Hi there guy's !!!! Im back againg to bother you for a litle , I start Using Wvo On the Benz, it was Just a test and some people tould me that if I runn wvo in the Benz tank that it was going to remove all the junk and clug the filters untill everyting gets clean..... Well I did it and it was true ... Now I been fighting wit dirt and crap for the last week and still fighting with this, But now i get to a point were im tired already, The mixs was more like 20% wvo and 80% diesel.... My question about this is the following: Where is the fuel tank? and do you think I can access the tank to clean it? I Did this one time with an 85 RX-7 with a rusted gas tank, I clean it and it was fine for many years!!!!! But yea, this one is driving me crazy, so tomorrow im taking a day off to clean it really good... What I did today was hook a pump to suck all the dirty diesel and filter all i got in the tank and put it back, and re doit one more time, Now the car can be on idle and the filter is clean clean until I start moving the car, then it gets dirty and get clog after maybe 5 miles HELP PLEASEEE what can I do??????????????

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I just got this 1985 mercedes 300 turbo diesel, no running, turbo is jam, only 4 cylinder working and smokes like crazy..... But im here to fix it, with all you guy's help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheeeers!!!

Probably would be wise to remove fuel line and screen from bottom of tank. Jack car up a bit and put on safe stands, then crawl under and look for fuel supply coming out of tank. Tank is located behind passenger seat. Remove fuel line and screen (best done when tank is nearly empty) and catch fuel. I'm not sure about best way to rinse tank; others can chime in here, but this method will get the bulk of the crud out of the tank. There's lots of good info in the archives.

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John Schroader
bio burnin' 83 300D, '83 300 SD, '79 240D
"I've never met a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else" Ben Franklin
"You cannot permanently help a man by doing for him what he could and should do for himself" Abraham Lincoln

There are 2 ways you can go about this. The easy way (but not the best) is to buy a whole house water filter with a clear Lexan housing where the elements are cheap and large in surface area (approx $3 ea 5 micron), install it before your primary filter and drive on. You will be able to see the junk that comes out and when it clogs, change the element.

The best way is take the tank out and soak/ agitate with 50/50 mix of Simple Green, hot water and a handful of 5/16" diameter ball bearings. Rinse and dry and remove ball bearings before install. If you are gonna continue with VO, gut the tank strainer.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

And Where can i get the house filter? home deapot? And around how much they are? I just spend 100 in a napa filter, they come with the hose adapter plus the atachment for the filter, the filter is a 12micron and separete the water from the diesel, And Put that one before the primary and secundary Benz filters...... and still getting junk, and Im spend too much money already on filters =( and want to keep the car, I love it.... But I see if I can just clean the tank for now and keep running this filters that already purchase from napa

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I just got this 1985 mercedes 300 turbo diesel, no running, turbo is jam, only 4 cylinder working and smokes like crazy..... But im here to fix it, with all you guy's help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheeeers!!!

Ok, I lift the back of the Benz and found the out coming hose. Now I need to wait until that tank get almost empty, right now it's full =X ... Lol. So If I get that unscrew, the filter comes right out?? Or how im taking this PUNK out???

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I just got this 1985 mercedes 300 turbo diesel, no running, turbo is jam, only 4 cylinder working and smokes like crazy..... But im here to fix it, with all you guy's help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheeeers!!!

Yeah... I'm taking this sucker out men, Is driving me insane already... Today I blow air from the engine comparment hose, take the fuel cap out, and blow air from the front diesel hose to the back... I think I clean the gas tank filter bcz right afther that the car gain power back for maybe 1- 2 miles =/ So now i'm 100% sure that the inside tank filter is messing with me =(.... I will keep posting the progrese!!! Thanks againg Guys!!!!!

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I just got this 1985 mercedes 300 turbo diesel, no running, turbo is jam, only 4 cylinder working and smokes like crazy..... But im here to fix it, with all you guy's help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheeeers!!!

Today I remove the in tank filter, it was a small and easy job with the tank empty and the right tools =) Now, The man filters are getting Dirty super fast wich is good bcz all the crap is coming out so I keep replacing the filter and the dirty ones I clean them and Put them back =D lol I know, i know..... But trust me, Im saving 20 bux every time I clean One of those filters and they don't last 2 miles so!!!! Ok, I will keep posting my progress for tomorrow......

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I just got this 1985 mercedes 300 turbo diesel, no running, turbo is jam, only 4 cylinder working and smokes like crazy..... But im here to fix it, with all you guy's help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheeeers!!!

You need to get that tank to a radiator shop and have them do a professional cleanout on it. Id be replacing any lines, filters ect BEFORE I filled it back up too.
Once you get it back in do a full system purge before you fire it up too.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Its all here:
http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W123FuelTank

I'd recommend lining the tank with an aftermarket sealer made by POR-15: http://www.por15.com/FUEL-TANK-REPAIR-KIT/productinfo/FTRK/. I lined the tank in my '85 with it. It's inert to both biodiesel and WVO.

(You dont need the fuel stabilizer included in this kit, thats for gas)

Trust me, it will take you less time to just pull the tank and clean it than messing with filter changes.

I'd also not recommend running your engine on high blends of WVO without using a 2 tank setup, especially as you are trying to diagnose and fix other problems. Please, no matter what blend, read up on filtering and dewatering the WVO properly.

There is no free lunch. If there's over .1% water, or worse boilout (if you don't know what this is, you need to find out) in it it will ruin your fuel system and engine very quickly.

Im no WVO hater, I run my '85 car on it. Diesel fuel is getting expensive, but if you like your car and want it to run well, use extreme caution.

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Have you used the POR15 tol seal a W123 tank? I'd be worried about not being able to do proper surface prep and the POR15 eventually flaking off and clog the fuel system. The W123 fuel tank is no ordinary steel tank. I have one sitting outside in the elements for more than a year now and there is not a hint of rust anywhere. I've been using my stock W123 tank for VO for 40k miles now with zero problems. I take the fuel level sender out pretty often just to look for poly and it has always been spotless and never failed on me while on VO.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Yes I have. I did not do it purely out of prevention - I had a pinhole leak in the bottom of the tank after having it steam-cleaned. (A leaking fuel tank full of diesel is AWESOME, everyone should try it!! )

The W123 tanks are indeed lined. I called up POR-15 technical support and grilled them on this very topic. Turns out most steel tanks are lined. They assured me that if I followed their procedure (clean with Marine Clean twice, prep with their acid etchant, then Tank Sealer, and drain and dry for several days) I would have no problems.

It's been 25k and two years and my primary fuel filters are spotless. No flakes.

The factory tank lining does break down over time, especially at the bottom where it could have rusted from water in the (diesel) fuel over the years. If someone is committed to using the main tank for WVO (whether as a single tank kit or as the heated tank in a 2 tank conversion), this is why I suggest lining the tank with the POR-15 kit. Exposed steel + WVO = poly. And once it starts, it can get really bad fast.

That all being said the *best* place for WVO IMHO is in a second purpose built aluminum tank with heat exchanger.

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Good to hear it worked for you. Is this on the 82, 84 or 85? Did you POR the whole tank or just the surface with the pin hole? Where was the pin hole? Did it start from inside out or outside in? That must have been a lot of work. I would have patched the pin hole with epoxy from the outside and that would have stopped the leak.


I have read of at least one account of POR 15's tank sealer failure for WVO use. I do not remember the details, whether it was an OEM or custom tank, steel or aluminum, how the surface was prepped. The part I do remember is the tank sealer eventually coming off with WVO use.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

On the 85. To be clear, I only use the 85's main tank for diesel fuel. Not biodiesel or WVO. WVO all resides in the second tank.

The pinhole I think was inside out since it appeared after the tank was pressure washed. It was near the bottom, about 2" aft of the tank strainer opening.

The POR-15 tank sealer is meant to seal pinhole leaks, one of the reason I chose it for the application. I applied it over the entire inside of the tank, taping off threaded parts and vent holes. Even all the way up the filler neck is coated.

It was a decent amount of work, but I was replacing the floor pans on the car at the time so I was in the garage anyways. And it was May so I could cure the POR-15 outside in the sun.

I have done a lot of POR-15 application now, and the secret, like any paint project, is surface prep. I have not had POR-15 products fail on me once - but I have followed the surface prep guidelines to a T. This includes my entire '85's exhaust up to the resonator - harshest environment I could imagine with all the temp cycles and proximity to grime and salt.

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car