Spongy throttle
 

Figured out the low power problem (faulty switchover valve) and am now cruising with turbo power at 80+.

On to bigger and better things.

My accelerator pedal seems really soft and unresponsive until I get the car up to really high speed and rpms. From a standing stop I probably go through 3/4 of the pedal range to get the turbo to engage. I realize it's a diesel and is slower from a stop, but geez when I get back in my wife's V8 Explorer or my 350 powered GMC the pedal response is so markedly different that I'll almost snap your neck off in a massive whip lash. It's kind of humorous though slightly disturbing. Thought I was going to put the thing through the garage wall the other night and I get out the garage and into the street at what seems like light speed. Amazing how fast my body got used to the pedal response of the 300D.

Should my MB 300D be SOOOO soft and unresponsive on the pedal? Something in the linkage I can adjust?

Seems normally responsive in higher gears and rpms. A tap on the pedal at highway speed, with the now fully functioning turbo engaged, will easily put me into passing speed.

Thanks for any advice.

-PS

Anybody have a suggestion for a cupholder? Besides my left hand I mean. I want something that fits the "spirit" of fine German craftsmanship (once again, besides my left hand).

:cool: :rolleyes: :eek: :confused:

Griots Garage sells an excellent cupholder. There is a thread on it here on the forum. Do a search on Griots Garage and cupholder.

Thanks for the Griots Garage hint. Ordered one of them. Much cheaper than the color keyed Performance Products one I also found. I think the black will fit in nicely with my interior.:D

I think it's just the way it is.. (throttle)

I don't think it's spongy. It's just really slow off the line. (Not too slow but slow)

I drove a pristine 95 E320 and I spun the rear tires getting off the line the first time (too much throttle). I was so used to the 300D.

Well, I don't know how yours all are... but my pedal is a very different style than say the jeep. The jeep (and most other cars I've driven) you barely tap the gas pedal and it's off. The mercedes (only driven my diesel MB) you have to really move the pedal. It's just something you get used to. You may also notice that it's connected at the heel of the pedal, not the toe like most cars. So this also makes for a different effect with the actually movement of the pedal.

adjust the linkage
 

Yes you can adjust the linkage. There are a series of rods between the accelerator pedal linkage and injection pump which you can shorten to remove unwanted pedal play. You may want to lubricate the ball/socket joints while you have it apart.

The best cupholders
 

from www.drinkholders.com.

I ordered a cupholder with a zebrano wood inlay in black plastic that fits perfectly in the console.

cost me $60, My wife is still mad, but it looks stock.

JCD

for general lubrication, and for your spongy accelerator in particular, try Mercedes-Benz Gleitpaste.

lifted from another group:

"Gleitpaste (p/n 001 989 14 51) is a grease formulated specifically for sunroofs and seat rail slides (it attracts and traps much, much less dust/dirt then ordinary grease). The Gleitpaste is sold in 0.5 kg containers, costs about $25 and that's enough to do your sunroof maybe a thousand times. It can be used for MANY other things like seat rails, hood latches, hinges, etc."

For the throttle linkage, white lithium grease is all you really need.

If after you adjust the various threaded ends on the throttle, and you still have sluggish dead starts, you may want to look into adjusting the ALDA. There are many threads in the archives on this subject. I went through the difficult and frustrating gymnastics of adjusting the turbo wastegate on my '84 300D, only to realize that a corresponding ALDA tweak was needed in order to realize an improvement. Once the adjustment was done, what an improvement! It's no AMG, but it's not bad for a bygone generation of turbo diesel.