Hey folks, just joined the forum...I love my mercedes to death, it went a good 250,000 miles before an oil pump failed and the engine seized (needless to say i was pissed), but i've decided to keep my "silver bullet" (i swear it does 0-60 in like 3 and a half minutes), i'm gonna drop a new diesel engine in it pretty soon, and i was hopping maybe to add a little bit more power, maybe a new turbo charger/intercooler...anyone have any thoughts, resources, experiance, ideas they could throw out there for me? thanx for any help...i love that car (my g/f get's jealous sometimes, but i would love for it to have a little bit more umpf)

-jensen

Forget about the intercooler. I've done extensive research on it, and it just will not work without excessive custom piping to get it fitted properly to the turbo and such. Not a simple bolt on mod. Search the archives for my post on the turbo boost controller and ALDA adjustment. After doing so, my 0-60 time is about 10 seconds. Not bad at all.

My two cents is that of my two 300D's, one is a rabbit and the other a turtle. Same stinkin engine. I'm trying to bring the turtle up to speed as the quick one is plenty fast! So I agree with the previous posts on not getting too fancy, just tweeking the engine a bit.

__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

You're getting some good advice here. You will be much better off to just bring it up to proper condition and adjustment. Turning up these engines will considerably shorten engine life.

Best of luck,

all the advice is deffinately appreciated...what sort of tunning are we talking about here, i've already had someone make mention of the turbo boost, and ADLA...are these the sort of things i can do on my own (maybe with shop manual in hand, or do i have to take it to a more specialized mechanic?)

-jensen

speedy-- i'm still curious to hear morea about your research into the intercooler....the company i work for could easy produce a pipes to make, if it was just a matter of make a big pipe fit to a small one

Remember, intercoolers, more turbo boost or anything that will supply more air to these engines will do nothing without supplying more fuel. Unlike a gas engine in which the fuel and air are delivered together, they are separately supplied. Souping up diesels in such a way that they will live is a much different proposition than accomplishing the same thing with a gas engine. Intakes, headers, cams don't mean much on a diesel and it will not be forgiving. You will most likely pay a price in the form of shortened engine life.

Good luck,

Out of curiosity, what sort of "new" are you considering for your replacement engine: rebuilt long block (whole engine), rebuilt short block (just the crankcase), or just a good used engine?

- Nathan
'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

prolly a used engine with low miles...out of a 300d preferabley

Then your best "mods" would be things like making sure the fuel injection pump is timed perfectly, the ALDA is adjusted properly, the injectors are good and clean, and use a little Redline additive (Diesel Fuel catalyst, also known as DFC or 85) every tank. With most rebuilt engines you can assume that the injectors and pump are new or rebuilt, but with a used engine you can't necessarily assume that.

Also, make sure the vacuum system for the entire car is in good working order. Since the vacuum at least partially controls the EGR (Exhaust gas recirculation) and the automatic transmission, having a working vacuum system helps minimize smoke and emissions as well as keeping your transmission shifting smoothly. Well, relatively smoothly; these transmissions are kinda funny that way.

- Nathan
'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

the list I received to tweek performance was posted here months ago and included:

Disable EGR
Tighten Throttle Linkage
Clean out bolt/bango fitting at the rear of the intake manifold. Same for switchover valve
Fuel Filters
Valve adjustment
Lubro Moly Diesel Purge
Bypass overboost Protection relay
Adjust wastegate settings, but only after measuring current boost pressures
Tune the ALDA fuel/air settings. Be cautious...adjustment springs break

I'm about a third of the way through this list and have probably gained 20% on my TD off the line speed.

Hope this helps

Don

__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

Don, thanks alot i'll deffinately try those first...need an engine though

-jensen