I decided to do some tinkering on the wagon while I waited for my brother to show up for some Labor Day grilling.

I adjusted the rack damper bolt which had been turned ALL the way in. The sweet spot ended up being almost 3 full turns from all the way in. I still have the original silver bolt. I removed it completely to check it out and it has plenty of life left in it. After this adjustment, the Red Dragon has almost zero smoke and much more pep.

I also adjusted the idle speed screw to increase the idle about 150 RPMs to around 750 so it doesn't shake when idling at traffic stops.

I'm very pleased with the results of about 30-40 minutes of tinkering.

I can't believe I put this off as long as I did. It has a beautifully smooth clatter now and I won't have to hold my foot on the accelerator anymore.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Glad to hear you got it adjusted.

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83 SD

84 CD

Awesome! I'm looking forward to hearing about all kinds of little adjustments and improvements at your gtg.

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1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

I still have never found that magic rack dampner sweet spot. I think both wagons are in the best possible place, but it wasn't that dramatic of a change.....

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

All the way in, removed entirely or any in between. None made a difference in my engine's idle quality.

I'm not complaining though, it still idles much better than many others I've seen.

Sounds like I should do some tinkering on my '84.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

I wasn't expecting such a dramatic result. After I removed the rack damper bolt I screwed the lock nut all the way against the adjustment nut and put it pack in the IP. That was the hardest part of the whole job since I already had the engine up to running temp. That oil filter housing gets HOT! ... plus I could only blindly use the tips of two fingers to try and maneuver it back in and get it to catch on the first few threads.

As I screwed the bolt back in half a turn at a time, since I needed to flip the wrench over to be able to grab the bolt at every half turn, the idle suddenly went from sputtering to smooth. I could loosen the bolt a quarter turn and it would sputter again, and then tighten it a quarter turn and it would get smooth. If I tightened the bolt too far, the car would smoke.

I played with that a few times, then locked down the nut. I tested it in drive and park, and it was perfect.

The idle adjustment screw was frozen so a little squirt with Aerokroil and it turned with ease. I did the idle adjustment with the car in drive and the E-brake cranked down with ramps in front of the car.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys