I have an OM617.951 I would like to crank up a bit. The engine is going into a Courier, so it'll be a little tighter of a space than under the Benz hood, but I'll make room for an intercooler first and foremost.
I noticed that this engine is very quiet, is the pump timing retarded and can that be adjusted or is this just the way this is?
I have turned up a 6BT Cummins before, I don't expect this to be too similar, but I know it's doable. -

What kind of injection system does it use? -

Begle1's Sig:

A custom-made electro-digital-hydraulic water injection system with a 1990 D-250 wrapped around it that on a good day might break 15 seconds in the quarter.

Mechanical? I'm pretty sure it's a Bosch system, don't recall which one right now. I saw the thread on the adjustments, but a "little" adjustment could be a half turn, could be a 16th. Also it was very vague on what to actually adjust. I have read online about getting these engines over 170hp without spending a penny on parts, but can't find what to actually do. -

Well, this thing was such a total dog off the line, I hunted down the info and adjusted the ALDA. This is the off-boost fuel limiter, and it's very easy to adjust. Since these cars are well out of warranty, just remove the tamper plug on the top of the ALDA (it's the squarish thing on the top rear of the pump with a line going to it. I used a pair of pliers and pulled the whole tin tamper cap off. Be gentle so you don't break anything. Hold the screw with a flat-head screwdriver, and loosen the lock nut (10mm). Turn the screw CCW in quarter to half-turn increments until you get a puff of smoke when you stomp on the throttle at idle. More doesn't give you any gains, and can put EGTs a bit higher than is good.
After this adjustment, I can actually beat that fat guy on a Rascal across the intersection -

turn the fuel screw like stated above and you can also get more boost from stock turbo I believe on them. also if it is same type of setup as on then 2.4L 4cl benz diesels it is a bosch pump very similar to the dodge P pump -

I can actually hear the turbo now, I'll have to get a gauge set for this. The tach died again (typical Merc quality) so I may have to break down and buy a new amp, I know of a guy who sells digital replacements. I'll drive it for a few days and see how much better it is day-to-day.
There are a lot of tricks to these pumps, but I think I'm going to leave it fairly stock for right now. It'll get an AWIC when I put it in the Courier, then I'll start playing with it. Up the timing a bit, increase the pressure, and replace the injectors, nozzles, and pump elements with a bit higher capacity units along with a 20-30psi lift pump. Should give it a nice kick then, I'll only be spinning 31s through 4.10 gears. -