Converting a Mercedes Benz 300D to run on: biodiesel, SVO, and WVO
an Anonymous Greaser -
Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 02:39
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I recently bought a 1983 Mercedes Benz 300D, with 327K miles and wanted to convert it to run on veggie oil. I know that these cars are built to last thats why I got an older one. I have some mechanical skills working on a older honda but never a diesel car.
I have a couple of concerns- first off when I start it up the exhaust blows smoke. Is this normal? (I have never owned a diesel car before) If not what can I do to help remedy this problem. Secondly this car doesn't have a whole lot of power when I start from a stop acceleration is slow even when I the put pedal to the floor. Does anyone out there have a similar model that they have converted to run on SVO and have seen improvements in performance?
For the biodiesel people out there: Do you recommend boiling the fuel tank to kill bacteria? Any other tips for set up for this vehicle would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Chris
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Smoking Mercedes
Hey Chris,
A while back, I invested 2 grand to buy a 1983 300D Turbo Diesel with high mileage. I had a little fun driving it, and then the engine blew. I thought it would be a good investment... well yes and NO. I mean it is a MERCEDES. I will never sell it for what I invested, but I had the engine rebuilt and it ran, but there was so many problems I got tired of dumping money into it. Finally, I dumped enough money, and bought an auto manual to understand the basics, and I partially restored it to running condition and I love it! It still needs work here and there, you know old switches, AC, etc, but with patience it can be a really nice reliable car. YES, diesels like this smoke a little, but I put a diesel supplement like CETANE in it and the smoke is almost not even noticable. BIODIESEL? If it is DIESEL, it will burn! Oil and gas is what this car runs on.
Listen this car was not meant to be raced OK! The take off is extremely slow, but I found with a high OCTANE supplement and shifting down in a lower gear, the car works like any other (make sure there is enough transmission fluid, not over-filling). The speed and power of this TURBO DIESEL only kicks in when you are driving at around 40-60 mph or so, then you don't even have to hardly touch the pedal at that point. I find this car to be totally unique, just invest some $$$ in it and the 300D is great. (Eventhough, the engine might need to be rebuilt, make sure there are no leaks, I mean diesel engines leak a little but all seals should be replaced.)I am not sure about the conversion factor for vegetable oil, but if they sell it at the pump, you can burn it.
Curtis.
Curtis, Sounds reassuring
Curtis,
Sounds reassuring that you had a good time with your 300D. I wanted to know if you ever had problems starting up the engine. The car has been sitting around a bit and I tried starting it and it won't do anything. I am going to check out the glow plugs and the battery. Have you ever have a similar problem? Im going to try to troubleshoot this problem. Also, how much does an engine rebuild cost? thanks,
Chris
Why would you just say stuff like this?
It is completely UNTRUE that it runs on Oil and GAS...The diesel engine will be destroyed if you pump GAS into it. Don't do that!!
If they sell it at the pump you can burn it is an absolute WRONG statement.
Now, that said, it's probbably the best and easiest tpo convert to veg-oil, and will run on Bio_D with NO problems...you can also blend and make diesel/VegOil mixes of about 50-50 and run on that (make sure you clean up and dry out the VegOil (ie. Filter and de-water it...MANY suggestions and how-tos right her on this forum and many others.
My first and best advice is find some good forums for VegOil/Biodiesel and read read read....then find some good forums on Mercedes TDs and READ READ READ some more....the injector pump can be tweaked and many other little tweaks can be done to make that Diesel run like a mad hatter.
Enjoy,
Loops
how I convert my 300d to biodisel
I would like to do this convection and I look for someone help me .thank
mbz conversion
I'd love to run a mbz on biodiesel but I'm not a fixit kind of guy; i don't want to read a bunch of manuals . . . sorry . . .I'm planning on moving to the bay area (CA); is there someone there who could help?
poor preacher man
MB300D power problems
I recently read that the fuel filters on diesel -- and especially waste vegetable oil biodiesel -- tend to clog up; diesel type fuels being much thicker that gasoline.
This poster suggested that you learn how to replace your own filters, and carry spare filters with you always. This might help you get more power out of it. These models weren't particularly powerful anyways. I mean the speedometer only goes up to 80mph!
Cheers,
Green beanie
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