I just bought my first MBZ, an '82 300D automatic with 142K miles. It looks and feels great on the highway. No burning oil or anything that screams "take care of this first".

My only experience with diesels is limited to an Audi 5000 years ago, which I really liked (5-speed), and my tractor. So the question is how sluggish should I expect my 300D to be? It downshifts fine, although a little jerky, but does not seem to be sufficiently responsive from 0 to 35mph, let's say. How do I know if the turbo is working, and should the turbo be helping out with this?

I've seen a number of messages about adjusting the valves. Could this be it?

Thanks for your input,