I did the valve adjustment and all were very tight. I suspected they had not been done for some time. (180,000m) So, After I do the adjustment the 300sd is hard to start and seems to be smoking much more.

The adjustment did make it run a little better, especially on take off. Is there a reason it is harder to start, before it would take half a crank and start now 2 to 4 cranks to get to start. What about the SMOKE??

will be a PITA but check them again!, if you didnt torque them tight enough they might be off, only way to be sure

if they are good then try diesel purge , change your fuel filters, check the air filter

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1985 300D - 599,xxxk - blue interior #265 Monark Nozzle, AL129X, 15" Ronals, Gen II Big Brakes hunting
1985 300D - 491,xxxk - in prog-{A-A IC, 3" exhaust, psi\pyro, 28*BTDC, Hella Euros, IP Limiter removal
1985 300TD - 783,xxxk - parts car,used new engine with ALDA cap inplace
1987 Kenworth T-600 8LL 425 CAT Mech. - 6,000,000+k - DEI exhaust wrap, punched through resonators, 1 recent rebuild,

Also, make sure you reinstalled the "throttle" linkage correctly and that it's not binding.

I changed the air filter 2 week ago when I got the car. Replaced a leaking fuel injector return line.

I was running a tank of B20 before changing Fuel filters.

Can I get diesel purge locally? that was my next step.

I initially was trying to solve a very low power situation. Car would have no GO under 30mph. After that it had a little more.

Have you tried adjusting the ALDA?

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

Do I adjust it while idling or do I just adjust a little then test drive?

I know it sounds coincidental, but have you checked the glow plugs?

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

You might consider checking for chain stretch and after that injection pump timing. I believe if all the valves were tight by adjusting them you have indirectly changed the effective timing. Thats why it might be smoking now. Just a suspicion combined with harder starts. This is a bit of a stretch but starting especially should have become easier.