ALGAE IN '82 300D turbo GAS TANK?!?!?!!
 

week, i went outside to find a nice puddle of trans oil under my car. the steel line from the trans to the radiator was gushing out fluid when the engine is running, i usually warm up my car for 5min in the morning. the mechanic said that the grommets were missing, therefore the steel line was rubbing the bracket. he also said that the banjo bolt took out some aluminum thread of the trans case and that had to be adjusted so it would seal right. long story short $250, labor was $190 of it.
i also asked him why my '82 300D turbo was lacking power. i searched for a post which came up july '99 by greg, but no info there. he said that there's probably a gas tank contamination with algae. said it was very common in diesels. is this true??? he said $90 if it's a light contamination, $400 if it's heavy as they have to remove the tank. do these charges seem right?
my second question is how expensive is it to pressure test the turbo? how many psi's should it be giving?
like greg back in '99, my car hits 75-80 on the highway, but after awhile, it struggles to keep 65, pedal to the floor has no effect.
anyone with similar problems, solutions, please help.
thanks everyone

Algae problems, ways you get algae, and the various ways to fix them have been covered extensively. Look up threads that I have written and others in the Diesel Forum. Diesel Doctor (an algecide) is cure that is added to the fuel tank coupled with changing both fuel filters at least one time and usually more.

Turbo adjustments are also covered extensively in the Diesel Forum - use the search function to find them.

Good Luck!
Tom

This is one of the reasons why the regular use of diesel fuel additive is recommended. If it does not help anything, it at least prevents algae from growing.

I use additive in every fill up as the cost is minimal.