Just a little more power???

[wildbill_hickup]

I have an 82 240D and I love that car, so does my wife,,, for the
most part. See I'm the slow paced, take your time, enjoy the drive,
kinda guy and my wife, wellllll lets just say she wants to get
there. I don't mind down shifting on hills (spent years as a long-
haul driver)I'm just happy I only have to do it once or twice. My
wife she isn't so fond of the chore. If only I could get just a
little more hutspa (spelling?) from this little motor. Now I realize
I'm not going to be burning any rubber or climbing a 9% grade in
fourth gear and accellorating all the way, and neither is she, just
a little more. I realize, and have explained to her that this motor
in it's displacement size is only a little bigger that some
motorcycle engines. But, she still wants to get there.

Reason I inquiring on this is I am purchasing a Dodge 2500 w/
Cummins 5.9L six-banger and in looking into the engine I discovered
endless power enhancements (mostly from this site) from simple alterations to complex setups such as tourque plates,govenor springs, bigger and double turbos, etc,etc,
and a very wide range of corrisonding horsepower (and tourque)
increases.

Now to my question, is anything like this possible with my little
2400cc NA put-put? Has anybody tried 'turning it up a notch'? Mind
you, again, I don't expect a drag machine and I CAN'T spend a bundle of money, so adding a turbo (if it's possible) is out of the
question, I'm just lookin' for little tweaks.

Any ideas would be greatly accepted!!!! Tips and how-to's would be great too!!
If not I'll keep lookin' for the 300TD.
WIldbill

 

[The Warden]

The OM617 is, externally, an OM616 with an extra cylinder added. If you have the resources to try this yourself, I would consider swapping an OM617 in...with the manual gearbox and the lower differential gear ratio as compared to a 300D, a "240D 3.0" would certainly accelerate faster (and, if you swapped differentals with a 617-powered car, it would also help with fuel economy). If you can find a wrecked 300D or 300SD in a salvage yard, it shouldn't cost too much (again, if you do the swap yourself). It's pretty much a bolt-to-bolt swap; just use the clutch parts from the 616.

Unfortunately, that's about it...you can't add a turbo to a 616 without severely reducing its lifespan, and there's little that can be safely done to an n/a engine (propane injection would help, but I wouldn't call that "safe"). Improving the air intake would be a good thing, but I don't think there are that many options with the cramped front end of the 123 chassis, short of removing one of the foglights and putting the air intake in the hole (which HAS been done).

Hope this helps a bit...good luck!

BTW, all U.S. 300D's were sold with automatics, and the M-B auto sucks enough power that a 300D doesn't have all that much more perceived power than a 240D. So, IMHO you're better off swapping the 617 into the 240D than buying a 300D to replace it.

 

[wildbill_hickup]

Warden,


Thanks for your suggestion why o why did I ever think it would be as simple as turning a screw?

I had read somewhere (I can't find it now and there were no details) about the possiblity of 'turning the fuel up'. Is there any such option, does that mean fuel pressure or fuel delivery timing?

 

[The Warden]

Thanks for your suggestion why o why did I ever think it would be as simple as turning a screw?

The sad thing is, on a turbo 617, it is practically that simple. There's a diapharam on the injector pump that uses a turbo boost feed hose to put in more fuel, and it's pretty easy to adjust it to get more fuel output. But, the N/A engines don't have this.

I had read somewhere (I can't find it now and there were no details) about the possiblity of 'turning the fuel up'. Is there any such option, does that mean fuel pressure or fuel delivery timing?

Generally, "turning the fuel up" refers to adjusting a fuel delivery set screw to allow more fuel to be delivered from the pump. It doesn't adjust the timing or the pressure; it just allows more fuel per injection at WOT. The Ford IDI injector pump has one of these screws that's pretty easy to get to. I don't know if the M-B injector pumps have one of these or not; if they do, I don't think it's easy to get to...I certainly have never seen it.

One other thing you can do is verify that you have full throttle. Have an assistant push the throttle pedal to the floor and look at the linkage at the injector pump. There's a lever with a screw on the end of it that the last part of the linkage moves. There's a stop on the pump, that the screw should be just in contact with at WOT. If the screw isn't in contact with it, you'll want to adjust the linkage until it is. My old 300D's screw was 1/8" away from the stop at WOT when I got the car; I adjusted the linkage, and the difference in power was like night and day.

Hope this helps some...good luck!

 

[wildbill_hickup]

Hi again Warden,

Did some pokin' around some other sites and they kept mentioning the ALDA adjustment. After much searching I found out, what it was, where it was, and what to do with it. This may be what you are refering to. On my 240 (and on the 300 pictured on the site) it's right there on top of the IP probably about the diameter of a soda can maybe 1.5 - 2 inches high, with a set screw/locknut right in the center. As per instruction ( turned set screw CCW 1/4 turn in two steps, testing for power increase and excess smoke between each step(by driving). It did make a difference. It can be adjusted more however (again at their suggestion) I am going to adjust valves, check for lose throttle linkage, and I will add your idea as well. The folks over at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/diesel_mercedes say that all those things will create loss in power and should be address before messing with the ALDA setting. I just couldn't wait, but now I intend on doing it the RIGHT way. Well almost!!!

Thanks for your suggestion I'll add it to the clean-up list.

Wildbill

 

[Meta6981]

Well aside from what was already mentioned there is not much else that can be done. Thats the nature of the 240d, slow as hell. although I can vouch for the OM617 NA being linked to the manual 4 speed they make ok time and are really fun to mess around with. If you could do that thats the best bet. You might also make sure that the injectors are clean run some injector cleaner in there. Keep it maintained and clean and that will help too.

 

[RKOCH]

I put a turbo and propane on my 80 300TD. That things runs like a rapped date. It made all the difference in the world on that engine. Hell it is a a heavy wet sleeve motor almost indisructable. I know all the guys around here that work on Benz hate the 5 cyl 3.0l because they say they make no money on them because they never break. I pulled my bass boat with it last week and it made it no problems.