The rack damper pin on your OM617 is at the back of the IP, near the oil filter housing. It's a 12 mm brass colored bolt (or silver if you have the old style) inside of a 14 mm locking nut. What you want to do is loosen up the locking nut, then back out the brass bolt a turn or so. The purpose of the bolt is to dampen a natural shake that the engine has, so if you notice a shake at warm idle you've backed it out too far. If the pin is too tight, the engine is harder to start cold, and requires constant fuel to keep from stalling until it warms up. BTW, if you have the silver colored bolt, you should upgrade to the newer brass colored one - they're only $20 or so. The old one may have failed, and perhaps that's why it's turned in so far.

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Tjohn

82 300 SD
77 450 SL (gone)