Smith, Todd wrote:
I have read about adjusting boost on the of the few articles still left on mbz.com page but I heard of people talking about ALDA but I don't know what that is?
Look for a little square metal device on the injector pump. It will have a thin hose connected to it, via a banjo connection, and a round cap on top (or a screw with locknut, if someone's removed the cap.)
Before I cleaned the boost lines and adjusted the ALDA, my car acted like yours...dead slow until it hit 2000 rpm, then it would pick up steam. Now it accellerates smartly. The Mercedes diesels are not sports cars, but these are *not* sluggish cars when properly tuned, at least not at sea level.
This is *not* the same thing as adjusting the boost level itself -- that's done by adjusting the turbocharger wastegate. You shouldn't mess with the wastegate until you have the ALDA straightened out.
There are good instructions for this on the web, but I've lost track of where they are. Hopefully someone will post a pointer. It's not a difficult job.
