Beaucoup unburnt fuel in blue smoke blowing out the back, especially at startup - valve clearances are fine. Fuel mileage is at/near 24-28mpg on my '79 240D 4-spd at mostly highway driving.

Without using drip tube or centering IP to timing marks, how's the best method of setting the IP timing by ear?? Can it be adjusted while the engine is running?? What is the procedure just using smoke and engine performance as indicator..... without any fancy expensive guages or devices.

My repair manual is lost; it got left on the roof of the car by mistake and I've never set diesel IP timing in my life. Yet am no novice to working on MB engines, mostly carbureted gasoline cars i've owned over period of many yrs.

Does rotating the pump towards the engine advance the flow? Which are the nuts on the IP that must be loosened to make adjustment??

My plan includes paint marking initial position of the pump, so I dont get lost.