hi everyone, i just had a few questions about an 83'300sd
1. the turbo on the car does not seem to engage. i floor the accelerator to take off so i can build up speed kinda slow from the start like a normal diesel. now if i do nothing and leave the engine the way it is and not replace the turbo will this harm the engine any? i know some cars with turbo will not even run if the turbo goes out.

2. on the dash there are several dummy lights one has a icon like a circle with 3 dashes on both sides of the circle looks kinda like darth vaders tie fighter, what is that light for?

3. another light question. next to the seatbelt indicator there is a light that is red and only lights up on start up no icons on it what is this light for?

4. is there a way to push the idle up a few rpms? right now it seems low well lower than i would like it to be the car idles about 600 rpms which is a little shakey i would like to increase it up to 900 which is a perfect smooth purr. i know with these 5 cylinder engines the engine acts like it always has a slight miss but that goes away with a tad more rpms

5. last question for now
my heater and a/c fan does not come on which i hear is pretty common. my one button that has the 2 fan icons on it is now stuck from me pushing on it back and fourth is there an easy way to get my fan working again with out trying to replace the fan motor? which is an absolute nightmare job

thank you everyone for your input and i just wanna say that i am very pleased to have found this site

oh by the way whats the differance between a 300 sd and a 300 td? mine is a turbo diesel and it is listed as an sd


1983 300sd
268000 miles

1960 220sb
145000 miles

SD is the sedan. TD is the wagon. T stands for transport the German identification for wagon. Both have about the same engine, a 3 liter turbo charged 5 cylinder diesel.

The turbo does not have much effect until about 2500 RPM. Acceleration is about same as a non turbo until engine is revved to about 2500 RPM. Even if turbo doesn't work, it won't hurt the engine. There is a connection between the intake manifold and the injection pump that increases the fuel delivery when there is turbo boost. If there is a leak in this line, the engine will run like a non turbo.

Darth Vader icon is for the brakes, wear limit of linings I
think.

If the fan motor is bad, there is no other way but to replace it. It isn't as hard to replace as it seems. Find the electrical connection to the fan and disconnect it. Apply 12 volts to the fan motor and see if it runs. If it runs, problem is somewhere else and visa versa.

There should me an idle adjust on the accelerator linkage.

P E H

just a quick question when adjusting the linkage by the accelerater which one do i adjust? would it be the linkage bar that goes from the pedal to the linkage tree or perhaps the cable?when pressing down in the pedal it seems the linkage tree travels a long distance before it catches the fuel advancement level...

Like PEH said, the Darth Vaider light is to alert you to worn brake linings. This light is only connected to the front wheels, I'm not sure why.

Your turbo is probably fine. If it is not your car will likely spew disgusting amounts of oil smoke whenever your engine is running, as the turbo will spray pressurized oil into your intake manifold.

__________________
Ben

The MBs:
1976 300D (W115) - 330K and still going (sort of)
1991 300D 2.5 Turbo - Sold at 221K
1983 280SEL - Sold at 206K
1981 300SD - Sold at 232K

I suspect also that the boost sensing line running from the banjo bolt to the switchover valve may be loaded with crud. Review the article at this link:
http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/easley/autofaqs/boostchk.htm

Also, to help keep the intake clean try disabling the egr. Instructions can be found at this link:
http://www.mbz.org/articles/engine/killegr.html

Good luck and welcome to the world of W126 diesels!

__________________
Chris

'04 ML500 - 53k, Inspiration Edition, Desert Silver
'11 Audi A4 Avant - Brilliant Black
'87 300SDL sold
'99 C280 Sport sold
'85 190E 2.3 sold

Try and get a copy of the owner's manual, which contains info as to what each switch (and its hieroglyph) does.

The blower could be a fuse: the fuse box is mounted under the hood against the firewall, and there should be a printed chart inside the cover...I took the chart out and made a couple of xeroxes, which I keep for reference in the glove box

Agree with other posters that the turbo on an MB diesel is generally pretty discreet when operating, and the exhaust-powered turbo is thought to be very reliable.

You have a nice car...enjoy it!

The Darth Vader light is the brake wear indicator. Didn't know that it was only attached to the front. This is probably because the front brakes supply most of the braking power as the car "dives" forward during braking thus they will wear before the rear.

__________________
Matt Camara
'83 300SD
'85 Celica
'98 Harley Springer Softail

I just read the link on diableing the egr valve claimimg better milage and preformance , won't that cause pressure to build up in crankcase causeing blow by into the valecover
or some other unwanted place?
William Rogers......