Got my 240D home....first impressions sloooww

[bennett]

I posted earlier about a 81 240D that I picked up. The car itself is in very good condition. I got a steal of a price on it . I ran a carfax and the 139k miles are accurate ... the car had a minor right front fender hit that will be an easy fix. I do need a passenger headlight assembly .. any suggestions appreciated.
I am so used to a gas motor I had a hard time getting over the fact that when you depress the accelorator.. uhh........ there is nothing there until the rpms rev up. It's like driving a gasser with burnt valves.
Wow they are slow... I live at 4500' elevation and wondered what I could do short of a Turbo... the sticker under the hood says 67 Horsepower ... yeah at sea level maybe.
I will check the valves , the oil and filters were changed 800 miles ago. The car was hit in October and sat until monday when I picked it up. The car spent much of it's life in southern California and since 97 it was in Vegas. I found no rust whatsoever on it.
I belong to a local bio-diesel group and will try some WVO fuel when i get a chance. Just thought It would be nice to get some responses from other 240D turtles on the list ..what was your first impression?
What shade legal tint could I put on my drivers side window to avoid eye contact with all the people passing me and gesturing... or how about a bumper sticker... " Turbo broken...watch for finger"
How would a 300D fit in there?... it is a manual trans 4 speed.

[d.delano]

Manny tranny 240s are supposed to be about as slow as 300 turbos from what I have read. You have to work the kinks out. Do some fuel delivery related maintenance. Italian tuneup. That's about all you can do for it.
If you are entertaining the idea of putting a 617 turbo in it go for it. There are some other members who have done it, or are in the process of doing it. So far I haven't read anything relaying their results, but I'd imagine it would be a blast to drive a conversion like that in a lighter weight 240 chassis.

[hockeynut]

Originally Posted by d.delano

Manny tranny 240s are supposed to be about as slow as 300 turbos from what I have read. You have to work the kinks out. Do some fuel delivery related maintenance. Italian tuneup. That's about all you can do for it.
If you are entertaining the idea of putting a 617 turbo in it go for it. There are some other members who have done it, or are in the process of doing it. So far I haven't read anything relaying their results, but I'd imagine it would be a blast to drive a conversion like that in a lighter weight 240 chassis.

Isn't a 123 a 123? Is the chassis lighter on a 240 even though it is a 123??

[joel price]

Since it is soooooooooooo slow---want to sell it?

[Angel]

Dude, I got one (240D) too...

And yeah, even here at 400' (cincinnati, OH) they are slow. I saw what 4000' did to my motorcycle (I'd twist it, but it wouldnt speed up...) so I can only barely imagine a 240D at altitude.

I must second the above opinion- the 240D (same W123 body as the 300D's of 1977 to 1985...) will only go faster if you swap in a turbo 5cyl. You could adjsut the 'non turbo ALDA' (altitude compensating thing on the IP) but without a turbo to shove moe air in, you wont change much.
But at least you already got the stick shift- they didnt sell many over here...

I'll mentally note that now there is **one more** guy on the board looking for all the components necessary for an OM617.95x swap... =) The swap has been done my a few guys and posted about often- search up a thread called "Auto to manual transmission has begun" or something like that

-John


edit- DUDE ! mine is China Blau (color) too !

[Rick Miley]

Ok, this may be a problem. The 240D is slow to begin with and you've made it worse by taking it to 4500 feet. And now you say you want to run biodiesel, which has a lower energy content than diesel thus lowering the power even further. You might want to rethink this and shop for a turbo 300D instead. There are plenty of people around who will be happy to pick up a rust free 240D.

If you're dead set on keeping it, try the following:
1. Check the accelerator linkage to make sure it is getting full travel all the way to the stop on the injection pump.
2. Adjust the ADA for slightly more fuel delivery off-idle. The difference with this adjustment is much less dramatic than that of a turbocharged engine.
3. Read up on Dokter Bert's posts about timing, and adjust both cam and pump timing to the advanced end of the spec.

[Ara T.]

Originally Posted by d.delano

Manny tranny 240s are supposed to be about as slow as 300 turbos from what I have read.

Yeah, right.

[R Leo]

Weird. One of my parts cars has almost EXACTLY the same damage in the same place.

[d.delano]

I'm wrong, I was thinking the 240 chassis with manual everything would be lighter somewhat than a 300D and now I realize the weight savings would be negligible. But I seem to remember reading a couple posts telling how a well running 240D with a manual transmission could keep up with a 300D automatic.

Hummmm.....

If a 240D makes 62 or 67hp at sea level, I wounder how much it would make at 14,410 (pikes peak) or if it could even make it up there on it's own power.

[DslBnz]

Originally Posted by d.delano

I'm wrong, I was thinking the 240 chassis with manual everything would be lighter somewhat than a 300D and now I realize the weight savings would be negligible. But I seem to remember reading a couple posts telling how a well running 240D with a manual transmission could keep up with a 300D automatic.

300D automatic. Yes. But a non-turbo 300D automatic.

[Brian Carlton]

Yep, you are certainly going to struggle with a 240D at 4500 feet. They are slow at sea level. At that altitude, you probably lose another 15% or so.

If you do decide to change the engine, I would seriously consider a turbocharged engine. The n/a 300D will be a bit better than the 240D, but, certainly not worth the effort required to change the engine.

The turbocharged engine loses significantly less power at altitude than the n/a engine does.

[RalphinSL]

I bought a 1982 240D 4-speed two years ago and mine used to be very slow until I adjusted the valves and then the horse power improved dramatically. I suspect that your valves need adjustment or even the timing is off.

Originally Posted by bennett

I posted earlier about a 81 240D that I picked up. The car itself is in very good condition. I got a steal of a price on it . I ran a carfax and the 139k miles are accurate ... the car had a minor right front fender hit that will be an easy fix. I do need a passenger headlight assembly .. any suggestions appreciated.
I am so used to a gas motor I had a hard time getting over the fact that when you depress the accelorator.. uhh........ there is nothing there until the rpms rev up. It's like driving a gasser with burnt valves.
Wow they are slow... I live at 4500' elevation and wondered what I could do short of a Turbo... the sticker under the hood says 67 Horsepower ... yeah at sea level maybe.
I will check the valves , the oil and filters were changed 800 miles ago. The car was hit in October and sat until monday when I picked it up. The car spent much of it's life in southern California and since 97 it was in Vegas. I found no rust whatsoever on it.
I belong to a local bio-diesel group and will try some WVO fuel when i get a chance. Just thought It would be nice to get some responses from other 240D turtles on the list ..what was your first impression?
What shade legal tint could I put on my drivers side window to avoid eye contact with all the people passing me and gesturing... or how about a bumper sticker... " Turbo broken...watch for finger"
How would a 300D fit in there?... it is a manual trans 4 speed.

[t walgamuth]

a proper adjustment of the timing of the injection can make a lot of difference. as an engine wears the timing chain streaches and the timing goes off.

i have no doubt that a 240 would make it to the top of pikes peak. i drove over the alps in a 40 hp 59 vw beetle with a zillion miles on it. on the steep parts i used 2nd. i kept the engine in the happy revs and bustled right over the alps. on the way up all manner of faster cars passed us only to be found later pulled over with overheating engines. the down side was more tricky. those old drum brakes went south on the first long hill, and after that it was engine braking the rest of the way.