Hey guys-
I'm updating you on my new turbo charger surprise that I was going to get from the dealer last week. The trap oxidizer and turbo charger arrived to my local dealership service dept yesterday and I left my car there. The service rep. called me today and was a little vague as to the replacing of the charger with a new one. He is the same rep that initally told me that I do not need a trap replacement, then changed his mind, told me I am getting a new trap and turbo charger. I squeezed it out of him to explain what is going on and he said when they sent into Mercedes for a final warranty work approval, he had to do a vehicle Master inquiry for my car history and found that the trap was modified and my old one recalled and replaced in 2004. I had no record of this.
He said the turbo is in OK condition, other than a little noise that does go away. I was still in no position to complain that I did not get a new charger. It is a tease to find this out and I kind of expected an apology out of this service rep for leading me on but I was diplomatic about it. He doesn't look the type to apologize, maybe he has food chain issues.
I did get a free mediocre car wash and a free engine steam cleaning out of it! That was his way of apologizing. Still a merry Christmas after all.

If I adjust the ALDA turning a little counterclock to get a little more power, does that worsen or affect the fuel economy? Right now I'm only getting 20mpg on my 1985 300D. It's terrible. Nothing else seems abnormal. Not burning smoke. I did buy her overdue for a major mainten service, overdue for valve adjust and radiator flush. What other things can I do besides change my hopeless driving habits, to improve her fuel economy? Realistic 3 mpg improvement?
Anyone else ponder this?
Frankie

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Frankie
It never ends!
1985 300D Turbo 181K Anthracite grey, "SOPHIA"
1984 300 SD Turbo(sold)
2004 Subaru Forester XT,Cayenne red.

fuel filters? i think when u turn the ALDA up you burn more fuel, im not sure. i just turned mine up today and a noticble difference in power, however no clue yet on consumption rate. I would have been pissed if the dealer told me i was getting all this new stuff and then said "nahh" later. but i guess its nice to get ur car all cleaned and pertay!!

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1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

That's what I thought. Replacing the trap is big money, and replacing the turbo along with it is big money. Thusly, they don't do redundant replacements. At the end of the day, alas, no free lunch.
Whoever that dealer service rep is, the guy is a legendary moron. Definitely needs to pull his head out of his a$$.

ULSD fuel yields worse fuel efficiency, by about 2 mpg. Back off the ALDA until you feel for sure a power loss. Then gently crank it back up till you feel that power back, and don't crank it up any more. By all means adjust the valves. Change out the air filter, and fuel filters. Check out the condition of all the rubber fuel hoses, in the engine compartment and under the fuel tank. They might be leaking dragging your efficiency down. Do a diesel purge.
Pulling the injectors and cleaning and balancing them and restoring IP timing to proper spec are further considerations.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

Don't turn up the ALDA too much on your 85 D. The extra smoke can plug the trap over time.

D.delano and Forced induction-
Thanks for the input. I'm finding it very useful. Even printed it out. I thought about doing a diesel purge but am planning to have the major maintenence done the first week of January. Should I go ahead and do the diesel purge anyways? Before the valve adjustment, air filter replacement, oil change, etc? . . .or should I wait and see if the major tune-up helps with the fuel consumption? Then do the diesel purge about a month afterward? I'd kinda like to see if the tune-up helps at all then maybe do the diesel purge. Do you recommend Moly-lube?
I just read that thread on ULSD too, helpful and correlates with what you said about fuel econo going down 2 mpg.
I did pull and replace the pre-filter tonight because I couldn't stand looking at the black crud in it. There is black fungi stuck to the inner mesh. Yuck. I don't think that will help as much as the tune-up that is overdue.
Regarding the ALDA, I looked at the other pics of it on this site . I know what it looks like but there are three bolts and I've never adjusted ALDA before. Which bolt do I turn CCW? The small bolt on top? or the bigger bolt on the right side? This is for my FYI in the future. I'll take your advice and back off the ALDA for now. Just so you know, "Sophia" is not smoking at all except the smoke on a cold morning/start up.
Please, speak to me like I am 5 years old. Which bolt gets the turn when adjusting the ALDA? I will put cetane boost into the next tank of dino diesel. I am determined to improve the mpg because I already really love this car otherwise.
Cheers,
Frankie

__________________
Frankie
It never ends!
1985 300D Turbo 181K Anthracite grey, "SOPHIA"
1984 300 SD Turbo(sold)
2004 Subaru Forester XT,Cayenne red.

D delano-
Noticed that you also have a '85 300 D. 170K, we almost have "twins". What kind of fuel mileage do you get? Good? or just something that you are used to?
Frankie

__________________
Frankie
It never ends!
1985 300D Turbo 181K Anthracite grey, "SOPHIA"
1984 300 SD Turbo(sold)
2004 Subaru Forester XT,Cayenne red.

Woops, just re-read what you wrote about backing off the ALDA. Don't BACK OFF the ALDA, just back off the ALDA, got it. I will try what you suggest but
which bolt?
Frankie

__________________
Frankie
It never ends!
1985 300D Turbo 181K Anthracite grey, "SOPHIA"
1984 300 SD Turbo(sold)
2004 Subaru Forester XT,Cayenne red.