guys, guys, guys. you should be ashamed of your responses to this thread. i simply asked how to up my performance on the cheap, and now everyone's coming out of the woodwork with their flames

it's ok though, i do my fair share of prodding and instigating batboy and others, so i'm willing to take it all with a grain of salt

to clarify, i have dismantled many mercedes cars from the 114 to the r129 chassis and everything in between, including the engine of a w123--in some cases completely dismantling the engine. just last week i removed the oil filter housing, the tube that leads from it to the turbo, and the oil lines that go from filter housing to oil cooler. i'm no stranger to this engine--i am a stranger to fixing it though, and the workings of a diesel engine in general. that doesn't mean i know how to do a valve adjustment. it's one thing to turn a wrench to dismantle a part, it's quite another, as you know, to turn one in order to fix something or put it back together, especially when it concerns items which require precision work.

Valve adjustment OM617 FYI.
Valve adjustment OM615, 616, 617 FYI.


A General Link you need to bookmark:

Fast navigation Do It Yourself Links
Fast navigation Do It Yourself Links


You can boost power to 500HP for $35,000.00 - $85,000.00 USD.
Durability is measured in hours on those engines, and MPG becomes GPH...

i'll take a look into the valve adjustment links--i might be able to pull this off on my own. thanks for posting it

You are welcome.

I suggest you review this thread to determine if you suffer lack of power.

What is your 0 - 60 time on each diesel you own?
What is your 0 - 60 time on each diesel you own?

I think our first mods should be getting the car back to where they were when new, or perhaps "near new, but broken in". In the case of a 300SD, I can believe 14.5 ish 0-60 when brand new. Mine had 51k miles on it when I bought it, and was the fastest one I'd driven, which is why I picked it. With 1 person aboard, new air filter and clean injectors mid 12 second 0-60s were the norm. Speedometer was accurate. No GPS in those days, but there were 5 mile sections on Interstates you could use to test for accuracy - with a stop watch.

These tests were averaged in both directions, 300' above sea level, in cool moist air near Seattle. In hot dry air, we lost a few 10ths.

On the same stretch of road my 49hp Rabbit performed 0-60 in the high 14s. With 2 people aboard, more like 16.5.

Before making mods, my goal would be to get my car back to where it performed when new. I realize if your compression is low, your car is going to be slower, and most of us, including myself don't have an engine re-build in our budgets.

Even Motorweek managed 10.6 second 0-60 in the 300D 2.5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXwP6FMnl4Y

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

The overriding point is simply that your question of how to increase the engine performance cheaply is not answerable other than to say you cannot make it make more horsepower cheaply.

Its not a chebby v8 with a two barrel carb and restrictive exhaust manifolds which you can slap a four barrel and dual exhausts and feel a real difference for not too much moola.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

ok, understood. i don't want to break the bank on this car, and if there's nothing that can be done relatively on the cheap, i'll go ahead and keep bringing the engine up to spec by doing things like valve adjustments, etc.

although throwing in a v8 "chebby" sounds like a tempting idea