3.0 liter gutless
 

i have an 85 turbo diesel 300d that will randomly become gutless
it mainly happens at stop lights youl take off and it wont rev past 1500 rpm and it will increase in rpm slowly it varies. sometimes it will accelerate with a little bit noticable lack of power other times it feels like it is taking of in fourth
it is very inconvenient please help .

Lists
 

A.Adjust the Valves.
B.Check the Timing Chain "Stretch" (Wear,It Wears).
[Replace it + Sprockets if out of Specs.]
C.Check the Timing.
D."Pop Test" your Injectors.
E.Injectors are out, may as well Compression Test ,Too.

1. Find and clean out your Banjo bolt(AND all lines to + from it)
(Might as well clean the entire Intake system,Too.)
2.New Fuel Filters: Primary (Small Inline one)Secondary (Spin-On) and the Tank Strainer underneath the Fuel Tank.
3.Startron in the Tank.
http://mystarbrite.com/startron//content/view/16/39/lang,en/
4.Diesel Purge (Lubro Moly)
5.Italian Tuneup

Report back with your Happy results.

How lucky do you feel,Stranger? Just try #1.

it has 183,000 miles previous owner ran biodiesel in it what is a bango bolt,
injector poptest ,diesel purge ?

Boost pressure sensing system (+ other Inquiries)
 

#62 is the Banjo Bolt[Hollow Bolt] (So you have two of them,to be cleaned)
#s 56,59 + 71 Must also be cleaned.
The device that 56+59 connects to Must be cleaned also.
(I'm not recommending this procedure...But Some have sprayed Brake Parts
Cleaner into all of these components to clean out all the Crap and Goo.)

If the Crap from the EGR and the Oil Mist from the Intake get into this system
it clogs the "Boost Sensing" to the ALDA .And then "No Power"
["No Power" is really reduced fuel flow under Boost]
(ALDA = Square UN-NAMED device the second #62 connects to)

[AND in 183K,There's a lot of Crap in there!](Bio"D" or Not!)

Check the throttle linkages. The metal linkages may have some slack, or the rubber bushing at the firewall may be deteriorated giving that sense of inconsistency with throttle input.

What are throttle linkages? [Thank You, Mbeige]
 

And should the "Doggie Bone Ends" (Ball Sockets) be cleaned and lubricated with ATF?
YES!

[An injector "Pop Test" involves removing the Injector from the Head and
setting it up in an High Pressure Tester...It tells you:1.the Spray Pattern
2.The Pop Off Pressure (At which the Injector "Injects" the fuel.)3."Dribbles"
All of which tells the Technician the cleanliness and Health of the Injector
and It's Nozzle.]

Throttle Linkages below:

The linkage in my 81 123 was so slack I was only getting about 40% movement of the lever at the IP. No bushings on the firewall to IP linkage was the cause and a homemade fix brought all my power back.

Amen to that,I drove a year at half pedal.

The $40 ball joint the firewall is the most likely culprit.

Could also be sucking air into the fuel system...hand primer could be the culprit, especially if the trouble is more likely to happen when the tank is less than half full.

The 81 300D has a different setup from the turbocharged models.

If you get the part from the dealer, the firewall bushing/ball joint is around $45-50 last I checked.

Also check the 10mm nut that holds the linkages together, right around the 3rd-4th cylinder area on the linkage. It can get loose over time and cause slack.

I think you should check the simple things first. Don't start pulling the valve cover to adjust, valves or check timing until you have identified the simpler things.

IE: Checking the throttle linkage, Changing both fuel filters, Checking the fuel lines (all of them) for fuel/air leaks, Checking the lines and banjo bolts to the ALDA system and checking all the vacuum lines under the hood.

Once these have been done, start looking at the tank screen, primer pump, valves, compression, turbo, timing and other things.

You will probably find it is a simple problem if the car actually starts and runs good otherwise.

FYI... When I picked up my car the throttle was only seeing about 50% at the IP at WOT in the pedal. Both banjo's with the ALDA were clogged. One with EGR goo and the other with soot. There were several air/fuel leaks and the vacuum system was not in the greatest shape. After repairing these simple things the car ran much better and would fly by comparrison.

I would do fuel filters and biocide first.