Quote:
Originally Posted by Fridgewagon
Qualitatively, how "quiet" should one run? This one doesn't sound like a bag of rocks, but it certainly is a far far cry from a perfect mercedes OM603 running really good fuel on a fresh set of Monark nozzles. Maybe a little loud, petty snappy. Has good service records, and it actually has ~200K mi on it.
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Sounded terrible pulling the cold start lever forward, like...alarming.
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Should be rather quiet. D24 is usually a little louder than D24T but both should be quieter than a 4cyl VW. These engines had/have a reputation for refinement and silence, compared to others from the era. Similar noise level to an OM603, though the noises are quite different. Clatter on cold start is normal but with a warm engine, should be not much louder than your typical piston-slapping worn-out redblock gasser Volvo.
In qualitative terms, shouldn't usually sound "alarming" regardless of noise level. If it does, that's reason to check things out.
Do you have the means to check static injection timing? That's the first step and only takes about 10 minutes (with tools). You can buy the stuff cheap on ebay, or borrow it from several members here who can loan tools, or likely some folks local to you in the PDX area.
Better to know than to speculate. If you find it's not 100% spot-on, then you can reasonably assume the cam timing is not right either (typical indicators of belts having been done in the past without correct tools/techniques), and it would be a warning sign to check the torque on the crank pulley bolt as well. Getting those things right is critical to it operating and surviving as well as it should. It sounds like you have a healthy one so, worth the bit of effort to dial it in.
Checking valve clearances should eventually be on the list too -- but I'd put timing first.