Advice please on MB camper vans

[Elaineybobs]

Hi, my husband and I are considering buying a 1983 2988cc (?) MB camper van that has done 94,000 miles. Can you advise me if it is difficult to get spare parts for a mercedes benz 1983 camper van? Also, it has done 94,000 miles. Is this good for the year? Sorry, I know absolutely nothing about engines! An early response would be much appreciated

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

It would be helpful if you could tell us what van it is based on as Mercedes have never built camper vans. It will be built by an aftermarket body builder and as a guess it will be based on a 307D chassis (is it built like a caravan or within a Merc van body?) but the engine size of the 307 was only about 2.3ltrs not 2.9 or 3.0ltrs. The only way to find out about spares would be to go to a good local spares factor and ask them about the availability of things like brake shoes and oil & air filters etc, also try your local Mercedes commercial dealer (usually a seperate entity from the car dealers). At this age the spares may be starting to dry up but Merc are pretty good at supplying service items for older vehicles. I ran a 1986 307D merc van until 2001 and never had a problem getting spares through merc.

The mileage is miniscule, about 4000 miles a year (not uncommon for a camper). to put this into perspective my current van is about to have its 3rd birthday this weekend and will have covered 111,000 miles already! In your case the critical issue is condition, not age or mileage. If the engine was serviced every 6 months it should be like new but if it has been neglected because it wasn't used very often it could be in far worse condition than an engine that has done more than double the distance. Also the dreaded tin worm(rust) will have wreaked havoc in the 23 years since the van was registered so examine it very carefuly and make sure you do know what you are buying

 

[Elaineybobs]

Thanks so much for your advice and very worthy of bearing in mind when we make our final decision. The camper is actually a 'Devon' conversion and has a 207D engine. It looks in good nick but of course, looks can be deceptive!

Once again, many thanks for the advice. Its a pity we couldn't take you with us to give it the once over when me make our final decision, I envy your know-how!

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

the 207 is the same as a 307 except for different maximum loaded weights. The 307 can max out at 3.5 tons while the 207 is rated at a lower weight (I think it is 2.8 tons, the info is on the vin chassis plate.) The only major problems I can think of is serious rust below the windscreen around the air vents, cracked leaves in the rear springs and crunchy gear changes in the lower gears if hurried (they all probably do this as I owned mine from 146k to 368k and the gearbox never got any worse(or any better)).

When servicing ALWAYS! get the grease gun on the steering kingpins. there is a top and bottom nipple on each side, pump in the grease until it emerges elsewhere then clean up the excess so it can't get onto the brakes (I don't think it would but never wanted to find out). Engine oil change should be every 4000 miles but definitely every year if annual milage is lower than this.

Spares shouldn't be a problem as this body shape was actually in production up until 1994/5

 

[lukethompson308]

does anyone work on pre-sprinter vans? i'm about to change the engine (again) on my 1990 308d, any tips on hoisting the engine appreciated. also any links to mercedes commercial forums? i think i've already changed every part on the van except the chassis, like to share experience of working on these old beasts.
my first attempt at using a forum, excuse mistakes