I'm sort of a young guy and I've always wanted a benz diesel so I bought one, found one with 117k miles with title records all the way back, story is little old lady in nevada, too good to be true but the engine and car are too clean. I had to replace the rubber air cleaner mounts but other than that the car is awesome a dream come true, and I was 4 years old when she was brought over in the import program from Germany, story is the lady and her husband went to Germany or something.

Anyway I'm familiar with boat diesel engines particularly the 8.3L Cummins 450C. New to these little guys.

I'm not getting the fuel mileage I hoped for (getting 23-25) or power, and the engine runs at what I would consider high rpms at highway speeds (70mph+)=(3000rpm +). I don't usually make 400miles (mostly 380miles) on a tank and I've heard of 300sd's going 600miles.

Could ya'll please help me because I love diesel engine and tinkering with stuff but I just don't know much about these cars.

Questions

What are all the different parts on the Cali model? (I just recently found out I have a Cali model)

Intake manifold?
Turbo?
Exhaust?
rear end gear??
what else?

Is it possible to cut out a bunch of stuff and just strait pipe this baby like my 450C? maybe put a stack coming out of the hood, jk

Also I feel I may have some injector trouble because I just found a leak around one today, looks like it may be coming from a return line, or possible where the injector like attaches to the top of the injector, can I just snatch them out and take them to the injector guy like on my cummins, it seems like they are two parts and a bit more complicated.

Any help would be great, a puff of gray smoke on cold start up and sluggish acceleration is what has me wanting to start troubleshooting. Pretty much 0 smoke on the interstate @high rpms.

Thanks

also running Rotella 15w-40, is that ok? Mann oil filters

Try going 65mph... I assure you the economy will go up a good deal. Or if you're dead set on going 75-80, consider a 420-560SEL rear diff swap. That changes the rear axle ratio from the 3.08:1 you should have currently to a 2.47:1. I have other things to do before doing this and get excellent economy already so haven't really had a need to do it yet.

I did try some Cetane booster for a while and it seemed to help for around 1.5mpg (+/- 0.5) or so and reduce smoke a bit also.

I have an '85 Federal which is the same as the '84 and older Cali emission I recall.

Also, get the valves adjusted on the vehicle if they've never been done. I'd have the injectors balanced. Maybe fuel filters if they're soiled internally, etc.

You're fine on that oil, I run 15W40 also but Castrol (BP) with just whatever filter I get for the best price. I don't see the cost worth it for the spendy ones once I saw what was inside of the bypass section

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

That sounds about right, these are 'high speed' diesels. They will run a long time at that rpm.

The return line hose itself can, and does, get old and leak. About $20 or so for replacement hose at a dealer, it's a really simple task to cut it to length and replace. Don't forget to plug the end at #5 injector...

Check 'banjo' fitting in the plastic line running from the manifold to the ALDA at the injector pump. If this hollow bolt and 'banjo' fitting are plugged with carbon, the manifold pressure will not reach the ALDA and it can not add fuel with boost, giving sluggish performance.

A puff of smoke on startup could be normal, check the rest first.

Follow Jim H's advice about the lines. Blow them out with carb cleaner. I don't think anything is different that year for the Fed vs. CA models.

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'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Search for comments on;
Diesel purge; ALDA settings; "what did they put in their filters?"; overboost switch; and "what kind of oil do you use?" That should keep you busy.

BUT, all seriousness aside: that is a California car and you should sell it at once to one of our members who live there (here).

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You can get farther with a smile and a gun than you can with just a smile.

1984 300D
1985 300CD
1980 300SD
1993 SL500

I have an '83 300D with low miles also, 176K at purchase. I found leaks at the return lines and first two injectors weeping. You can take the injectors out and snug them up on a bench vice grip, put them back in with new return lines. That should solve your problem.