Hello All,

I just recently got the 300D engine installed into my w123 and for the last two days it ran super great! NOW it won't pull the teeth out of your mouth. When I depress the fuel pedal it takes it a while to increase speed at idle and under load. I can floor the pedal and the engine will slowly increase in rpms.

Here's a thought. I did put fuel in the tank the night before this problem made itself manifest. I bought fuel from a station that had been closed down for almost a year. I know that anything is possible but how likely is it that the fuel tanks at the station have water in them or algae? Would water or algae cause this kind of problem? The engine accelerates smoothly but slowly. Before this occurred the car was cruising beautifully at speeds well over 70 mph. I drive it the next morning and it won't go "fer nuthin'". Briefly yesterday morning it seemed to "break loose" but after I shut it off for a few hours and then restarted it to drive it it went right back to slowly increasing rpms and moving ever so slowly.

No smoke except at start-up. No water in oil and no oil in water. Normal temperature. Tank gauge is now at the first line headed toward empty.

Kevin

Buy about three sets of fuel filters -- sounds like you have very limited fuel delivery from plugged filters, and if you don't want to empty the tank (or have to place to put the fuel), you are going to have to change the filters every time you lose power until you get the crud out.

Look at the clear pre-filter -- dollar to a donut it's coal black.

Change filters with a warm engine, and fill the main filter will deisel fuel treatment or KNOWN clean fuel (NOT from a station closed down for a year!).

Never put fuel in the car that has not been filtered at the pump -- large diesel tanks have all sorts of crap in them.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Can you see any garbage in the clear fuel pre-filter?

Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

I really appreciate the helpful info. I do have a few little chunks of black stuff in the pre-filter but it is not coal black. The pre-filter was the first thing that I looked at but after seeing it only had afew chunks in it I thought that maybe just maybe it is the secondary filter.

I will change both. I will purchase three sets for the time being. What should I put in the tank to aid in the "healing process"?

Kevin


P.S. Psfred, I must have sent you a PM as you were typing your reply to my post. Worked out great!

My 75 300D did exactly this, and it turns out the altitude adjustment was off on the injection pump. Not sure your car would even have an adjutsment (maybe it was just an early 300D thing?)... and it doesn't sound like yours would have been fiddled with for any reason, but it's just a thought. When I backed mine of a few clicks, power came back with a vengeance.

Good luck!

Chris

I can't imagine that mine would have just become "unadjusted" overnight but like I posted earlier, "anything is possible".

Thanks,
Kevin

Right... I cant see how it would have bumped out of adjustment either, and I suspect the others are right on the fuel delivery suggestion, but just wanted to share my own experience. In my case, I was at fault. I fiddled with the adjuster w/o knowing what the hell it was. Last time i'll do that! It took me more than a month of driving the world's slowest 300D before I figured it out.

Again, good luck!

Chris

originally posted by cscmc1@eiu.edu

LOL Funny!

Any possiblity that there is a substantial amount of gasoline in the fuel?

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

I have had a 72 300sd and an 82 300d and now an 83 300sd and all of them were extremely slow to take off but once i hit about 20(MPH) I gain speed a little quicker. I have looked at my fuel filters and they are clean but I have been told there is an adjustment that will aid in the speed issue, I am totally unsure what this adjustment looks like or where it is but it sounds alot like what someone referred to as a altitude adjustment earlier. Can someone give me a little more info on this adjustment? Thank you!

Sounds like fuel contamination. Put a whole bottle of algaecide in the tank and just live with it till almost empty. That'll kill the bugs. Then pull the fuel strainer and clean and gunk on the filter.

Clean fuel from a busy station, an application of Diesel Purge and new fuel filters is next. You might have to remove the injectors to clean them if all this doesn’t work.

I recently went through the same drill due to an algae bloom. PITA!

PS Your post does not say your location but if you're in the NE and heat with oil I'd siphon off the treated fuel and add it to my home heating tank if you don’t want to wait till the tank level is low. Good luck,

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Toblin

'79 300D, "Liesel von Diesel", 235K

I kid proofed the house....but they still get in

Filters did the trick!
Thanks everybody,

Kevin