alda or ada adjustment - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gezpacho · #1 10-21-2005, 05:38 PM

okay everyone is turning their aldas adas or whatever up for more fuel but no one has ever mentioned ever turning that famous screw back. it could really help with fuel economy if you dont mind dbeing run off the road occasionally. is running a little lean bad for a diesel? does anyone know what would happen if you turned the screw back for less instead of forward for more? just having brain farts today so i just am wondering if anyone has ever considered this approach to tuning.

bye

MB-Owner-in-ind · #2 10-21-2005, 06:27 PM

You can't run lean on a diesel, you just get less power. The engine speed is controlled only by the amount of fuel.

SD Blue · #3 10-21-2005, 07:28 PM

Fine tuning the alda to match minimum smoke and maximum power would be about the best you could do. This would also involve tweaking the turbo wastegate for different pressures. I have seen here, on this forum, a setup that allowed finer adjustments over pressure control. (Not sure if it is still around since the server problems though.)

Someone recently had an interesting idea in tuning for maximum efficiency by fine tuning the IP timing by measuring the voltage, millivolts, put out by the glow plugs. You would probably need to disconnect the cable at the relay. This might be something worthwhile investigating.

It would take many different tweaks, with a lot of documentation, to see what adjustments would increase efficiency.

bbeardb · #4 10-21-2005, 07:41 PM

I turned mine back a couple of turns just to see what would happen since the cap was already off. I was wondering if someone might have already tried to max it out.

The car barley went anywhere, and that was flooring it too. I would say to turn it up, and just ease off the pedal if you want to save on fuel.

blueranger · #5 10-21-2005, 07:49 PM

where is this thing located at... i have an 1983 300sd

where would i find the alda...

sixto · #6 10-21-2005, 09:46 PM

The ALDA is the square edged device atop the IP.

Sixto
87 300SDL

sixto · #7 10-21-2005, 09:47 PM

CCW for more fuel, CW for less fuel.

Sixto
87 300SDL

DieselBone · #8 10-21-2005, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeardb

I turned mine back a couple of turns just to see what would happen since the cap was already off. I was wondering if someone might have already tried to max it out.

The car barley went anywhere, and that was flooring it too. I would say to turn it up, and just ease off the pedal if you want to save on fuel.

I've been running my wagon with the alda max for months now, I really haven't seen any worse gas mileage than before, I still run about 26 MPG. Power off the line is nice, there is smoke.

blueranger · #9 10-22-2005, 12:05 AM

what is the ip..

Johnhef · #10 10-22-2005, 08:44 AM

Injection pump.

I need to find either a much lower mileage car in a yard to get an alda off of or find a place that sells them new. I just replaced mine with the 276k one from my wagon, its better than my leaking one, but still doesn't compare to the original one before it started leaking.

SD Blue · #11 10-22-2005, 10:14 AM

Johnhef,

This article should interest you if you have a leaking alda:http://engine.articles.mbz.org/diesel/alda/ Had a problem with mine leaking in the past but since cleaning and resealing, it is working fine. Once you open it up, the alda is not such a mystery component after all.

Johnhef · #12 10-22-2005, 06:26 PM

Thanks for the link, that was helpful. I couldn't tell from the small pics though, is the smaller seal anything special or should I be able to match it up to a similar sized o-ring?

I would like to see exactly where those copper rings he mentioned were sitting, as I've hit the end of adjustment on mine and still not a hint of smoke.

boneheaddoctor · #13 10-22-2005, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnhef

Injection pump.

I need to find either a much lower mileage car in a yard to get an alda off of or find a place that sells them new. I just replaced mine with the 276k one from my wagon, its better than my leaking one, but still doesn't compare to the original one before it started leaking.

There is a guy up one ebay that sells them with a few different sized shims....for the usual ballpark price of $50-60 ....new will be god awefull expensive if you can find one.

I got one from him for a spare as the one with my spare IP was defective...

I think he referes to the copper washers that fit between the Alda and the IP housing....they usually stick up under the ALda due to surface tension of the oil...in fact I am cerain of it. looks like a crush washer but are in various thicknesses...