I have been tinkering with this almost endlessly for a week now. It is now sucessfully converted to pure veggie oil via a PlantDrive conversion kit. It runs very well. Much smoother and quieter than before.

I am still chasing a vacuum line issue, I just for the life of me cannot figure it out. I have bypassed the ignition/vacuum switch that kills the motor in favor of keeping my brake booster and transmission with enough vacuum. I only have a vacuum line tester, Its very useful but it sounds like I need a MityVac to really find my leak(s) as I have to have the car running to check the lines. So I can't hear a thing or test lines I cannot easily get to the end of. Everything was working when I first got the car, then a few days later I lost brakes/motor kill/smooth shifting. I eventually replaced most of all the vaccum lines/connectors I have access too from the engine bay. Somewhere I fixed it. Drove great for 3 days, now its back. Its obvious from my testing I am loosing pressure somewhere from the ignition vacuum module (what do you call this?) But after several hours I can't track it down so for now I have to press the "STOP" button

At anyrate, the main question of the day is is how fast are your 5cycl turbo rides accelerating? I would estimate it takes me 20 or more seconds to reach 60mph on a completely flat straight-away. My old 190D was pretty slow, and I know these 123's are even slower. It feels 'slightly' more peppy and responsive now on SVO. Is this rate of accleration normal? I have not spent much time in these types of benz, its very smooth and comfortable but I am curious if its acceleration is too sluggish and if so what to check.

I noticed that about the same time I believe I sprung another vacuum leak, the car 'jitters' more at idle when it is in gear. As if the transmission is sending too much power to the wheels. Like it is fighting its own brakes. Could this be somehow vacuum related, and possibly also related to the acceleration? It seems to shift after expected moments and the shifts are fairly smooth (for a benz) when the tranny has vacuum. But could something still be affecting the shift points/speed?

Thank you in advance!

a stumped, but excited newbie in the desert.

 

ForcedInduction, thank you very much for the input I took the time to check your youtube video lists etc, I am jealous of your 145hp dyno run! (I assume this is you?)

About your points,

Concerning the legality of SVO, Fortunately for me I am soon to move back to my home in Indiana. As of right now it appears to be uncertain of SVO is or is not classified as a Bio fuel according to the two new bills signed into law very recently. The current Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) being very conservative has a extremely strong agricultural platform and seems to be willing to sign almost anything that hits his desk that creates more of a market/use for local crops. The two new bills exempt all road taxes from approved 'biofuels'. The bills are fairly ambiguous concerning WVO and SVO specifically. Some think they are covered, and some are unsure. I have heard of a form to voluntarily pay road tax for x miles driven on un-taxed fuels provided WVO and SVO are not exempt. But I have not seen one personally. I will gladly pay my fair share for use of the roads. But for a myriad of reasons, cost being only a small factor its worth any risks to me personally to reduce my petroleum foot print. I'll never be perfect, but perfect is the enemy of good. Indiana seems to be on the fore-front of the be-kind to bio fuel race hopefully it will keep going.

About my acceleration, I still do not have a stop watch, but I am extremely certain I am not even 'close' to your 15-16 second mark. I should have noted that on a nearby 6-8% grade incline, the car slows down to below 20 mph while it crawls up the hill, even while completely floored. It shifts all the way down to first gear and revs extremely high. Seeing that my TAC is out I am not sure how high the RPM's are but try to keep it below what feels like redline. It is frustrating though going so slow. From the sounds of it, I should be able to get over this incline with no problems right?

I've read that caloric content of Biodiesel is roughly 90% of petro diesel, a 10 minute google search failed to yield me the exact caloric content of SVO. Perhaps its safe to consider its the same as BioD? Your comment about the 'softer' burn of the SVO makes a great deal of sense to smooth out the operation of my engine. I can only assume the the valves have not been adjust for a 'very' long time. I am extremely interested in handling as much of if not all of the work on this car myself. I would love to know do the valve adjustment myself, though I lack the tools and know-how without finding better instructions.

As far as the tank strainer, When I was running the new fuel lines for the conversion I did not have anything even close to the size to get the strainer out, But after reading some forums, apparently it would not be at all uncommon for my car which is 24 years old to have a clogged/algaed strainer by now. What is your advice on reversing the return line with the fuel in line temporarily to see if the lack of strainer on the way in make a difference? Kind of a cheesy low-tech trick but may work? If I have more power then I'll know exactly what to do. What do you think?

Thanks!!!

 

I am going to tinker with her most of today starting in a few minutes. I am going to find a way to do timed runs. It sounds very normal when I accelerate, no shakes or squeaks. Just slow as molasses...

I am down to only a few gallons of SVO left, I am going to have to do a 50/50 mix of WVO and #2 to get my tank to half full for this testing. I am really tempted to drain the tank and check/clean the filter anyway, I do not have a spare on hand. Is it possible for me to clean it to satisfaction assuming it is going tobe nasty? Or should I find a way to order a fresh one before I go throught he hassle of taking it out?

 

Its getting dark and cold now, and I have mostly good news!

Switching the line input made no difference, But the banjo bolt on the intake manifold was 'full' of crud, so I cleaned it, removed the switch it was connected too and cleaned all the vacuum lines to the banjo fitting on the ALDR. I cleaned a great deal of dirt out of that system, but it still did nothing for the overal performance. I then tinkered with the ALDR. I lost my setting so I backed it all the way CCW and I instantly noticed the engine 'feeling' much more responsive when I pulled the throttle linkage. Just a 'hair' of black/brown smoke at WOT. I decided to go for a quick spin, and Holy ****! Did that make a difference.

I actuallyed timed the original speeds, I got 0-50 (yes 50) in 36 seconds. After adjusting the ALDR for a half an hour between timed runs, I have my 0-60 down to 18.6s give or take. At the higher rpms while flooring it, I could see the 'faintest' hint of smoke. I read that this is about optimal?

I still have no clue what to do with the vacuum lines (still no hand pressure tester, and can't find one locally) but at least I think the performance issues are able to be delt with!

 

Thanks for keeping up with this thread,

I understnad that the ALDA is likely just helping to compensate/cover for additional issues. I have not had the valves adjusted, and I still need new injectors. That alone could be a huge help you think? I'm not capable of doing the valves myself and want to put off ordering new injectors until I get back home where most of my tools/time are. I am going to have to drive this car 1600 miles to get there. And I'm not educated enough yet to know if this is a extremely foolish idea. Adjusting the ALDA was the last thing I had to fiddle with, I might take it in to get the valves adjusted and the timing chain checked tomorrow if I can find a shop that can do it in one day, otherwise it will have to wait a month (the car will not be driven) until I get back here to pick it up, I can try to get it done then before I head out again.

Beyond the valves and injectors what else can I diagnose?

 

Hi

I got 0-60 MPH in 13sec on my 300SD, I dont know but i think someone tinkered with my ADLA, because when its idling it can see smoke but when i floor i see quite a lot smoke but not those black cloud of doom, should i be concerned about it?????

THX

 

hey forcedinduction what is your 0-60 time????

 

That is really good for a 240D, Do u have any suggestion to make my SD perform better besides adjusting ADLAand budget wise.

THX