Questions and Answers

Mercedes Benz 300TD Has No Power Q. Hi, I have a 1984 Mercedes Benz 300TD, 150,000 miles. Runs poorly, only about 20 mpg. Since last fall I have: Checked compression (290 to 315 psi). Changed timing chain. Adjusted valves. Flushed fuel tank due to algae. Had the dealer time it. Had two injectors rebuilt (it seemed to run worse after doing so). Replaced the little washers below the injectors. Changed primary fuel filter about 20times thanks to the algae clean out. Cried a lot.

All of this seems to have fixed my surge problem, but now it runs bad and has less power, I am at wits end and I am not a diesel mechanic. If I could find a good one in my area, I would gladly pay to have it fixed right. Do you think my fuel pump is bad?? This sounds really scary and I am ready to drive this car into the lake. Please help.

JB
Buffalo, NY

A. Two things come to mind, ignition timing, injection timing and turbo failure. That's three things that comes to mind. The ignition and injection timing are tricky to set up correctly and takes an experienced technician to do it correctly. Also there are special tools required to set the ignition and injection timing since, for all intents and purposes, there is no ignition system.

You have done all you can do as a DIY, the rest will have to be done by an experienced technician. Unfortunately the best Mercedes Benz dealer in the country (fact) is in New Jersey. The only shop I know of with an experienced Mercedes Benz technician is Craig Autometrics located in Rochester, NY. I don't know how close they are to you so it may not work for you. Otherwise I would try another Mercedes Benz dealer.