Diesel Fuel Mileage Expectations

What range of mileage do the 300TD wagons get. I just bought one a few weeks ago and the first tank was a little over 22mpg. Improvement ideas?? I'd like to really maximize fuel economy.

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Diesel Engine Specific Aid

Chassis Model Number

W123

For a healthy well tuned engine

You should expect to get around 28 mpg on the freeway at 65 to 70 mph. If you are only getting 22 then your engine is either badly worn or out of tune. Here is a quick list of most common things to check - We have kits for repairing most of these problems. Check them in this order. Read my Diesel Performance Tuning and Repair for more details.

Paritally plugged air and fuel filters
Weak compression -perform a test - do valve adjustment first
Worn out fuel injectors - ones that are squirting rather than sprayiing
Worn timing chain - will retard your injection pump timing and cam timing - both critical
Worn cam shaft lobes - I see this much more often now than I did 5 years ago
Partially plugged exhaust sytem including turbo restriction

I would enjoy hearing back any stories of success in solving your problem. Kent Bergsma