I just aquired a 87 300d turbo that has no power. Start off speed is very low and if i am going up a hill start at 60 i drop down to 40. it doesnt seem to have bad compression. i have fixed all of the fuel lines and replaced all fuel filters and have no air coming out of the secondary filter going into the IP. I installed a boost guage on the line coming off the intake manifold going to the litte electronic device that goes to alda. the guage reads 0 to vacum at all rpms in all drive gears. Does anyone have any info or suggestions about accessing the turbo or any ideas about fixing it?

Wastegate actuator swap for OM602.962?

GSXR's "Website":
http://www.w124performance.com/images/

That'll keep you busy until about Tuesday,if you don't take any breaks!

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

so the 87 has the pressure operated wastegate operator. Does the intake have a blow off valve that can get stuck? If my turbo has no boost wouldn't I have lots of smoke and wouldn't it be making lots of noise or something?

How much boost is it actually producing? Even with no fuel enrichment it will still make some boost.

My guage is in bars. It reads 0 to - through all rpms in a drive gear. I have also already blown back through the line to see if there is a clog.

How is the wastegate operated on a 87 300td? It looks like it might be vacum operated, how do I tell?

The wastegate is pressure operated, by the boost itself. If the boost gets too high, the pressure actuator opens the wastegate and some of the exhaust bypasses the turbo and goes directly into the exhaust. Even with the wastegate stuck open you should still get a tiny bit of boost at high rpm under load (driving the car, I mean). Most Mercedes diesels boost to about 13 psi.

There's also a tapped hole in the IM next to the ALDA line and the safety valve; you can screw a 1/8" (pipe thread) hose barb into that hole and measure boost at that point. Here's a picture that I posted in another thread:

Picture of boost gauge line at intake manifold

The IM does not have a blow-off valve. It does have an electric safety valve that closes the boost line to ALDA so it stops giving the engine more fuel, should the wastegate stick closed.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

thanks, i have checked the points you have talked about and have my boost guage hooked up and it gos to the cab so i can see it. i still have 0 boost and sometimes a vacum.

With the engine off, try removing the big rubber air intake hose between the air filter housing and the turbo inlet. Stick in a finger or two and see if you can spin the turbine. It should spin easily. If it does not want to spin, you have a bad turbo. Rebuild or replace.

If it does spin but you still get no boost, then the wastegate may be stuck open. I think that requires pulling the turbo to check/repair but now you are getting beyond my expertise. Others may know an easier check to perform first before going to all that work.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

You can see the connection between the wastegate actuator rod and the wastegate flap lever in your car. Make sure the rod is attached to the lever. Maybe the circlip fell off. It should be difficult or impossible to move the actuator rod away from the actuator (canister attached to the turbo compressor housing). Apply pressure from the vent side of a MityVac to the actuator. You should see the lever move 45-60* by 15 psi. That's about all you can check of the wastegate without pulling the turbo.

Sixto
87 300D

I have seen two turbos with this clip off, wastegate flapping in the breeze.

Also, be sure you can blow through the boost-gauge line, it is common for the fitting on the intake plenum to plug with carbon/oil goo from the EGR.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

so i took off the air intake at the turbo and i can spin it with my fingers. it seems that i should have boost but i dont. any ideas?

after looking at my turbo it seems that there are no rods or levers on the actuator or flap. i'm still not 100% on which type i have.

where on the turbo are the idenification #'s? I i can see is the words AIResearch printed fiarly large(1/4" talll by 2" long) on the bottom of the turbo housing on the air intake side. Is this an after market turbo?

There should be one like this (thanks to GSXR for photo)
http://www.w124performance.com/images/OM602_intake/wastegate02.jpg

I doubt the AirResearch is an aftermarket turbo, the cars were shipped with KKK and AirReseach turbos
If you could find a digital camera and share some pictures with us it might help

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!