1983 300 Diesel Turbo Slow Going Uphill

[vinceruth]

Hey everybody - a friend of mine asked me about her 1983 Mercedes 300 Diesel Turbo - and I haven't the faintest clue. She says whenever she's going uphill (happens alot here in Hollywood) she floors it and it takes FOREVER to get going. I've been in the car with her and it doesn't sound as if the engine is working very hard to push it up the hill. In fact - she tells me that even from a dead stop it's slow going. Not knowing Mercedes (I'm a Camaro man) not to mention Diesel engines - I wouldn't know how to advise her other than to take it to a shop. Does this sound like a compression issue? The tranny seems fine - shifts are smooth...

She doesn't want to be taken for a ride by some mechanic, and would like to be armed with a little info as to what it could be. Admittedly, the car is old - has 190,000 miles on it - but it's reputation is that of a long-lasting car. Any advice or reccomendations?

[podunk]

These little diesel demons are certified Torque MONSTERS but they do suffer a certian degree of "Turbo Lag" . They are a bit sluggish from a dead stop but the turbo charger should "Catch Up" about 25 or 35 feet out then the tires should bark second gear rubber on the concrete !! and she should have no troubble climbing any hill !!
A typical problem is that it is hard for a first time Merc diesel driver to push the pedal on down and let that little 2800 CC. (169 Cubic inch) mill wind up and do its work to pull the 5000+ pound tank up a hill. But if this is not the case it sounds like a diesel tune up is in order.

a good tune up on the merc 300 sd or d with 190,000 miles would be to change the oil and filter, and both of the fuel filters, and the air filter, and adjust the valve lash, and last but not least adjust the slack in the throttle linkage. A procedure for doing all of the above can be found in a Chiltons manual, although for other mechanical issues, I have found a Chiltons manual can be inadequate. So be careful what u spend $$ on, u may want a merc service manual.

[j_hef]

two things to try...
first, locate the banjo bolt at the back of the intake manifold. trace the line from it to right behind the brake booster, thats your boost pressure regulating valve, take out the banjo bolt, clean any carbon from it, take out the sensor near the rear of the intake on top and clean it out too. next, undo the two vacuum lines from the valve and conect them together (the other end goes to the injection pump). If this fixes the lag problem, just replace the valve.

your other problem could be lack of fuel. if new fuel filters dont do it, take off the fuel line at the prefilter and blow compressed air back through the line to the fuel tank. drive the car, if its better, the fuel strainer at the bottom of the fuel tank is getting clogged, or the fuel line itself after the strainer is getting clogged. buy some diesel doctor, dump that in a full tank, drive it till near empty and then replace the strainer and fuel hose at the strainer.

good luck.

[nVidia GeForce]

Originally Posted by vinceruth

Hey everybody - a friend of mine asked me about her 1983 Mercedes 300 Diesel Turbo - and I haven't the faintest clue. She says whenever she's going uphill (happens alot here in Hollywood) she floors it and it takes FOREVER to get going. I've been in the car with her and it doesn't sound as if the engine is working very hard to push it up the hill. In fact - she tells me that even from a dead stop it's slow going. Not knowing Mercedes (I'm a Camaro man) not to mention Diesel engines - I wouldn't know how to advise her other than to take it to a shop. Does this sound like a compression issue? The tranny seems fine - shifts are smooth...

She doesn't want to be taken for a ride by some mechanic, and would like to be armed with a little info as to what it could be. Admittedly, the car is old - has 190,000 miles on it - but it's reputation is that of a long-lasting car. Any advice or reccomendations?

i drive 300D turbo desil, there is nothing wrong with hers.
turbo lag, you can get a smaller turbo that will spool faster and keep a big one in there running dual (something i may do), desiel are god of torque but SLOW AS S#!+. even off the line desiels are slow (unless you beef it out) it will last a long time dont worry she will give it to her grand kids.