Considering the 15 second burnout time, I'd check the transmission too. How much smoke before the turbo threshold?

After standing on both pedals for 15 seconds the wheels break free? I don't get it. Regardless, I hope you change ATF on the severe use schedule.

Sixto
87 300D^2

Do yourself a favour
 

Ask routine maintenance and service question on this list. But don't expect folks to give you advice on how to wring Tdi-league performance from your car.

Take your quest for sub-15 second burnouts here: superturbodiesel.com - tuning performance turbo diesel mercedes, W123, W116 and up. OM617, OM60X

Seriously, this list isn't performance-oriented and most of the membership doesn't mess with their rides too much. It's a great source for solid info.

But the guys at the other list are probably speaking language you want to hear....:D

Now... that being said... try moving the throttle linkage at your injection pump by hand to see how far it travels to the stop. Then have someone sit in the car and push down on the go pedal and see if it has the same travel. There have been cases of people buying these cars and then finding that the previous owners drove them for years with the linkage way out of adjustment or with something binding somewhere.

What Zacharias said - this forum is about getting cars tuned properly above all else. Anyone is welcome to wring every last bit of performance from their cars but you need a solid baseline. We run into differences of opinion when the discussion flows like this:

OP = My car is too slow
board = What's the maintenance history?
OP = I heard these cars can do 0-60 in x seconds, but mine feels more like x+10 seconds
board = Have you checked that A, B and C are within spec?
OP = How big a turbo can I put on this engine?
board = [collective sigh]

There's a Diesel performance forum on this site as well.

Sixto
87 300D^2

Exactly...I hate being an ass on here, especially given how helpful the forum generally is but an answer is only going to be as good as the question asked. We can help getting the car back to its spec times and performance, and even beyond that. However this isn't going to be a 9 second 1/4 car. Its fun to get your hands dirty and work on it but performance is hard to wring from these engines (unlike PSDs and Cummins etc which just take a chip to add a couple hundred torque).

Also the MOST important part of modding anything is to make sure your car performs well to spec first. That's pretty much a modding golden rule...trust me, I've been there and done that too when I was a bit younger. Otherwise it is pointless to mod in most cases, or you can go as you replace maintenance parts depending on what they are. I'm talking about fuel filters, trans health (esp in your case), proper valve adjustment, and an eagle eye on the timing chain stretch and tensioner. Beyond that, good injectors, good turbo health, good cooling system including water pump and rad flow, and a clean system.

ROTLMAO. Too true.

Yeah, I ought to have included some other questions, before I mentioned checking the linkage travel:

- how long have you had the car... it sounds like you just got it... what was the previous history? Has it sat for an extended period of time?
- fuel filters (2) and air filter replaced?
- how is it idling and running? Any miss or excessive shake at idle?
- on the road does it feel like you have progressive turbo response or does it suddenly kick in at some point... or is it a slug overall?

These are old cars. There are myriad factors that can come into play.

You should make sure the basics are working as they should before you hit the performance forums. They won't waste time with your questions if they find out you haven't done the basics.

You need to give us a better rundown of the vehicle, to begin with.

you guys won't believe it. i adjusted the ALDA adjustment screw a 1/4 turn ccw and no difference but when i went a 1/2, OH Boy ol boy you watch out cause this benz will out run a fast turtle. No but seriously the response is a lot better. And i put on a psi gauge for a boost gauge and i'm gettin right at 9 psi at wot

I believe it.

I think the OP and I have a similar symptoms, so I feel it helpful to add my scenario here as well. I'm not trying to hijack but I see no point in opening another thread for the same issue. No, I'm not trying to hop this car up to be some smoking street racer or anything, I just want stock power or slightly better.

Firstly, the car tends to have its moments. Sometimes it surprises me and drives well and other times it doesn't want to get out of its own way.

I have had the car since last January. It was not driven much and sat for a few years. Maintenance was most likely not kept up in the last 10 years.

Filters replaced when the car was purchased. Tank screen inspected and clean.

Idles rough; Shakes car. Shake goes away around 1200RPM. Slight haze from exhaust at idle. No smoke visible in mirrors during normal driving. Will smoke at or near the governor limit (should be normal for an IDI). Valves adjusted about 2 or so months ago; no noticeable change.

Turbo seems to kick in at 1500RPM or above. Alda line cleaned a few months ago. Alda adjusted 1/4 turn CCW. New Monark injector nozzles pop tested and matched.

My theory is this is caused by an intermittent ALDA or possibly a leak in the ALDA.

alda
 

.
Eaton999,

the things you descibe is exactly the sympthoms I have
I was suspecting rack bolt,. changed it to new golden one
but things remain the same....

let us know did the "Alda theory" resolve your issues please :)


cheers
ChO

.

1500 RPM for Turbo kick-in sounds about right to me. Gotta keep those RPM around 2K between gear changes for smooth power transfer.

YMMV

I don't understand how an ALDA issue can be causing a rough idle. Roughly speaking (there is a better definition), the ALDA is a fuel compensation device related to running under load -- on the turbocharged diesels, it adjusts fuel pressure in response to boost pressure (on NA engines it adjusts fuel to compensate for altitude). It has no bearing on how the car idles.

I was taught that when the ALDA is correctly adjusted when you can just see smoke out the tailpipe on hard acceleration (not WOT) in the daytime.

If the car is shaking at idle (rocking) and you have done the injectors, you need to look at installing the updated rack damper bolt. You could also try adjusting the bolt you have now, first.

Just to clarify... you did try adjusting the new gold bolt and/or adjusting the idle setting? Simply installing the new bolt alone isn't sufficient. Also, you ARE aware that the adjustments are supposed to be made with the motor HOT? I was taught it should ideally be done after 20 minutes of hard driving.

As these cars age there is no universal golden rule on how the idle and rack damper bolt should be set up. Individual cars can be quite different.

You sometimes have to experiment with adjusting both the idle speed and the bolt, to achieve the smoothest idle. (In other words, if you can't get a smooth idle at the current idle speed, then try adjusting the idle speed a bit up or down then play with the bolt again.)

On some cars it can be a maddening process. For example, I owned one SD that felt like it took forever to set up. I eventually found that it was only "happy" idling just under 700 rpms, which I dislike as too low, but I could never get it to smooth out (even with the new bolt) at a higher setting.

If adjustments don't improve matters, perhaps a compression test is in order?

I know the ALDA has nothing to do with rough idle. I tried a small adjustment of it to help with off-the-line acceleration. My acceleration performance is intermittent but usually on the side of poor.

I have not touched my rack dampener bolt yet. It is on the list of things to investigate. I'm not sure if I need a new bolt or if I can adjust what I have. I really need to do more research on that subject first.

I bought a compression tester but with it being over 100F outside lately, I have been putting off pulling the injectors and testing a hot engine. Not fun to do at 100+F OAT.

New rack dampener bolt ordered. I'll try adjusting mine but it sounds like it is common for the spring inside to wear out. I'll let y'all know what happens.