Just replaced mine myself. I could get the alda loose but not out but loose was enough to get it out my way. I was able to turn the plug but not unplug it. This again was enough to get it out of the way. The new SOV practically fell in, but I took the precaution of having a sprayl can lid ready and the intake boot off so I could block the turbo in case the engine decided it was go time.

It's not to not have to shut the car off in drive anymore.

I'm curious: what's the effect of shutting the car off in drive with a failed SOV? Does that shut the car off? If so, how? I thought the only way to shut the car off in that condition was to use the stop lever.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

My only guess is that it put enough load on the engine to shut it off. It some times took 5 to 10 seconds but I couldn't be seen opening the hood at work. My SOV was still moving but was just a touch shy of shutting off.

I just made that mistake and removed the stop lever and the hollow nut while trying to fix the oil leak around the shutoff lever seal. The shaft pushed into the IP with just enough poking out for me to grab a hold of. I was able fish it back out and put everything back together. As soon as I started the engine it went into WOT. In my panic I shut off the key which did not work. I then yanked out the primary fuel filter which stopped it after a few seconds. I did not remove the SOV as that was not the problem I was trying to address. I am guessing I now have to remove it to set the linkages right. I have found others that have had similar issues but no images or exploded views of how the SOV, handle shaft, and the IP linkages are hooked up.

I did straighten out the problem. Thanks to friend that brought over his old injection pump from an OM603. I did have a time trying to loosen the Alda. Instead I fashioned a little tool that loosened the difficult to remove T30 bolt.
I went down to Home Depot and bought their single 3/8" drive mounted T30 bit. I used my dremel to cut off the bit such that I had just enough hex shank left for me to get the box end of a 1/4" combination wrench on it. I wrapped some electrical tape around the bit so that the wrench would fit snug on it.
This way I could slide it in place under the alda and on the T30 bolt of the SOV.
I am posting a pic of this little modified tool so that it may help someone else.

It turned out that the lower arm of the shutoff cam had gotten on the wrong side of the ip rack (on the right side) . It needs to be on the let side of it so that it can push the rack to the right to shut it off by the action of the emergency lever or the SOV.

Thanks to all that posted on this form. It was invaluable.

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I started to replace the SOV using the instructions shown above. I had troubles getting the ALDA loose as I have muscle problems in my hands and feet. I've also seen where you're supposed to use a 27mm and 24mm (thin) wrench to do this properly, otherwise you might brake the ALDA and they don't make them anymore. So, I decided to check out some local mechanics. One said he'd done them before and wanted to take off the engine intake to get at the problem bolt. I finally remembered a friend of my Dad's who was a former VW mechanic. I asked him over and he studied the problem and took off a few things (the cruise control box, windshield fluid tank, plug beside the SOV), but, still couldn't get a socket on it. Then he brought out the PERFECT tool for this job. A 10mm ratcheting box end wrench. It would only ratchet for one 'click' but, it did the job after about 15 minutes of 'wiggling' one 'click' at a time. I bought one for myself at a local auto store. (please see attached photo's) I don't think you have to take off the cruise control. I KNOW you don't have to touch the ALDA valve, which I was really worried about breaking. The ratchet had 72 clicks per turn. (important note ... when the bolt came out, it fell down into
a valley beside the engine. I had to buy a magnet probe to do a bit of 'fishing' to find it again. You may want to figure a better
way of NOT loosing the bolt when it comes out.)

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Thanks for the tutorial! Just changed mine and this was invaluable.

Quick note: The thumb ring for the electrical connector will lift straight up, but not completely off, once you disconnect the socket. It will lift maybe 1/2 to 3/4", which is enough to get it out of the way so the SOV lip doesn't catch on it during removal.

My ALDA was stuck fast. A couple of firm, yet very careful, quick taps in the counterclockwise direction using a large flathead screwdriver against the ALDA housing and a heavy hammer got it moving.

You may have to remove the ALDA's vacuum fitting with a 12mm wrench to get the thing to fully turn 360 degrees, as the fitting can catch on the intake manifold, blocking it's rotation.