I made the mistake of not doing my research on the lovecraft system before i bought my 83 300D. Upon taking apart the lovecraft filter, this is what i found. I had to order in my regular spin on fuel filters and will be getting rid of this trash as soon as possible. For the mean time i cleaned the thing with carb cleaner and got it as clean as humanly possible. I filled the lovecraft cap/filter housing with a can of seamfoam then went out and ran it hard to clean things up a little. When i get the new fuel filter on and scrap this i will do a diesel purge and change injector nozzles.

Besides having the lovecraft the car is really nice near mint condition. I hope it hasnt done too much damage. The car will run 80 down the freeway no problem and will go over 100 if pushed.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUZpgp7Uu44












Car itself.

Well, It doesn't seem to have much damage done... That's some good acceleration you've got there! My '83 300SD doesnt' even touch yours... Your 0-60 looks like it's around 12-14 secs, mine's more like 45 secs
I see that your tach doesn't work, but that's an easy fix... there's plenty of threads here that will tell you how.
Congrats on the new wheels and welcome to the forum!

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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

Thank you for the warm welcome.

The car runs pretty good but what you dont see in the video that worries me is the shaking/rocking at idle after its up to temperature after being driven for a while. The thing shakes like crazy. I tried to adjust the rack dampner bolt and it did help quite a bit but the shaking isnt gone. I was burning my fingers off so i got mad and quit last night.

What worries me is that i may have a low compression cylinder due to stuck/coked rings and thats what causing the rocking. It dosnt do it as soon as you give it throttle though.

On my to do list is

Get rid of lovecraft filter and go back to spin on.
figuring out if my EGR has been disabled. Disabling it if not.
Valve adjustment-have to order the wrenches
Replace rack dampner bolt.
Replace injector nozzles with boiso. Do i need to have them pop tested?
diesel purge
adjust or replace sloppy kickdown cable.


I have already cleaned the banjo bolt for the alda and upon doing so i noticed that the hose going from the banjo bolt bypasses the valve on the firewall and goes straight to the alda. Should i leave it like this?

thats a beautiful car!

The over boost protection relay may be non functional to result in that bypass. I don't know, but there are a couple of threads discussing it being bypassed. My understanding on some models is that its an extra safeguard that can be disregarded, but I think that depends on the year and the turbo.

Someone who actually knows should be able to comment on that though, and you can search as see.

I would also get rid of the chrome fender strips personally. They are always either hiding, or causing rust. On my old 300, after I removed them, it did not really take away from the look of the car I thought.

Interesting that lovecraft is continually still in business. I would hope at some point that most people who own these old cars would do a little more research before having it installed, but it seems there is an endless supply of people who go for them who all own otherwise inexplicably beautiful cars.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

The crud is what is etched up by the WVO inside the tank. Remember there is 20+ years of s**t inside the tank, presumably left by diesel. Actually Lovecraft filter is doing its job in the picture. IMHO, Lovecraft design is OK in warm climate, it is the owner who ruined the car. They think they can just dump WVO in the tank and off the car goes.

I am not defending Lovecraft as I do not own one. I just want to point out the facts. Also WVO does not damage you car, it is the neglect of WVO processing that damage the car. If WVO can damage your car then would a diesel operated car live a long long life. The sad fact is that it does not.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

The lovecraft system is just a cheap goldenrod filter (search it) with a custom machined head that allows coolant to pass through it. The stock spin on fuel filter is gone and replaced by a fuel heater that has coolant running through it.

The bottleneck of this lovecrap thing is the "filter". That is a joke and should be illegal to be sold like that.

The hipsters and goons who put these on their car usually DO what you say and dump straight WVO into the tank without filtering. Ive read it on some of their forums. That hasnt been the case with this setup as the previous owner bought the filtered WVO from a supplier for 1.00$ a gallon. He says he always mixed it 50/50 with diesel. BUT who knows.

Does anyone know what the stock spin on fuel filter is rated at in microns? I have found a 10 micron filter that will fit this lovecraft and replace that homemade water filter with a bag ziptied around it setup.

Id also be interested in finding lower micron rated filters that would fit. If i can match the micron rating of the stock spin on filter, or come close, i may just leave the system as it is and use the better filters in the goldenrod housing.

Heres a 15 micron: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_363415_363415

and a 10

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395465_200395465

If the plastic bowl could be replaced by a big ol caterpillar or heavy truck filter id jump all over that

No argument here, I love and run WVO as well, I just have a problem with that specific system and all the hype and misinformation they generate or did at their sunset boulevard location. Does damage to the whole industry and gives a bad name to all the systems.

As far as the stock filter, I don't think its really needs to be any finer than 10 micron for the age of that vehicle. Why don't you throw a racor cartridge filter in there with a turbine separator built into it? Like a FG500? I had one in my car in the same area, friggin thing was amazing, could not believe how much water was stripped from even regular pump diesel.

WAY easier to change too than either the stock or goldenrod.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I think for now i will just find a 10 micron filter to go inside the goldenrod housing and leave it alone. I dont have the extra money to spend on the racor right now, but may eventually go that route.

I was looking for a quick fix so i didnt have to troubleshoot and figure out how to run all the coolant and fuel hoses if i took the lovecraft completely off. I also like the idea of the fuel being heated

Does anyone see a problem running the 10 micron goldenrod filter in the same housing?

it looks from the pics that the stock filter head is still on there, whats going on in that region? Is that where the coolant exchanger is now?

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Yes that is a fuel heater that screws onto the stock filter head but replaces the stock filter. The only thing filtering fuel in my car besides the little see through plastic filter by the hand pump is what you see in the above pictures. I have to do something about it ASAP so im going to get the 10 micron filter that will go into the lovecraft/goldenrod head/bowl.

I think the system will be safe then, but i may plug up filters very fast. Well see. I just dont have the money right now to buy a better system like the racor and i dont want to have to plug or reroute all the fuel and coolant hoses that hook up to the lovecraft system because i really dont know what is what

I work for a vaccum truck company and we contract for ADM who makes corn and soybean oil as well as biodiesel and a bunch of other stuff. I may end up running on biodiesel depending on price. Right now im just running truck stop diesel through it.

The rocking and shaking, have you checked the condition of the engine mounts and shocks, and the tranny mount?

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

99 W210 E300 Turbo Diesel, chipped, DPF/Converter Delete. Still needs EGR Delete, 232K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Gone and still missed...1982 w123 300D, 1991 w124 300D

So, You have a veggy-converted car....?

BUT (and I'm NOT defending Lovecrap) That so-called, 'Filter' was blocked with crud....

Primitive though it may be, NO VO or Diesel-filter should block in under 20K miles if the Used-Oil has been Prepared PROPERLY!--Which in the above case, It obviously Wasnt!

--Which it seems, never gets done, when discussing veggy Hence all the issues experienced with so-called, Veggy-Conversions.....

You have a loverly car, DONT feed it CRAP!--Select and Prepare your Oil Properly

--OR better still, Make Proper BioDiesel outta that oil.....

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http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...0TDnoplate.jpg

Alastair AKA H.C.II South Wales, U.K. based member

W123, 1985 300TD Wagon, 256K,
-Most recent M.B. purchase, Cost-a-plenty, Gulps BioDiesel extravagantly, and I love it like an old dog.

W114, 1975 280E Custard Yellow,
-Great above decks needs chassis welding--Really will do it this year....

I plan to eventually run off some kind of oil. Either corn or soybean. I should be able to get the clean unused stuff from work. Im still doing my research and will run this car on regular diesel until im confident i know what im doing.

When i do go veggie, i will get a better filter. I will also get a centrifuge and 5 micron filter setup for my home processing. Nothing like the crap thats been in this tank will EVER go into this car again. Just hoping the crust hasnt done too much damage.

Here is a 10 micron filter replacement for that fits the lovecraft filter housing with the goldenrod clear plastic bowl. Its meant for the goldenrod setup. They also make a 15 micron water repelling filter as well as a 10 micron filter meant for use in bio diesel applications. This is just the standard filter, which my local napa had on hand.

http://www.carquest.com/common/downloads/partsTechFilterscqpne99-7.pdf

Ill edit this and include the Napa part number later tonight

Carquest part number- 89043
Goldenrod part number- 470-5
Baldwin part number- PF10
Fleetguard part number-FF246
Hastings part number- FF1002
John Deere part number-TY15192
Napa part number-

Don't assume that because the part numbers cross reference, they have the same micron rating. You will need to check with the manufacturer to be sure. Also "nominal" ratings are 50% of particles are trapped on a single pass and "absolute" ratings are 98% of particles are trapped on a single pass. Manufactures often interchange ratings, so it can be misleading.


Regarding your car.... Beautiful car....But,

Your missing the fan shroud.

Do a search on tach amps, which maybe your issue. On trick is to put downward pressure on the circuitry by pulling the amp apart and placing a peace of folded up paper on top of the silicone filler. When putting the cap back on, it will put downward pressure on the circuit and you may have a working tach again.

Make sure you not leaking air in the fuel lines. Veggie oil can degrade rubber hoses so air can seep in while running for a bit. Also make sure your primer pump is not leaking. An older style primer pump (the type you have to unscrew and pump) will be more susceptible to leaking air then the newer style units.


.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System