The unofficial top 7 list that will cause what you describe:

1. Clogged fuel filters.

2. Linkage issue. If linkages have not been lubed in some time, they can bind and not provide full throttle.

3. Failing throttle bushing at firewall. This is the big rubber one that pivots. If it starts to come apart internally, it transfers less movement and results in same as #2. When it fails the car will barely want to move from a stop.

(TO check #2 and #3, have someone press down on the go pedal gradually to the floor, engine off of course, while you watch to see if the pedal movement translates to the linkage running vertically down to the pump actually moving to its full travel.)

4. Air leak into fuel lines somewhere. Make sure all the clamps are tight. Anywhere you see diesel leaking can probably let in air as well.

5. Deteriorated fuel hose sucking in air. No one pays attention to the shorty length of hose that connects the bottom of the clear filter down into the lift pump. These simply wear out, crack and can result in air being sucked in, with or without any visible fuel leak. Car may run fine on the flat but once under load it cannot cope.

6. Clogged strainer in fuel tank. If you ran the tank almost dry then filled up with a premium diesel containing injector cleaner, or dumped in some sort of fuel additive with cleaner properties, this can free up the crud at the bottom of the tank and deposit it on the screen, limiting flow.

7. Dragging brake caliper or stuck parking brake. The car should creep easily by itself on level ground when you take your foot off the brake in D.

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22