Why do I need the timing basket again? I removed it since I replaced my vac pump a while back... now I'm thinking of removing the IP to re-seal leaks and "center" the IP... my IP was installed "off-center" such that I "think" i'm a few degrees RETARDED and the IP is ALL THE WAY maxed towards the engine block.

Btw, what do you guys suggest I do with the IP leak up-top where that large, round, electronic plug sits? And yeah... remove the ALDA as well? I know my ALDA "works" as disconnecting the vac line to it does starves the engine at speed... though I do not know to what "degree" it works... might as well remove it?

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85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project

The timing basket holds the sprocket and chain in place when the injection pump is removed. Recommend checking chain timing at cam.

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Present
1987 300SDL
1991 300SL
1990 560SEL
2001 ML320

Past
1969 200D 1979-82
1983 300SD 1984-85
1972 250C 1982-02
1995 S350 2011
1997 S320 2012

You have to take the IP apart beyond changing seals to replace the control rod sensor o-ring. Clean and dry the area as best you can and apply RTV to stem the leak.

You have the option of shimming the ALDA vs turning the adjustment screw or removing it.

Sixto
87 300E

Thanks guys... will do.

Why shim the alda? How do I know when the enrichment is supposed to kick in? I know I asked this question before...but I forgot the answer... "Is the ALDA enrichment process a gradual one? or is it an on/off thing?"
I'm guessing it's gradual... in which case a slight leak will hamper optimal fuel delivery capability right?

__________________

85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project

You can damage the ALDA by forcing the adjustment screw. Shimming the ALDA retains some function and provides plausible deniability that you messed with the engine since the adjustment screw remains sealed

The response should be gradual. MB wouldn't have sold many Diesels to the target demographic if power came on in a surge like with an old Mitsubishi turbo (ever drive a Starion?). There's lots of discussion on ALDA influence but the response is basically somewhere between no boost signal to the ALDA and no ALDA As a point of reference, my fully ALDA'd 87 300D hits 5 psi at about 2000 rpm and 12+ psi at 2500 rpm. That's the range of my boost gauge... and a whole other story. The gist of it is I don't feel the proverbial hand of God and I'm not leaving Civics behind until the ALDA sees 5 psi.

Sixto
87 300D

Hmmmmm... MAX boost I ever experienced was just 5PSI... I could only manage 81mph...130kmh safely... i was getting a weird vibration at those speeds so I let off... GAUGE was pegged at 5psi... I DO have intake manifold leaks though as indicated by black oil leaks at almost all sealing points. Intake-to-head and crossover-to-intake has oil leaks.

off-topic: at what speeds do tire balancing become a major factor? I never had my tires balanced, maybe the cause of the shakes at speed?

__________________

85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project

Remove the ALDA and see how that affects max boost. I don't think manifold junctions can leak enough to limit boost to 5 psi. You have a bigger leak somewhere like an EGR valve or ARV stuck open (compound turbo!), or a wastegate flapper that doesn't fully seal.

Sixto
87 300D

Why wouldn't you have them balanced???

Sixto
87 300D

I actually never had my tires balanced... in any of my cars... ever. I don't know, I rarely reach speeds of over 60mph here... and I sometimes end up getting used tires to replace flat ones... it never really occured to me to have them balanced... until now.

__________________

85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project