I took a 3 hour drive and noticed the ball of my foot was sore after the first hour and continue to get worse. The throttle peddle is just too stiff imo causing the discomfort. Is that normal in the 83 300D? What can I do to lighten it up?

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

did you try cruise control?

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1985 300D cali 190K

http://mercedes.thatchermathias.com/mw300d.jpg

Unfortunately my cruise control is not working or I would have used it.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Lube linkage,and make sure you are getting full pedal.I drove a year with only 60% pedal.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

If your EGR is inoperative you may want to consider removing the 2/3 valve on top of the valve cover. I did this to mine and lubed the linkages and it did decrease the resistance of the throttle some.

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'83 300D 198,000mi Howard
'03 Saturn Vue CVT 75,000mi(wifeys)

Lube the linkage and check each joint for binding.

um, if you heel is hurting after a drive, you could be developing the early stages of plantar fasciitis, http://www.medicinenet.com/foot_pain/article.htm
you could also have poor fitting shoes, or just simple muscle strain.
I wear racing shoes with fully supported heels from my mercedes dealership made by piloti... great shoes for driving!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Has it occurred to anyone that a bad shoe is more likely to cause the reported discomfort than an unlubricated linkage?

I have, in my past, found myself with a pair or two of shoes that just killed my heel while driving. However, lubricating the linkages seems like a good idea, even if it doesn't strike me as a probably cause for foot discomfort.

Edit: Looks like vstech beat me to it.

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- K.C.Adams

'77 300D Euro Delivery
OM617 turbo / 4-speed swap
404 Milanbraun Metallic / 134 Dattel MB-Tex

Current status:
* Undergoing body work

My '77 300D progress thread

The 'throttle' pedal on these cars tends to be stiffer than most other cars due to all of the linkages. Like others have said clean and lube the joints and remove any extra linkages you can, that's about all you can do.

My 240D have an very simple linkage system I put together when I swapped in the turbo engine, it is nice and light.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

neener neener neener!!!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Get better shoes!

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

How old are you?
Lube your foot?

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commercial fisherman diesel in my blood in my boats trucks and Dear old Dad has had me drivin them since i got my first license in 1968
1986 300 SDL 427654
1999 Chevy Crew Cab Dually 225423
1986 300 SDL 287000 Dad's
1987 190 Turbo 158000 Mom's (my inheritance)

These accelerators are definitely stiffer than most other cars. Mine prompted my mom last time I let her drive it to say "I'm pushing the pedal and it's not moving!" - she's used to a crown vic with a soft-pedaled V8 instead of a stiff-pedaled diesel. I told her to just drop it to the floor and it'd be fine

But anyway... yes, they're generally stiff, but not unusable. Maybe check linkage lubrication and shoe fit.

Of course, mine just this week shredded its fourth or fifth accelerator pedal, got to order a new one AGAIN. This one lasted 13 months before it died. I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary to them, it's just (I'm guessing) a design flaw. The rubber circular bit on the back of the pedal that attaches to the linkage that drops down from the kick panel just sort of tears off and leaves the pedal flopping loose in front of the linkage, causing things to sort of bind up in a hurry when the pedal can't travel. I just removed the pedal and am driving by pressing the metal behind-pedal rod with my shoe.

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

My shoes are fine as well as my foot. I have no discomfort driving other cars, only the 300D. I did lube the linkages about 2 years ago. I'll lube them again and see if that helps. Anyone tried adding helper springs to the linkages?.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

The linkages need lube at every oil change. All sockets must be popped off and a touch of hydraulic fluid or transmission fluid needs to be added to the socket.

The 3-2 cam inside the black box should be removed.