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Old 01-17-2005, 11:34 PM
jeffl jeffl is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: oakland, CA
Posts: 20
50-60 deg. F cold start failure

the symptoms of the last month or so:
('81 240D)

-hard to start, rough start in only mildly cold weather. it will usually start after 3-4 5-second cranks. i let the glow plugs heat for 40 seconds or so.
-starts fine when engine warm
-occasional loss of power, esp above 60mph.. not consistent
-a little oil getting into the air filter, apparently through the crankcase cover vent and also possibly through the air intake manifold?
-some oil and/or fuel visible near injector #1. possibly just small oil leak in crankcase cover seal.
-overall burns about a quart of oil per 15-20 gallons of fuel, highway driving.

i partially melted the rubber sleeve on the fuel tank filler neck w/biodiesel. been running B20-B100.

the glow plugs measure the correct resistance (all around .5 ohms). i also can't find any leaks in the fuel lines. all the hose clamps were tight.

any comments/tips or other ideas are most appreciated. this is what i plan to do/check:

-switch to mobil 1 synthetic 5w30. is that the correct grade? would 0w40 be better?
-check for fuel tank vent blockage: check for physical obstruction and check via tank cap..
-check battery, ground connection, terminals clean
-check glow plug relay fuse
-clean injectors by running on diesel purge or equivalent.
-check fuel filter at tank (the other two were recently replaced)


which of those would be most likely beneficial? please give me some input.. thanks

jeff

'81 240D
'78 volvo 240DL wagon
test drove: '05 CDi. this benz is a racecar!
want to build: VW bus w/ 1.9L TDI engine

Last edited by jeffl; 01-18-2005 at 12:30 AM.
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