Very low power & harsh 1-2 shift and quick 2-3 shift transmission
 

This is a "spin-off" topic to my other topic "considering 84 300SD". I test drove the car a few days ago and though I have just bought a Lexus- I would like to reconsider it, but have some questions - hopefully someone can answer. On the road, power was OK, but it had a harsh 1-2 gear shift and then it had a very fast 2-3 gear shift. To 4th was OK. Going back up the driveway to the owners house- it was a slightly steep grade. The car was extremely sluggish up the hill. I had the accelerator to the floor and the car was going up the hill at a steady 5 mph for about 10 seconds, then it gained some speed as I climbed the drive. I know this is not a power house, but should this car have more power than this? And what about that transmission- could it just need a tune-up/adjustment? I did not notice any excessive black smoke from the tailpipe either. That "shaking" engine at idle was going away at times- could that still be a sign of bad compression? Any additional advice/information appreciated.

The're a few things that this car could be suffering from. The low power can be caused by the boost line from the intake to the anneroid on top of the inj pump is clogged or leaking. The car could have tight valves..... almost EVERY 5 CYL Turbo that I have adjusted the valves on that hadn't had them done in a long time, the intake valves were tight. When you have low power and you are in the throttle hard to get it moving, you are bleeding the vacuum off at the trans modulator and this causes hard shifts. The trans thinks that the engine is putting out alot more power than it is. Another problem with the later 5 cyl turbos was the EGR valve. They are power robbers and the controllers mal-function on them and leavr the EGR open at the wrong time. I ALWAYS disconnect the EGR and The car ALWAYS runs better. The trans modulator also has a small rubber cup that rots out and lets the vacuum leak. I would like to find the shaky idle problem as My Wifes "84 wagon does that intermittently.