ok so after all the scary stories about runaway diesels on the site, i decided to see if I am able to stop the engine by pressing the stop lever near the IP... doesnt work! any ideas on how to adjust the lever or do something so that it will kill the engine in case of an emergency?

Disconnect the throttle linkage from the stop lever and try it again. If it works, you have setup the linkage incorectly! I've done this one myself!

thanks i will try that and see what happens..

ok tried that and i am getting something weird... The stop lever (when disconnected from the throttle linkage) will kill the engine sometimes. So now I dont know whether the throttle linkage is incorrectly connected or the lever is bad.. Has anyone had to fix this before? Can someone post a picture of the correct setup for the throttle linkage? I tried the search function but didnt find anything, btw.

Does the stop lever feel tight and require what would fee excessive force to use? The linkage has to be a certain distance between the stop lever and the IP. Next, try popping the ball joint off the stop lever and just use the rod itself to shut down the motor and see what happens.

the lever does seem to require excessive force to just get the engine to sputter, but it wont kill it. do you know the exact distance the stop lever should be from the IP? By just using the rod the engine still sputters.. hmmm.. im kinda confused now..

Ok, I would conclude that this is not necessarly the linkage then and Ive never had the guts of an IP on these cars apart. The fuel is not coming to a full stop would be my guess. I hope someone else chimes in here. I've heard many discussions about the Banjo Bolt being dirty and loaded with carbon and causing problems, but I've never had this problem either.

Don't make any adjustments for now. Hopefully someone who has had this apart can help. Does the engine shut off ok with the ignition key?

what is your idle set at?

Have you compared your vacuum line routing to what the manual says it should be ?
Also, some have one way check valves which could have been installed the wrong direction in the line..

The engine will shut off with the key but it will take a few seconds.. kinda leads me to think sometime soon it wont shut off at all.. I dont want to mess with the IP but at the same time I dont want to pay $$ to get it fixed from a mechanic. I guess I will wait until someone who has dealt with this before can advise me on what to do..

another quick question... would it be possible to put a switch valve right before the pre-filter in case I ever need to kill the engine? Has it been done before?

I think The Don's point about the idle stop should be investigated. Try backing off on the idle stop just a couple of turns and see what happens. In my experience, the worst that happens here is your idle will be lower and you can always adjust it back up.

A switch valve? Are you talking about an oil presure engine kill switch? One that would shut the motor down because of engine oil pressure failure? I've never tried this, but the concept is a good idea!

I don't know if his car has it...
but some have these to keep leaks in random places from affecting the important stuff..like shutting down the engine... lots have reported that when they checked their cars the valve had been sitting there backwards...

No, I am just talking about the regular spider web of vacuum lines...