1985 300D Turbo Diesel, I'm guessing around 275-325k miles.

Prior to this trip I would hear the whack, whack sounds when the car is cold first thing in the morning. It always went away after it warmed up.

Sunday I drove from Portland, OR to Reno Nevada for a conference. It was a fun drive through the mountains and I definitely pushed the car at times to get up those hills.

Now I'm in Reno, and the next day after I drove here I noticed that sound was happening at idle, all the time. It does seem to go away when I rev the engine. I may be noticing a little bit of power loss, but it's not much. Would the altitude change affect power?

I know I need to try loosening the injector lines to find out which cylinder is the problem. I'm just not sure how much car tinkering I can get away with in the parking garage of a casino.

Questions:
Do you think I'm OK to drive this thing home as it is?
Does anyone know where to get some diesel purge in Reno?
Can you think of any place I could go to spend some time messing with my car?
Any other advice?

I'm not even sure if I should be worried. I don't mind replacing the nozzles at all. The PO did have the injectors cleaned a few months before I bought the car. I need to go home Friday.


Thanks,

--Chris

Altitude will reduce power until the turbo kicks in and even then there's a limit to what altitude power loss the turbo can overcome.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I don`t know if this the same noise as I had on mine. but I use to get this noise when I first started the eng. once it warmed up it went away. almost sounded like the slapping of a belt that was frayed out as it was going around. I had new belts, so that wasn`t the problem.
It came from the lower right front side of the engine, wasn`t loud, maybe a ticking sound.

I had the timing chain replaced around 269000 miles, and at 331000, the chain broke. now I don`t know if the sound and the chain were related. but now Iam beginning to think they were.

The morning it broke, I was cruising @ 65. there was no warning, just bang. And all forward motion came to a hault.

Altitude will effect power, especially if your 85 is a cali equiped one, with the trap.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Just in case you need something, Stuttgart ******** is a Benz repair shop in Reno.. or at least it was two years ago, not sure if they're still around.

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1981 230E, 1984 300D.
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www.ranwhenparked.net

Join the Schuman Automotive Forum (if you can't find it, type "obk kartel" into Google" and it will take you right there.)

Check in the introductions and W126 Diesel sections till you see posts by "High Desert Benz" and PM him.

His name is Shaun, and he's a Mercedes Diesel mechanic with a shop right there in Reno, I have met him, and he knows the W126 and W116 diesels really well, (but is not active on THIS forum). Mention my name if you like, guy with the black 560SEC who had lunch with him and his son, in Newcastle, when he was towing his new gold W126 diesel with the bad engine back to Reno, a couple of weeks ago, he will remember.

If he doesn't get back to you quick, PM a message to me, I think I have his phone number, and I can call him and see if he can lend you a hand - he is a good guy, and he is right there close by, to you, and might be able to help you out.

Let us know, OK?

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Higher altitude has the tendency to reveal deficiencies in compression or injection spray quality. I would get some quality injector cleaner & cetane booster like the Red Line 85 Plus or DFC additive. That should help, but in any case this is most likely not a serious problem and I would not worry about driving the car home.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Altitude will affect the performance even on the turbo motors, but should not be noticeable at Reno/Carson elevation. I've driven mine everywhere from sea level to over 11,000 feet and it doesn't really start to lose power until you get around 7 or 8,000 feet.

Mine used to nail at idle when I bought it. I just kept driving it and it went away.

I wish I could offer a place to work on yours, but I've been "occupying" the parking lot of a closed business for short periods just to work on mine.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.