you all always say the best thing for a diesel is to open it up for a while on the highway. That statement can't be any more true. Before i took off to tallahasee, i got some dieseil injector cleaner from truck stop, and through it in the tank. About half way to Tallahasee i noticed my car was running better, idling smoother, and in general, just working better(not that it was ever really bad). Avg speed was about 80mph, and the car just loved it, the temp never fluctuated from 82, and it ran like a top. On the way home, i opened her up a little bit, and pushed the revs and load quite a bit, it loved that too, temp stayed solid, no weird noises other than the rythmic sewing machine under the hood. Once i got her back into town, i can honestly say, smoke has been reduced GREATLY, the car has more power, idles better, and seems like a whole new car. I can't beleive opening the old girl up for 8 hours(total time) could do that!!! I simply can't believe it!! i guess i should just trust you guys more often...
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Yep, this is absolutely true. Diesels that are babied around town run like crap, get bad mileage, are slow and smoke.

Highway diesels run great, especially ones that are driven hard.

I admit, I do drive my car -very- hard but I have had zero problems in 45,000 miles with the drivetrain, does not smoke, starts right up and runs like a dream.

Drive 'em hard!

RG5384


What cleaner did you buy at the truck stop?

i dont' even remember. It was in a big white 32oz bottle that smelled real bad...thats all i know
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Thats probably Power Service. Its one of the most readily available diesel fuel additives, they also have one called power service diesel kleen or something, thats specifically a cleaner, this may be the one you used. The VW guys love to run PS in their tdis it seems. I've had success with stanadyne's performance formula.

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2004 Ram 2500 Cummins HO
2000 Jetta TDI
1999 E300 (sold)

it will outlast you ! we took ours from tampa area to ct a distance of 1280 mi and only turned it off once ! to go inside a restaraunt to eat

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

yup, it was power services good call, i found the empty bottle this morning while cleaning all the dirt out of the trunk (read burried my mercedes in mud in the open discussion) i tried to "smoke out" my friend last night who was following me and i couldn't do it!!! i was actually kind of dissapointed... i guess that is a good thing though? I still can't beleive how much better it is running. Oh yea, one quick question reguarding a front end noise i keep hearing. At anything above 50mph there is a thumping coming from the right front. that wheel also has a bit of play, so i'm wondering if it's the wheel jumping back and forth, also, there is a vibration at anything above 75, it starts to go away at 95. All wheels are brand new and have been re-ballenced twice because of this, all to no avail. What could this be? to better describe the noise, when i first took off and heard it i looked in my rear view mirror to see where the harley davidson motorcycle was(it was very faint but that same kind of rythmic noise). It is unrelated to engine RPM, only speed. thanks
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Ryan:

Yes, a good road trip under heavy load will do wonders for a diesel. My 300D was still knocking and running rough after the IP repair until I drove to Miami for Christmas (I waved as I drove past!) -- no noise at all now, and runs very smooth. No smoke, either, but then it never really made any.

There are several sources for the front end noise:

1. Loose wheel bearing, or worn bearings. This is most likely as there is play -- check by pulling straight out with the wheel off the ground. If the wheel moves straight in and out with a perceptible thump, the wheel bearings are loose. Adjust them and the problem will go a way. Will also make the car wander a little, more as they get looser.

2. Worn tie rod ends, drag link, or pitman arm joint. If these are worn, there will be no movement directly in and out with the wheel off the ground, but you will have a perciptible thump if you rotate the wheel on the steering knuckle, or hold the wheel and turn the steering wheel. You can usually tell which part is worn by looking for relative motion between the tie rods and what they attach too. You can also put you hand on them and feel smaller motion. Fairly easy to fix.

3. Worn ball joints. If you can't find any looseness in the wheel bearings or steering system, pry straight up and down between the tire and the ground -- any significant movement or thump indicates worn ball joints. This is a big pain, and expensive.

4. Worn track rod bushings (on the frame) or bearings (on the control arm) or worn control arm bushings. Usually causes a groan when you go over a dip in the road, or any other time there is large suspension travel.

5. Worn roll bar bushings. These are up along the firewall, above the tire. If they are bad, the roll bar can vibrate at certain speeds. Will also cause a thump when you drive over speed bumps at an angle, or hit a small bump in the road with one tire.

The other possibility is bad shocks -- this won't cause any play in the suspension, though -- will permit up and down vibration of the wheel at certain speeds and will beat the tire to death rapidly. Check for cup wear on the tire -- any evidence of cupping and I'd replace the shocks.

This should get you started!

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Thanks for all the info. That is exactly the kind of info i was looking for! I know my ball joints are shot as the right front tire squeaks when it is turned, and i know my drag link is shot because i have seen the play in it when h20diesel helped me replace my motor mounts quite a few months ago. I think that those things combined are my problem. How hard is the drag link to replace? is it a DIY thing? i know i'll leave the ball joints to a mechanic, but the drag link looked strait forward to me. thanks
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Ryan:

The drag link is a remove and replace thing -- you will need a ball joint removing tool to get the old one out -- either the fork type or the clamp and screw type will work fine.

You will need to SECURELY jack the front of the car -- this means heavy jackstands or GOOD ramps. You will have to pound on the end of the fork type ball joint tool, and having the car fall off the jacks isn't funny.

Replacing the drag link may and may not cure the noise, depending on whether the drag link or the ball joints are the source. It will make the car drive better, though.

Ball joints are best replaced by replacing the steering knuckle as a unit -- my mechanic keeps a pair on hand and has them rebuilt by an outfit in Indianapolis. Costs about $500 a side (ouch).

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

500 a side???? that's gonna wait a while then, a long while. In fact, the car will have to start wandering pretty darn bad before i do that. I thought ball joints where only around 30 bucks or so? am i way off in my thinking? What all do i need to put on the new drag link? does it just pop on easily? I'd have to rent the ball joint removal tool to get the old one off, but that isn't a problem. How hard do you have to hit on the drag link to get it to pop off? in other words, sledgehammer or regular hammer? thanks again for the help
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Lower ball joints are about $30/side, but take a $500 tool to install. Upper ball joints come as a complete upper control arm at about $100 per side.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Ryan:

Depends upon how tight they are -- some come right out, some are terrible.

I think, to remove the drag link, you have to remove the castle nuts on the pitman arm and the "dead" arm on the other side, along with the inner tie rod ends. I'm not sure on the W126, I've only looked at my W115. You may not have to remove the tie rod ends, just the track rod, depending up on which joint is bad.

Not bad, but vastly easier on a lift (he he, like I have one!).

My mechanic swaps the steering knuckle for ball joint jobs -- much faster, lets him do it in one day. Probably cheaper to do it yourself IF you can get the old one out and the new one it -- easier said than done, alas.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Yup, I just had both replaced within the last year, and the work done at two different shops for each side. Seems like if one goes the other wont be far behind. Ran about $349 (parts n' labor) for one and the other was around $329 parts and labor.. Sure makes a difference though. Now if I could just save up for some nice Yokohama AVS-DB's and some Bilsteins.... :-)
ohhh...and a set of Chromed Ronal r-9s!!

Just a note getting back to the question of these cars loving highway trips under load. The first time my SD got over 26 mpg was when I was hauling about 1000 lbs of people and cargo, not even all through highway driving. Amazing.

__________________
Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic