1983 240d low power

[ASteele]

Hello everyone, a little over a year ago now I manual swapped my 240d after the automatic blew out and love it. However, when I do 0-60's I'm still doing 30+ seconds on my times like I have an automatic. I hear people with 240d 4 speeds can do 0-60's in low 20's with a strong engine I'm assuming. I have great low end power in first gear, but by the time I'm in third with my foot to the floor the car winds up between 40-60mph like it lost its power.

Here's what I've done so far:
Throttle mechanism goes to the stop on the IP
Changed both primary and secondary fuel filters
Valve adjustment
Lift pump was rebuilt a few years ago with new hand primer
Overflow valve spring is set to 30mm
Air filter is pretty clean also

My assumptions for low power:
Dirty tank strainer
Needs a diesel purge
Poor fuel injector spray pattern
IP adjustments are off (I doubt it but I'm just hypothesizing)


I recently pulled the fuel sender to clean it and found lots of gunk after 30+ years of algae buildup in the bottom of the sender. I'm wondering If I should pull the fuel tank strainer since its the only filter that has not been cleaned in the fuel system. I have never done a diesel purge on the car either, so thats on the table too. The car also misfires sometimes at idle and I wonder if that has anything to do with the tanker strainer being clogged.?

One final question I have is can you clean the fuel tank with it in the car? like pull the strainer and use a garden hose to clean all the gunk out into a 5 gallon bucket or will the water puddle in the tank and it will never come out?