Funny stuff. I forgot to mention that I did replace a few very questionable vacuum lines as well, specifically the ALDA. I also cleaned the port for the ALDA. Things seem a bit worse and better. it is doing it in every gear now. I did not hook up a boost gauge as I do not own one. there is a clear hump in the power band like a light switch being turned on. weird thing seems to have even more power now above 3500, a good bit more. Below 3500 is worse. So somehow I have increased power above 3500 and less below but again lots of smoke.

Smoke is never a good thing in an IDI engine.

What color smoke?

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

With a title of '300SDL stuck at 60', I envisioned a car that you had to leave circling the house at night...

__________________
CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

black smoke. Once the turbo kicks in, assuming that is what is happening at 3500rpm, the smoke disappears.

Black smoke to 3500 and then none? Can you reduce/eliminate the smoke by less pedal and still have about the same acceleration?

Sounds a little like an IP problem.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Best way to eliminate the smoke is to floor it other wise it just plods along stuck without accelerating. it is like it hits a wall power wise that you have to blow through. then at 3500rpm, bam just takes off. If you are farting around old man style and driving like 35-40 all is well. idles well too. Shifting has gotten more firm so I assume it is down on power in lower revs.

i have applied a temporary fix. There is a crack in the expansion pipe on the exhaust manifold. I used some furnace cement and a hose clamp to do a patch. The car behaves properly now. I dread replacing this part as I have read you must remove the entire exhaust manifold to replace it. Why wasn't the manifold made in one piece?

You can replace the flex joint without removing the entire manifold, but you may find it is just as easy to do remove the whole thing.

Tools you'll need
- a method of cutting off th old flex joint - cutoff wheel or the like
-stud extractor tool - this fits on the stud directly and will allow you to remove it and install it without damaging the threads. You want the type that looks like a socket and has jaws that clamp on the stud when you turn it, that's the only type that will fit. NAPA carries them about $15
-assorted socket extensions and u-joints

Here's what you have to do:
-remove coolant tank, aluminum heat shield, air intake above turbo, etc, etc, so you have enough room to work, you do not have to remove the turbo, but you do have to get the waste gate linkage out of the way
-cut the old joint completely thru, rotate it as needed to get access to the entire circumference
-remove the nuts from the four studs, some of the studs will come out with the nuts, that's OK; you want to be real careful here, if any nuts are tight, go easy, use penetrating oil, do not bugger up the hexes, use heat if necessary.
-remove the rest of the studs with your extractor
- pull off the manifold section,
- clean everything up, inspect your manifold gasket, if it looks ratty buy an new one and cut off the section you need for the two ports
- install your new flex piece, leave the clamps loose, make sure you can access the clamp screws once everything is in place
- Don't put the studs in yet, take your manifold section and put it in place up against the flex piece.
- use your stud extractor to insert your studs
-install and torque your nuts
-tighten up the flex joint clamps
-put all the other stuff back
-have a beer

-

The big exhaust leak would have been nice to know about....

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1996 s10 zr2 with a 6.5 turbo diesel
1996 c2500 suburban with a 6.5 turbo diesel
1981 300sd with a turbo 617
Monte carlo figure 8 car

it was real quiet. Wasn't what I expected an exhaust leak to sound like. I noticed some soot and investigated further. The crack was only visible after removing the clamp.
John, thanks for the info. with both clamps off it will not rotate even with big channel locks. Will this prevent me from using your method?

No, I was actually a little misleading - you should cut the flex joint parallel to the manifold, not arount the circumference. Once you have it split lengthwise, you can wedge a screwdriver in and spread it, then you'll be able to move it. You may have to cut it twice to get it off. Make sure you have a good way to cut it before you start - it is stainless, stainless is a bugger to cut.

Is the part available?

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I think it is this part http://catalog.peachparts.com/item.wws?clientid=catalog.peachparts&Sku=1171420159&mfr=SPECIAL%20ORDER&sup=OWN&cookieID=36V0K1YF936W0FZVDR
to reiterate the crack was hidden by the clamp. It was not open but appears as a crack. With the clamp off you could rev the engine and feel exhaust. With the engine off it was barely visible. It made a huge difference just patching it temporarily. The same hill that it got stuck on, today it climbed easily and even accelerated without downshifting. Also no smoke. This was the only repair done.