New to forum, joined because I need some positive reinforcement.

[saphiro]

Originally Posted by ecofreak

It's actually around 10% less energy compared to fossil-derived diesel. In practice, it actually should yield less economy.

Of course, the documentary I watch in question was of 300SD's purpose tuned for biodiesel, and I'm sure that involved a thorough overhaul.

Ok, well that question is answered. Thank you.
A thorough overhaul would be great, but at 324,000 miles, I feel a little apprehensive about changing anything mechanical since it all seems to be working so well.

[larrybuck]

Welcome! It was a delight for me to find HOME here! I'm used to having the thrill of passing someone on the freeway about once a year! So rare, I can remember the exact
vehicles!

Yes, there are a few contentious ones on here. I guess the world wouldn't be complete
w/o them; but the majority are peace loving here.

Hold your head up! The majority on the roads are ciVILLIANS!!!! Don't forget that!

Just put your turtle shell on, and cruise!!!

[ecofreak]

Originally Posted by saphiro

Ok, well that question is answered. Thank you.
A thorough overhaul would be great, but at 324,000 miles, I feel a little apprehensive about changing anything mechanical since it all seems to be working so well.

Oh, wow! Yeah, it's always a crapshoot when something's old, but broken in! That is a quite a bit of miles for any Merc.

Honestly, you're best off focusing on your driving style. You probably should avoid blocking the radiator too much, since the car is doing so well at such an advanced age.

[saphiro]

Originally Posted by ecofreak

Oh, wow! Yeah, it's always a crapshoot when something's old, but broken in! That is a quite a bit of miles for any Merc.

Honestly, you're best off focusing on your driving style. You probably should avoid blocking the radiator too much, since the car is doing so well at such an advanced age.

That's a good suggestion, I certainly wouldn't want it to overheat. However, it's all cast iron, head and block, so overheating wouldn't ruin everything, unlike the later diesels Mercedes put out with aluminum heads.

[Daox]

As long as it isn't totally blocked and the radiator fan can turn on and suck air through you'll be fine. You just don't want the fan running much. Its pretty easy to just use a 12V bulb or something to see when the fan is on or not. From there you can adjust the grill block.

[montypenisor12]

my goal is to earn a lot of money for my parents..

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by saphiro

The front air-dam might be a little bit more difficult, I'll have to stomach my pride and drill into the chrome front bumper.

Don't drill in the bumper.
Can't you fit the airdam to the car by using what's keeping the bumper on, if need be with a metal bracket, rather than fit it to the bumper itself ?

Also, I have been adding ATF to the fuel at approx. 1 oz to every 2 gallons. My theory is that the detergents in the ATF have cleaned out (and are continuing to do so) the injection pump and injectors, allowing them to work properly/better.

Don't you have detergents in diesel ?

Well, here's hoping for 35 mpg!

Looks like you're well on the way.

In such an old diesel, I'd run biodiesel though.
The older the car, the more pollutants it pumps out per gallon.
With biodiesel, you can reduce that pollution again.

[mcrews]

Is that the 5 cylinder?
my ex-wife had one yrs ago. was a nice ride. I just couldn't get used to the lag on acceleration.
You'll enjy this site.....some smart desiel people !!!!

[saphiro]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Don't drill in the bumper.
Can't you fit the airdam to the car by using what's keeping the bumper on, if need be with a metal bracket, rather than fit it to the bumper itself ?

Don't you have detergents in diesel ?

Looks like you're well on the way.

In such an old diesel, I'd run biodiesel though.
The older the car, the more pollutants it pumps out per gallon.
With biodiesel, you can reduce that pollution again.

On a closer look, I think I can attach the air dam to the bottom of the bumper using 4 large bolts that are there already.

Regarding the detergents in Diesel, yes there are some, but not like the detergents in ATF, and the ATF adds lubricity on top of that. Adding ATF is a trick that I've heard from the old-timers, really only effective on older engines.

I would love to produce fewer pollutants, but that's not really my goal. My goal is economy, and better economy ought to translate into fewer pollutants per mile driven, rather than gallon burned. I think that if I reach for economy lower pollution will follow, right?

[saphiro]

Originally Posted by mcrews

Is that the 5 cylinder?
my ex-wife had one yrs ago. was a nice ride. I just couldn't get used to the lag on acceleration.
You'll enjy this site.....some smart desiel people !!!!

Yes, it's the 5-cylinder. An early version of the OM617 with a turbo-charger. I really don't have any expectation of accelerating quickly!