75 MPH Restoration Guide for Diesel Chassis 115 116 123 126 - 75 Top Trouble Spots

This is an illustrated guide of what I believe are the 75 most important items you should inspect, service or repair on any older 115, 116, 123 or 126 diesel Mercedes. Even though not specifically written for the 201 or 124 chassis many of the principles will apply to these newer chassis diesels.

This is not a detailed repair manual for each item, but rather a reference guide to point out the potential problem, explain proper diagnosis and direct you to the parts and repair information you will need to get to fix it yourself.

What made me decide to title this the 75 MPH Guide? One day I sat down and wrote out a list of the most common repairs and service work we regularly perform on older Mercedes Diesels. This list just happened to come out being 75 items long. I had to think long and hard about the significance of this number. I immediately thought of 75 miles per hour. We get quite a few emails asking us if it is ok to drive a diesel at 75 mph for extended periods. Not only is it ok it is actually good for the engine. We call it an Italian tune-up!

But not all old diesels should be driven that fast without a thorough inspection. This belief comes from my days of flying bush planes over the jungles of New Guinea. Preventative maintenance is what probably kept me alive. Of course I realize cars are much more forgiving than airplanes (you can always pull off on the side of the road)! But completing this list will go a long way to making your diesel a safe and reliable daily driver. M for saving money, P for increased performance and H for good vehicle health - these are the side benefits of completing this list. When done, go ahead and drive 75 MPH, just be on the lookout for you know who!

We have developed a large number of repair kits with illustrated instructions to help you complete most of the jobs recommended in this guide. The manuals, parts or kits needed for each repair or service can be quickly found on our website using the search box in the upper right hand corner. With each of the 75 items I have included a keyword or keywords to aid you in your search. Just copy and paste them into the search box to find all the related items on our site. If you do not see what you need please email or call us. We can help you get any special parts quickly.

Along with the search keyword, I have included a "level of difficulty" rating. This should help you decide if you are ready to take on the task yourself based on your mechanical skill and experience. I rate each item from one star (easy) to five stars (very difficult). If you have recently decided you want to learn to work on your own diesel, do not be afraid to take on any one or two star task. The best way to build confidence is to try and then succeed. With our instructions we can help you build that confidence in no time at all.

This new guide is the best way for you to get started fixing your own diesel and saving lots of money and frustration!