Fixing Up An Old Diesel-Powered Mercedes
377,419
Published 2024-05-23
This is a 1975 Mercedes 240D with a 4 cylinder diesel engine. The car has been off the road for a while, and barn-stored for that period. Fortunately, the previous owner periodically went out and fired up the engine. So albeit not roadworthy, it technically runs and drives. This car now belongs to a friend of mine and I was asked to make the car reliable again, and on top of that, I ended up cleaning out a total of 21 dead mice. Unfortunately, they left a stench that I'm not sure can ever be removed (Although maybe an ozone generator). There's plenty more to do on this car, but it's ready to putt around. Maybe you'll see more on it.
Chapters-
00:00 - Intro
-All I really knew about the car when I got to was that it ran and drove onto a trailer, and it's been sitting in a barn for a long time. It REEKS of rodent urine.
02:20 - Replacing the V-belts
04:26 - Oil Change & other checks
07:30 - Replacing some bulbs
11:38 - Replacing the brake hoses
-Driving the car back to my garage, the brake pedal started sinking way down to the floor. The brakes had overheated themselves. The rubber hoses swelled up and restricted the fluid flow, maintaining pressure on the brakes.
18:43 - Cleaning up
33:41 - Reassembling the dashboard/heater controls
- it looks like someone pulled all this apart to figure out why the heater fan wasn't working. I did some diagnosis and it seems like the fan motor itself is done for. Thats a dreaded job on this car, and most, so I just put things back together for now. At least there's still some heat/defrost from natural airflow.
38:47 - More cleaning
41:03 - Fixing some loose parts in the gauge cluster
43:59 - More cleaning & washing
46:15 - Patching up the rusted off muffler
50:36 - Servicing the transmission
53:37 - Adjusting the valves
56:47 - Servicing the air and fuel filters
1:00:44 - Revisiting the blinkers
1:01:30 - Finishing up and finding a grand total of 21 dead mice
1:04:40 - Winston the cat
All Comments (21)
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A moment of silence for the generations of mice that had a beautiful life inside the interior of that vehicle.
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I love that there is no music, no talking no mugging it for the camera
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Beautiful w115 body 240d. I've been wrenching on old diesel mercedes for years now. I have an 83 240d thats my daily. Im glad you adjusted the valves and changed the fuel filters, thats a step to getting as much power out of a 240d as possible lol. Be sure to clean the fuel tank strainer, do a diesel purge, install new rebuilt injectors, check the operation of the lift pump and ensure there are no air leaks from any of the fuel lines, pull the overfueling banjo bolt out and check how stretched out the spring is, go through the glow plug system, and do an idle adjustment. After all of that, your car should purr like a kitten at idle and have gobs of power if the engine is not worn out. Be sure to check your vacuum pump as well, if it fails it can jettison metal into the timing chain and wreck the engine. Also citric acid flush the cooling system just to be on the safe side (very effective flush to remove scale and deposits) the back end of your car is sagging, install new coil springs, coil spring pads, and differential mount and it should be back to stock ride height. Also 4 new bilstein shocks will make that car float down the road. And lastly be sure to ensure the throttle linkage, vacuum control valve, kickdown solenoid, and vacuum modulator on the transmission are all adjusted properly so the car shifts right and actually has power to get out of its own way. Good luck and be sure to check out the peachparts forum and mercedessource website for parts and tutorials on the older diesel mercedes.
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I was a newborn when that Mars candy was being made. The car was already 16 years old at the time. Now I am a balding dude saving for retirement. Really drives home how old these cars are. Keep up the good work and videography. Filming and editing makes everything take longer, thank you! You will soon be able to make a living doing this.
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The amount of mice you pulled out of the interior is crazy.
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No matter what a person is into, your video content and presentation is honestly some of the very best on YouTube. Don't change a thing because your videos rock. And here is some old guy, been there seen that advice about the mouse clean up. I was present at an autopsy of a girl about your age who had cleaned out a farm shed. She felt fine when she finished, 3 days later, she was dead from hantavirus. She drowned in her own body fluids. A spray bottle with half water and half bleach and spray the heck out of the area. Soak it. It's the disease in the dust particles that get in your respiratory system and destroys it. Anyway, climbing off the soap box now and thanking you for original, great content.
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The 70 era Micecedes were tough cars.
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This shot with lilac at the beginning is just amazing ❤
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Great job! As one of the other comments stated " A nice simple approach to fixing a vehicle". I'm very pleased that you have no music in the video. I like to hear the sounds of work being done, hearing screws, bolts, and nuts falling through the vehicle frame.
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I drove a 240 D here in Germany for about 10 years. Apart from regular maintenance, it hasn't had a single repair during that time and rust hasn't been an issue either. It was one of the first and best vehicles I've had over the decades. The seating comfort was like driving in your living room armchair. Thanks for the great video, it brought back old memories
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Props to the family of mice for not destroying the precious interior.
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I really enjoy your No~Nonsense videos, just an absolute pleasure to sit back an enjoy your work in fixing & repairing all those Vehicles. Thank you for taking us along your wonderful journeys ❤
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My grandfather had one of these in the 90s, most of my childhood was spent driving around with him. Thanks for the video, it brought back a lot of memories.
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Seeing you really go through this car methodically shows how they are famous for hitting a million miles. Build quality is insane even if left to rot, they can still come back and live again. Awesome work. Amazing Mercedes.
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You have a great and refined aesthetic and artistic sense for videos. Congratulations.
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We drove a 1968 190D from alaska to florida AND BACK...~7000
Mi..NOT A HICCUP..
AT 75-80 mph the motor was silent..!
DROVE LIKE A CRUISE MISSILE... -
Really satisfying Simon, to see you get the faults repaired and the vehicles back to life. I really like to see your basic approach, to make these trucks and cars useable again and not just scrap metal. Keep it up.
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The no-nonsense video production style makes your videos easy to watch. The viewer is focusing on what YOU are focusing on and nothing else.
You have a respectable skill set- both as a mechanic and videographer. -
Thanks Simon. Per usual, I love to watch you work. And that great old MBZ, what a cool car to see you work on.
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Really good . Arresting the rust looks like it will be relatively easy on the lower body. It's a beauty.
