Im trying to figure out if I need a new turbo. I just got the car and am trying to work out all the kinks. Its the kkk turbo, I hooked up a boost gauge since I was getting black smoke on heavy throttle and low power on the high end. It starts well, has good off the line power since I adjusted the alda. Overboost is bypassed, arv and egr are disconnected. Was hoping I could just adjust the wastegate but I adjusted it in all the way and still only have 7 psi max (wot up hill 2nd at prob 4k, tach is dead so not exactly sure). Turbo seems pretty tight, not much play either direction, although there was some oil in the intake. Anything Im missing? My only next guess is stuck open wastegate or plugged cat... what would cause low boost if there is no play in a turbo.. would rebuilding do any good? Also how do you test the wastegate on the kkk?
Thanks

What car is this?

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Does it spin freely? Tight isn't a term I'd use to describe a good turbo...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
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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!

Is yours the OM606 turbo diesel like mine? If so then the fact that you have unplugged the EGR might be causing the car to go into low boost mode - any reason why you needed to adjust the ALDA - it only adjusts fueling off boost so might be why you are getting heavy smoke.

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UK spec Mercedes W210 E300 Turbodiesel wagon - OM606.962 with 722.6 transmission - rust free!

Sorry... 87 300d, om603 5 speed, #22 head. Turbo spins freely... like I mentioned though it did have some oil in it. May have been from mild blowby though.

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1990 300e 230k (old reliable) sold
1987 300D 230K sold
1987 300D 232K 5 speed
1998 E300 140K

I adjusted the ALDA since it was a little slow off the line when I first got it. Helped tremendously. Black smoke only starts when boost should be kicking in. On the 87 there are no electronics to punish you when you disconnect the egr thankfully...

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1990 300e 230k (old reliable) sold
1987 300D 230K sold
1987 300D 232K 5 speed
1998 E300 140K

not sure if you meant adjusting the alda fixed your problem or not

but on a 99 E300 with the kkk turbo i chased low boost problems for 2 months with different mechanics, huge pia and no one could figure out what was wrong with it

was just about to buy a new turbo, decided to take the turbo out and run it to the turbo rebuilders just to see what they said

also took brake cleaner etc and cleaned it and the wastegate although it did not seem that dirty or gunked up

ran it to turbo shop and he said the turbo was fine and in good shape

so we were still lost but put this old turbo back in to drive the car in the meantime, the cleaning must have fixed it somehow because it ran fine...
turbo boosting great again..

so if it was me i would start by pulling it and cleaning it if you have ruled out all the other air leaks etc it could be

my new motto is clean all turbos first before replacing, whether they look dirty or not

hope this helps

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Courtney
2006 E320 CDI
2008 ML320 CDI

Spring on WG is probably to blame, try clamping the wg hose and see if it's more than 7psi...

Where did you get a 603 w 5 speed?

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1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

Thanks guys. I'm hoping its something simple like that. It's got the metal line from compressor to the hot side with the integrated wastegate (kkk k24?). Is there any way to test those in the car? Im thinking either way to fix Ill have to pull the turbo to fix it. Anyhow the little devil on my shoulder was hoping it was busted so I could look for a hx30w until I saw what people want for a 140 manifold these days. Yikes...
Found this car on craigslist. PO swapped in the 5 speed. And it has the 22 head. Lots of other little issues though. Working through everything before I adjust the pump and start hot rodding it. It needs to be driveway trained... likes to mark its territory.

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1990 300e 230k (old reliable) sold
1987 300D 230K sold
1987 300D 232K 5 speed
1998 E300 140K

Does the 300D have a switchover valve like the 300SD? I had to replace mine and got the vac lines reversed. Had about zero power. Corrected the vac lines and got great power again. Could this be your problem?

The 140 manifold was not the only option, the 603 turbo's in europe didn't have all that hokey pokey in the manifold. Want to say mine was $300 shipped.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I bypassed that solenoid and hooked the alda straight to the intake port (and my boost gauge). Ive got plenty of fuel... just not enough air to burn it.

Ive been looking for one of those euro manifolds too on uk ebay ... guess I just need some patience. Kicking myself because a few years ago I was buying parts from a w140 with gasoline damage and could have picked one of these up cheap....

Im thinking you are right on the money winmutt with the wg spring.

Anyone know if the KKK k24 rebuild kits on ebay have the right bearing for the om603 stock turbo.. are they all universal for k24s? The other k24s I found had a different style wastegate (rod and separate wastegate actuator) Figured if I pull the turbo to mess with the wastegate might as well have the kit on hand to rebuild since Im not exactly sure where the oil is coming from on the compressor wheel and do not want to pull it twice.
My only other thought is the Catalyst... suppose I could loose it anyhow for good measure... looks like it has been replaced at some point. Would a plugged cat cause low boost?

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1990 300e 230k (old reliable) sold
1987 300D 230K sold
1987 300D 232K 5 speed
1998 E300 140K

my understanding is a clogged cat will cause low boost

when the turbo shop checked my turbo and said it was fine he was sure my problem was going to be a clogged cat

but i got lucky and it must have just been dirty and/or maybe some crud jammed up the wastegate, once it was cleaned it has been fine for months now

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Courtney
2006 E320 CDI
2008 ML320 CDI

Just tried to pull the wastegate without taking the turbo out.... not a chance. Anyways Im thinking I will just pull the cat and accidentally loose all the stuff inside(I know.. safely, dont snort any of the fairy dust) then pull the turbo if that doesnt work. Long shot but worth a try before I spend the time to pull the turbo.

On another note the vent hole in the back of the valve cover has some slight evidence of oil weeping from it so Im thinking the oil in the compressor is just blowby. Hopefully a few oil changes will help. Starts easily and idles nice so I have a hard time thinking the compression is too bad. Will confirm once I get a decent battery. What's the oil of choice for unsticking rings? It has delo 400 in it but I was going to switch to something better....

I finally pulled the turbo and played around with the wastegate. Other than the sealing surface being dirty (I hand lapped until it looked decent) everything seems to work well. I actuated it with my air compressor and it seems functional. Anyhow afterwards I pulled the cat and it was about 80% clogged.... not so much after I introduced it to its friends mr. hammer and mr. rebar ...so I have my smoking gun....and hopefully a no longer smoking mercedes... to be continued. Just need to find the time to put it back together.

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1990 300e 230k (old reliable) sold
1987 300D 230K sold
1987 300D 232K 5 speed
1998 E300 140K