A few questions from a diesel novice

Hello,

My name is Zach and im really new to the whole diesel thing. Ive owned a few MB's an olf 300E and a 92 190E. I just bought a 1984 190D and I have a few questions I was wondering if one of you pros could help me answer.

Now Ill try to make a long story short but where i live winter is coming and ive been looking for a project and ive sure found it. I bought a 1984 190D with the 2.2 Straight 4 Diesel in it for $500.00. Im sure it probally needs a ton of work but heres what im working with. The engine starts right up no problem but it lacks power it will barely go 35 mph. The engine seems to be skipping alot but once brought to a higher RPM it seems smooth. There is somewhat of a knocking sound coming from the engine it sounds rougher than most diesels ive heard. It does smoke a good amount and the engine is running very rich. Im theres probally a million things that could be wrong with it. I dont know how it was maintained , it has 210,000 on the clock. I know it may sound like a lost cause but I am determined to have a diesel and make this thing beautiful again if it kills me!

If anyone could offer me some advice on this I would greatly appricate it. Thanks for your time.

Zach

[leathermang]

Do all the normal preventative maintenance deals... change all the fuel filters... it may have three... set the valves, check the timing chain for stretch, and check the injection pumpand start of fuel delivery , the injectors and precombustion chambers and the air filter...and then do a compression check... you will know a lot about the car... and it may run pretty good just from having these things right...Good luck, Greg

It is really good to get a Factory Shop manual and a Haynes manual which covers your particular car..

[jobah]

I agree with the previous post. Check the timing chain for stretch. Mine was quite stretched and I replaced it right about the same point (212,000kmi). The valves are hydraulic, so that should not be a problem. I would replace the filters (air and 2 fuel) along with the oil and filter.

It would also be a good time to run some diesel purge through the fuel system. As it is a new car, I would suggest running two cans through the system.

The best manual for this car is the Mercedes CD. There is a Haynes manual (not available in the US, only in the UK) which covers the 2.0 and 2.5 diesels (the US 2.2 is close to the euro 2.0, especially in early 1984). You may be able to purchase it on the internet (I purchased it when visiting Europe along with two german repair manuals for the 201 diesels). The available haynes manuals do not cover the 60x engines and they are quite different than the 61x engines. There is a chiltons 78-84 which touches on the 2.2's, but it is really poor.

I hope this helps; If you would like, please feel free to contact me off list. jjovanovic@factor-ip.com