Turbo Upgrade
 

Are there any turbo upgrades for a 1987 300D Turbo 6 cyl 3.0 . The turbo isnt responding like it used too and its got about 300k. Id rather upgrade then rebuilt. Any ideas, I tried searching and got nothing.

Have you performed any diagnostics to determine the turbo is the culprit?

Or, would it be more accurate to state "The vehicle isn't responding like it used to"?

Well im pretty sure the turbo needs re-building, because when my father took it to get the enginie rebuilt a copule years back ( head gasket - timing chain - ) they told him that the turbo is deff going to need a turbo rebuilt soon... My father gave me the car now to work on, so I drove it and it doesnt feel like it used too... it feels much slower so im guessing the turbo is probably shot.

Do any tests yourself?

Spin the impeller to feel for radial or axial play?

Connect a boost gauge to determine whether the turbo has the specified output?

If you are fully convinced that the turbo is the culprit, then change it..........but without any data, I'm certainly not convinced.

Im very new at diesel turbo motors. Im around fuel injection turbo motors because i have one myself. Well anyways is there a vacuum line i can -T- so I could connect to a boost gauge. Do i have a KKK turbo or a Garrett , im on a 603 engine by the way

Boost is "pressure" and not vacuum.

And, yes, there is a pressure line that you can T into. On the driver's side of the manifold you'll find a nipple with a hose attached........at roughly the middle of the manifold. The hose will have a small hose clamp holding it in place. You can T into this line to measure boost.

You'll have to route the gauge into the cabin so that you can read it while driving. Get the engine above 3000 rpm at full load and read the boost gauge.

But, prior to any testing in motion, you should probably check the impeller for radial or axial play. Maybe the shop was knowledgeable and could see the turbo was in poor shape...........maybe not.........??

Even a turbo with shot seals and tired bearings will put out plenty of boost. Somthing is out of adjustment.

They said something about the bearing in the turbo needed to be replaced , i think thats what they said i was like 17 at the time , im 22 now so im not sure if that was what he said because it was a couple years back. I really adore this car and i want to get it running back the way it was. My dad is obsessed about diesel cars he says they last forever and now my dad got sick so he is not able to drive it anymore so he passed the car on to me for me to junk it. I almost felt heartbroken , you cant throw a car out that he had for almost 20 years its memories and memories. Thanks for the help ill post pics of the car maybe some people can help me out to see if its worth keeping, theres rust on the bottem of the door and around 1 or 2 wheel well .... Ill put on the boost gauge , i think i have a autometer gauge laying around that i can bring into the cabin, ill post back the psi. What should i see at idle will it read 0 since there is no vacuum and what should i read max?

Correct, zero at idle.........no vacuum and no boost. Make sure you have a boost gauge. A vacuum gauge is of no help in this diagnosis.

Proper boost on that engine will be approx. 12 psi. Anything north of 10 psi is acceptable.

Turbo
 

1984 300d Turbo 140k
Clean The Alda Line To The Intake This Is The Turbo Pressure
Line To The From Intake To Alda On The Ip

wow i think i figured out what was going on here.... looks like the intake box/ filter was never changed or something there was so much dirt and small little rocks and dust looks like it was a little clogged, workin on it right now in my garage will report back ..... is there any aftermarket intake out there for our car..... can we make a a mandrel bent pipe with a k and n filter ??

........well, now, that's the cheapest turbo installation I've ever seen........;)

The factory filter is the best possible filter for your vehicle. Any aftermarket filter will shorten the life of the engine by allowing additional particulate matter. The K & N is definitely in this category.

Oh, another thing to see is whether or not the car has the Nasty Trap Oxidizer on the exhaust line, look for a football shaped metal thing just to the right of the engine, sort of to the rearwards of the air filter box, its hard to miss. If its there then that needs to be replaced with a straight pipe under a factory recall. Be sure to check to see if you can feel any play in the turbo impeller, side to side or front to back.
And its really great to hear your going to rescue the 124 300D, a great automobile!

Yes a great automobile i just took it for a drive today wow.... it feels so smooth for a 1987 , there is so much things that im fixing that im actually glad because i love workin on cars.... yes the car already went for the recall , my father told me that they had to replace the trap oxidizer and they gave him a full new exhaust for free which we are still using it has not rotten yet so everything is great. Right now im workin on the stupid stuff like power door locks and windows and stuff.... i just went to the dealer and asked how much it was for the vacuum pump for the power door locks he quoted me $350 i was like HA lol i picked one up from ebay for $30 they said its in workin condition will see how it goes when it gets here sometime this week...

Dealer is good for keys, free munchies/drinks, and to look at new MBs. Well and maybe parts you simply, flat out can't find.