Thought this was interesting so I decided to post it here for all of you. Last month, my wife had the 116.120 down in the high desert visiting relatives. The elevation was between 4000 and 5000 feet (asl) at her destination. She reported that the car was way down on power and even idled roughly. The condition went away when she returned here to the Central Valley at 440 ft/asl.

I don't think I have ever seen one of these cars react to high altitude conditions in such a manner. have any of you????

Thanks....Robert

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

If the engine is a turbo model I'd suspect that the pressure line on the overboost control system has come loose.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Appears intact and has great power at or near sea level....

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

The engine runs too cold. It needs an 80c thermostat to function properly.

Runs no different without a thermostat, with a 60°C or with an 80°C, as I have experimented with every configuration.

You must be reading books on theory again....

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

Incorrect. The engine will overheat in the rear two cylinders without a thermostat.

No, I have real-world experience with which I use to earn a living. What has your guessing done besides cause a power loss at altitude?

As previously stated, I have tested every possible combination on this car and the cooling performance/power output never changes significantly, regardless of the engine's operating temperature.

In fact, if you really want to split hairs, the car has better overall throttle response the colder I run it.

Currently, I am running an 80°C Whaler Thermostat, since the dealer in Fresno no longer carries the 60°C unit. And, again, as previously stated, it has no affect on the power output at either sea level or up in Big bear, at about 6700 feet....Robert

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

Incorrect.


So much for "factory-available". I wonder why they don't make them?

They still make them, Fresno just doesn't stock them.

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

There is no opinion involved with factual information.

Yet you openly reject both.

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

I guess at the end of the day each can do what they like. If you wanted to put square wheels on your car you could. Or running a non diesel rated oil in a diesel ~ a very quick way to void an warranty that may exist.
I am running 85c high flow thermostats in my 602 & jeep as using anything cooler appears to result in them taking too long to warm up in the winter as they are driven at highway speed as soon as they are out the front gate (plenty of air flow).
Maybe its just me, but I like to have a warm heater in the winter.

A 60c thermostat would result in freezing my #### on cold mornings.
Maybe the 60c is a low flow design & for some reason it works. I think it would take too long for the motor to warm up.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Well not knowing what is in mine, it never makes it to 80 on the gauge. Even climbing for 10 minutes straight on a hot day it gets to 70. Most of the time it sits on 45. it's odometer is stuck on 273k miles. It couldn't be that bad for it. Please be absolute and tell me my knock will go away with a 80 degree thermo and it will be out and replaced by midnight!

You guys are great reading though! I can't wait to see what comes next!

Dr. Bert and myself live in the same climate at about the same sea level. I'm running an 80* unit with the manual transmission. I can tell you ditching the autobox dropped my temps to the point that the car runs around 70* at the temp sensor on the coldest of mornings and around 90* on the hottest of days. I think the car is very happy with these temps.

With the autobox it would run between 90* and 110* back when I was still seeing those temps I wanted to install a 60* unit, but never was able to find one in stock when I needed one.

Maybe F.I. up in CO or the engineers back in Germany might have wanted the car to run hotter for their ambient temps. But I can tell you... and sure Dr. Bert can second this, the central valley of California is pretty much a hot plate!

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If you temp was 110* with a (presumably) fully open 80* thermostat, what would it have been with a fully open 60* thermostat?