Euro headlights!

Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

...and the trousers kind of give it away too!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

It's been a while since I added anything to this post, quite a while, actually.
Anyway, Trudy has been a very faithful car and has since made a trip from Philly to New Mexico then to Wahsington state. Now that the car is back at sea level, I am trying to get the injector pump back to a nominal state but am hitting a few snags.
Here are a few facts about the engine currently noted in this thread.
2mm valve timing check showed the timing chain is stretched and the crank balancer reads 16-17 degrees.
There is a 2 degree offset key under the cam gear.
Engine is a Stuttgart rebuilt 615.
According to the FSM, that amount of stretch is normal fror engines with 20,000km or more.

So, from New Mexico to Portland, Oregon Trudy smoked a ton. She was fully loaded down through and at high altitude/ much of the way. I had removed a compensating washer under the diaphragm spring to allow the diaphragm to control throttle better at high altitude. When I got here to the Portland area, I put the washer back and the engine is still burning more fuel than it should be. Fuel mileage is way low for this engine and it's only been about 7000 miles since the car was in Philly and she was getting about 30mpg.

I set the throttle linkage lengths according to the FSM from start to finish. Once I started the car up, she was a dog. Way less power than even at 8000 feet. With the pedal on the floor, the car would accellerate but then stop as if I'd turned the throttle stop screw in. So, I shortened the linkage rod on the right side of the engine from the connector below the exhaust manifold to the throttle body. Now I can get a better response from the accellerator pedal but the car has a little less power than it did previously and it's getting worse fuel economy. One more note, I filled up at a local station with what I was told was B50 and what I later learned was B99. (Yes, all my hoses have been updated.) i've read that higher percentages of biodiesel have less power than #2 diesel. This car lived on B2 for a couple years and loved it.

So, I was going to stick in an offset key to correct it 4deg at the cam then set the IP timing with the low pressure drip method. I left New Mexico before I could get to this job with Greg (gmog220d) and don't have the time to really do it now. Definitely don't have the money for a new chain like I wanted. I know that timing the IP is going to be the best option for me.

Tomorrow I'm going to adjust the valves and then shorten the tickler rod by a full turn of the socket end. I think in my readjustment to factory spec, I didn't accurately account for wear and mechanical play in the ball/socket linkage. Hopefully I get a little better throttle response and also squeeze a few more miles per gallon out of the car at this lower altitude.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks all,
Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

Might as well check your fuel filters and also give the injectors a cleaning with lubro moly diesel purge and also fuel tank treatment (water disperse) lubro moly hi-test.

(or any other preferred product)

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1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Phil: I enjoyed reading this thread today, all 11 pages. Especially so, as our 1st Mercedes was a 73 280 sedan. Trudy is quite the car and we're all pulling for you both to get through this Winter without any major problems.

" i've read that higher percentages of biodiesel have less power than #2 diesel. This car lived on B2 for a couple years and loved it"

The biodiesel has noticeably less power to me, very obvious going up a steep hill. On my 240D, the B20 blend, seems to give about a 10%, loss judging by the lower MPG I get when using it.

Down here, there is about $ .40/Gallon price differential between B2 and the B20 biodiesel blend, so I think its still worth it and I keep filling up with the B20. Try some B2 and see if you notice the magic. Don

The tickler rod doesn't control the throttle response or the fuel mileage. It is only there to stabilise the idle and the running of the engine at lower loads. Adjust it to factory specs.

The butterfly valve in the intake controls the amount of vacuum created in the intake. That vacuum is used to control the control rod of the pump. The vacuum works against a spring.

Low accelerator response can mean that the butterfly valve isn't opening completely or that the spring in the regulator of the pump isn't working strongly enough.

In the EPC there are IPs for driving at altitude (above 2,000 metres / 6,500 ft). If you don't have such a pump, you can adjust the maximum position of the control rod. There is a screw on the outside of the regulator.

Smoking and high fuel consumption can be also caused by a leaking regulator chamber. Have you checked the chamber for air leakage?

The regulator is definitely air-tight. Car had a new diaphragm placed in back in September, 2013 and I routinely test it. I may add another very thin spacer under the spring in the regulator and start over with the factory adjustments then go from there with the tweaking. I could look also to see if the butterfly spring which controls the venturi in the throttle body has enough flex.

Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

I know it's unlikely with an oil bath air cleaner, but is there any possibility it's not getting enough air due to a clogged filter?

Yeah, I've thought about blasting a can of brake cleaner through the oil bath element to clean it just in case that few months in New Mexico dust clogged it.

Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

I believe the FSM, says to clean the OBF with diesel/kerosene not brake cleaner....I would get a gallon and soak it over night to clean the filter....add the oil and see....

For those of you with oil bath air cleaners..

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The spring on the butterfly valve closes the valve, so that the engine returns to idle if you release the accelerator pedal.

The butterfly valve must be at the idle stop if you release the accelerator pedal and at full-load stop if the accelerator pedal is fully pressed.

Spacers under the regulator spring increase the maximum speed of the engine. The maximum speed unloaded is around 5200 rpm, the maximum speed loaded is around 4350 rpm. The maximum speed can be checked by means of a optical tach or by driving: the maximum speed marks on the speedometer should be reached and you should notice that the regulator does not let the engine increase in speed.

The control rod screw is at the back of the regulator. It can be used to stop excessive smoking under full-load conditions.

Brake cleaner is not good for cleaning the oil-bath filter, as it is highly combustible and it can cause damage to the engine.

Smoking can also be caused by a damaged membrane of the vacuum pump, oil can pass to the intake manifold. It is easily noticed by the blackness of the hose from vacuum pump to intake manifold.

Slightly off topic, but I just wanted to say thank you to the thread contributors. You guys make pp a great forum to visit.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

I second the reply from Shortsguy1 above and would like to specifically thank Govert for chiming in. His posts here and on other forums have included the most detailed explanations of the OM615 pneumatic regulator I have found anywhere. Thanks for your help!

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1972 Mercedes-Benz 220D
www.mezzo200.com

I changed the front main seal today and "upgraded" Trudy to the older style of fuel filter with the bowl and canister filter. She had a spin-on filter which I hated changing because it would always get diesel all over the place. The older style is just more elegant.

Main seal was easy but we needed an air ratchet to remove the balancer. Broke a 1/2" extension leaning on it with about 4 feet of leverage. Air hammer made that thing come off in a jiffy. Cleanup was easy and putting the new seal in was a snap.

Once I got the car all back together, I had a hell of a time starting her because of untold amounts of air that had gotten into the IP and all the lines. Bled the IP with the new Bosch primer pump and it still hesitated to start. Had to bleed the injectors as well. After that was done, we watched her for leaks, warmed up the car and went on a test drive. The girl did great on a country road about 5 miles north then we got on the freeway and she got up to 75, no problem.

When we got back I found that a few drops of fuel had weeped out of the lift pump - filter housing supply banjo bolt. Turns out I hadn't really tightened it down enough. Got on it with a wrench again and I think I took care of the last leak. The banjo at the base of the filter housing was leaking, probably due to the wrong size crush washer but I swapped in a proper one and it appears that leak has stopped.

I'll do a little more driving tomorrow to chase down any more leaks. We may have to make a trip to a parts store for some more crush washers in case I find more leaks.

Anyway, the whole thing was a long day but not hard at all. It was daunting to me before I did the job but now I see how easy it is.

Next things on the list are to fix the driver's seat, adjust the headrests, do a diesel purge, check the diff and tranny fluid level and we're off.

Phil Forrest

__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

Today we repaired an exhaust leak, added new viton O-rings in the fuel system where needed, tightened up the fuel system to stop any leaks (there were two spots that were weeping fuel,) tightened up the oil pan bolts a bit, snugged up the oil filter bolt (she's been leaking oil a tiny bit,) and did a diesel purge.
I also swapped in an alloy wheel for the spare to take some weight off the back end. Turned out I got a near-perfect matching tire for it as well to replace the ancient Dunlop that had been my spare since I got Trudy back in 2013.

Tomorrow we begin a 2900 mile journey back to Philadelphia. Loaded down with two military "seabags", a photo lighting kit and a bike on the roof. Photo gear, overnight bags, a few pots and pans, as well as three cats in the cabin.

Phil Forrest

__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson