Hello, I bought an old MBZ 1983 300cd that had been in an accident. The front-end needed to be replaced. I changed out the grill, radiator, fan, belts, water pump and housing, thermostat and housing, changed the fuel filter. I've added oil, and will change that this weekend as well as the transmission filter, gasket and fluid. The car was running Biodiesel at the time of the crash and from what I know of the car it has a rebuilt engine in it that was rebuilt 20k miles ago. The previous owners sold it to me for $500. Once I finished the repairs, I fond that the car ran well, but it is very sluggish starting from a stop. In the beginning, The car was slow all the time from a stop and on hills. I changed the fuel filter and that improved the speed. But it is still slow. I switched from Biodiesel to regular diesel thinking that the Biod was having an effect. The car did speed up a little, but still is slow.
So I am at this point where I'm not sure if I want to proceed with it. I am $1300 in to it and I'm not sure if I am coming up on a money pit or not. I have a friend who is helping me with the car (He is a 20 year owner of 300cd and does all his own work - he owns 3 300cd and 4 other Mercedes models). I went over the transmission with him and we determine that it is shifting smoothly. There is a the first shift is noticeable, but I've been told that it is normal. The car runs well when very warmed up. and has sufficient power after driving for 15 minutes or so on freeways. In the city is a different story. If I am driving surface streets the car never really gains it's power until I get to the freeway (which is a the end of my commute)
I'm stumped at this point. It seems like it is not getting enough fuel as my foot is always on the floor. Any Ideas?
Thanks