Hello Everybody,

I have a beautiful 1984 300TD that has been garaged for the last 2+ years because of loss of power and smoke.

Any suggestions on what needs to be repaired/replaced would be of big help, or if anybody knows someone in the Portland OR area that is good with these old MB would also help out

Here is what the problems are
It has a real hard time with idling when it's cold and smokes a lot from the exhaust, you can feel excess vibration from the engine. pressing on the throttle will make the vibrations worse for a moment then it runs smooth as the rpms get up between 1.5k-2k but still smokes.
This is the same thing that happens at a stop and there is almost no power to get the car going until until the engine rpms get up. when the engine warms up on the highway it seems to run better.
The car runs good on the highway but still has some smoke

I have replaced glow plugs recently under 2k miles ago.

Again any suggestions would help. and thank you

 

You need to evaluate the the smoke for starters.
Thick black= more fuel than air
White smells of diesel= incomplete combustion of fuel
White as in steam sweet smelling= coolant being evaporated
Blue= motor oil present in cylinder
Please post what you determine as each one has a few causes and then I am sure you will get some direction then where to start.

 

If you changed the Air and Fuel Filters and still have the issue try swapping the Positions of the Fuel inlet and Fuel Return (Cigar hose) Hoses where they hook up at the Fender Well.
You need to have at least 1/2 Tank of Fuel for the above to work.
Doing the above bypasses the Fuel Tank Screen and draws Fuel from a higher position in the Fuel Tank (do this only for testing).
If your power comes back your Fuel Tank Screen is restricted and needs to be cleaned or replaced.

Drive with out your Fuel Fill Cap on. If your Power returns your Fuel Tank Vent is restricted.

You really ought to say what colored Smoke you are having and give the Miles on the Engine.

 

Both fuel filters have been replaced recently as well.

the smoke is white and has a diesel smell to it.
The car has 368k miles on it

i will replace the air filter next. and check if it is my tank screen.

 

And if that does not help, a valve adjustment, valve cover gasket and time is your only cost. That would be my next move as that could improve compression to improve combustion of more of the fuel. After that maybe injectors but check compression first due to high mileage on the engine. Keep in mind 368K could be 568K if you are not exactly sure of the history.

 

^^ I would follow that post first for sure to be safe ^^

 

Thanks for all the help.
your guide is informative and looks easy to follow
I will check the timing this weekend and post back how it looks.