow]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

I just might be interested.....I'm quickly realizing that owning a '97 Miata in Buffalo means that you can take it out and enjoy it almost never.....so there's a 50/50 chance that's getting sold. I have a whole bunch of genuine Mazda tune up stuff coming for it, and it's only got 109K on the clock. Down side is that it's an auto.

I'm a neophyte when it comes to Mercedes, but I'm a quick study. I looked at an '83 W126 locally....looked decent from the photos, but although it ran, it ended up being a basket case.

I'm not sure that I've seen an 80's Mercedes diesel with less than about 160k, and that was 20+ years ago! Most were between 250-350k. Lower body rust was common. Vacuum powered central locks, when bored I would sit there with the key in the door and see how many cycles I could get before the vac ran out! The engine cut-off is vacuum powered as well. If you have a leak, well, the engine won't shut off even if you turn off the key, pull it out and walk away. You have to use the manual shut-off on top of the engine. They have a unique smell inside which I'm told is due to the horsehair stuffing in the seats (likely combined with the diesel exhaust smell). The wood trim on the dash and console always cracks. The turbo lag can be pretty wild, though it varies. On some cars acceleration can be downright dangerous until it kicks in, at which point it feels a little like a jet taking off (a little!) I've driven a non-turbo Benz, a total slug. With their oversized steering wheel and that diesel under the hood, I liked to imagine I was driving a bus

[Telecolor 3007]

Diesel fuel sometimes was bad in Romania too. But older cars dind't had too much problems with it. You could (ilegally) buy it from truck or bus drivers.

[Hawkwind]

Around 1973~4 in a suburb of Philadelphia I had a neighbor who had a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190D. On a business trip in the very early 1960's he bought it in Germany and a few years later, drove it to Stockholm Sweden.

Had it shipped to the USA 1966~7 along with his new wife and infant son.

<both from Sweden>

4 cylinder, 4 speed on the tree. Drove it acouple of times, slow in 1st.

Died of rust 1976.

Replaced with a '76 P-Something diesel station wagon.

Had a friend in the very early 1980's that had the Oldsmobile sedan and he said "it needs alot of oil changes".

Twin brother had a VW Diesel Jetta, 2000. I road in it once.

We have at work a Ford F-550 2 door TurboDiesel that was "hot-rodded" Chipped, twin turbos, straight thru exhaust. No need for DEF.

Quarter of a tank of diesel fuel and no payload, It was FAST...

[compu_85]

Ya, there are a lot of basket cases out there.

By 84 the turbo lag was improved. For 85 it was further improved with a higher stall speed torque converter, and a taller rear end ratio which helps fuel economy.

Be aware that most reman R4 ac compressors are not appropriate for the Mercedes. MB mounted it upside down compared to GM, which results in the oil passage for the bearings not getting oil.

This might be helpful for you:

http://eva2.homeip.net/

https://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/...tedDocId=12265

[compu_85]

The later 6 cylinder cars get out of their own way quite nicely on a cool day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srXc2xV0fO8

On a 100*f day the hot air does cause a fair bit of power loss... it feels like 30 less hp at the wheels. Add the power draw from the AC compressor and things do feel rather sluggish.

[Olorin67]

Ive owened a few diesels, includieng a 2002 VW and a 1980 Rabbit. the rabbit only had 48 hp orignally, and after nearly 500,000 miles the engine was very tired, had to disconnect the crankcase breather hose, it had so much blow by it would suck the oil into the intake, then the car would accelerate on its own, and leave a huge black cloud behind... Once the hose was disconnected, almost as much exhaust came out of the breather as the tailpipe. id love to find a Volvo diesel station wagon.

[compu_85]

1980s Volvo diesels were actually VW engines too. 6 cylinder version of the 4s used in the Rabbit / Golf and Jetta.

[KentTeffeteller]

And that PRV (Peugeot Renault Volvo) engine is commonly referred by Volvo fans as a Frog Motor. Commonly referred to as "The Satan Of Volvodom" in the USA in terms of their Gas V6 version which was also a joint venture. The Diesel was OK but slow and hard to get repaired in the USA.

[Sandy G]

My dad, Henry, started his Mercedes journey back in the early 60s, w/a "Ponton" model. He even had a '65250SL, the little "Pagoda roof" model. He progressed up to a '72 280 SEL 4.5 V-8, last one sold here that was basically set up like a German home market version. I was in it w/him once, we got up to an indicated 140 MPH, & it wasn't done then. He never really found out how fast it WOULD go. He made it home from Richmond, VA, to Rogersville, TN once, trying to beat a snowstorm-375 miles in 4.5 hours.. He beat the storm ! Then came the Gas Crisis of '74, he traded it for a 240D diesel.. That car's top speed was about where the big V-8 shifted into high... But he stayed w/the diesels, the LAST one he had was a '79 300TD, a 5 cylinder turbo Weasel..It was almost as fast as the big V-8 was... Maybe not off the line, but it sure as hell wouldn't embarrass you, either.. It also had the then current "S-Class" body, it LOOKED like a "Drug Dealer" type Mercedes... rather than a dowdy taxi or Polizei car. If you get a Mercedes that has been taken care of, HOPEFULLY by a Mercedes dealer, you'll likely get a car you can have & enjoy for a LONG time. There's a REASON they cost so gotdang much-take care of one, & YOU can get 2,3,400K miles outta one, too ! Be patient, Chilluns, I'll spin youse my tale of Woe about putting half a tank of Weasel Juice in a '76 Cutlass 350 GAS V-8..

[SpaceAge]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

I *just* bought a 1984 Mercedes 300D turbodiesel, which is now in San Francisco. Every maintenance record since new, and it's got 387,000 miles on it. Waiting for the carrier to get word to me as to when they're picking it up.

You just can't find them this clean here in the snow and salt of the northeast....

I spy one mileage badge on the grille, but with 387k miles you can claim the second.

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/herit...ghmileageaward

Nice to see some MB appreciation here, I own a W163. Had a few issues with it but all in all for having such a dogs**t reputation (muh "Alabama trash can") mine has been pretty solid. 122k miles and counting.

[Sandy G]

You wanna talk "Horrorshow"-Lemme tellya about my Generous Motors Weasels... Got outa college in '79, w/my newly minted BA in Economics degree...Shit, baby, I was ready to set the world on fire ! My Dad bigdealed me into trading my '76 Olds Cutlass 350 gas car-more about THAT later- for a '79 Cutlass 260 V8 DIESEL... Sposed to get almost 40 MPG on the hiway.. Which I think it actually did, the 2 or 3 times it wasn't in the shop.. If it wasn't the head gaskets, it was the injection pump. If it wasn't the Injection Pump, it was Water in the injection Pump. If it wasn't that, it was the Hydramatic transmission. Generous Motors, in their INFINITE wisdom, put a Chevette tranny in a car that was half again as heavy as the Shit-Vette, & wondered why they weren't lasting..