Starton For The WIN !
 

Recently I got sick of the 17 gallon fuel tank in my 1982 240D and went searching for a 21 gallon one , all the local self - service bone yards have a hard on against Diesels because they not only punch holes in them for drainage , they also deliberately bend the filler necks for no apparent reason .

Anyway , in time I found one in an '84 sedan that had been sitting near the Pacific Ocean sans filler cap , fuel sender or back window ~ this means it was a prime fungus breeding ground , I bought it and was too rushed to take the time to clean out the visible black mossy looking crud in the bottom of it , I simply drained it and then installed it after laboriously hand cleaning the packed with fungus in tank strainer , added a quart of Startron and two gallons of Diesel, started it up and put it right back in my daily driving .


Of course the clear plastic intake screen filled up quickly with dead fungus chunks , they look line tiny lumps of coal .

Every time I got down to 1/4 tank (I drive 800 miles every 7 days) I'd remove this clear screen and blow it out backwards , each fillup I added 8 ounces of Startron , it took a couple of tank to kill it all off , the car never once ran poorly .

This stuff WORKS ! .

Other fungus killers simply kill the fungus so it then clogs up your screens and filters repeatedly , Starton eats it and results in fine particles that can easily pass right through the fuel system and out the exhaust without clogging nor damaging anything .

BTW : I'm LOVING the new tank ! 547 miles this last fillup and it didn't run out .

There is a fungus among us. :D

In automotive forum etiquette, "bump" is usually a reference to inadvertently striking one's head against the underside of the hood whilst performing engine maintenance. For each strike to the back of the head, a member will post the word "bump" to the forum. If you see multiple "bumps" from the same forum member, this is generally indicative of a headache.

about those larger fuel tanks....
 

Were the larger fuel tanks ever fitted to the W123 coupes, or was it just the sedans?

I am now thinking of picking up some of that startron stuff after reading this thread, BTW. That i know of, I havent had issues with fungus/algae/tadpoles in my various diesels fuel tanks, but like you said, it cant hurt to use it as a preventative measure.

W-123 Fuel Tanks
 

Yes the larger 21 gallon fuel tank was fitted to all 300D's and the Taxi 240D's as well .

Be aware it's CRITICAL to flush out that Junk Yard tank before installing it ! I didn't and I'm paying for my perfidy , I still have cloudy fuel dammit .


Cleaning it is pretty simple when it's loose in your hands , use gasoline and some BB's or whatever floats your boat but make dang sure it's HOSPITAL CLEAN before installing it .

I looked at the gasser tank and apart from the strainer , I see no difference .

My fuel economy must be down a bit ~ the low fuel lamp came on last night @ 492 miles .

When using a JY tank... be SURE the vent line isn't clogged up before you install... you WILL collapse a tank in short order...

No doubt. The IDI engine lift pump could literally "suck a golf ball thru a garden hose".

My question is, are these fuel tanks able to be installed on the coupes, or was it just the sedans? :confused:

"BUMP" means to post a nothing post to move the thread back to the top of the first page. Nothing to do with hitting your head.

I think he was using a little sarcasm there...some folks abuse the bump...

Thanx for the warning ! .

As it turned out, I rushed the job and didn't check the vent pipe .

I've already run about 2,000 miles in it (maybe more , I drive 800 miles every 7 days and I toss the fuel receipts as soon as I figure my fuel economy) .

It's good to go but obviously still has some tiny amount of growing stuff in it , I add a 1/2 pint +/- of Startron to every fillup and I only fill it when it's been on 'E' for a while ~ I've been getting 520 or so miles out of each tankful and still have tea colored fuel in the clear intake screen :mad: .

It'll be clean soon .

To - day I ran it 521 miles and it took 20 gallons to fill it up , 26. MPG's , should have been better but this last tank I was manually shifting the slush box a fair bit to get it up to freeway speed a bit faster , that always lowers my fuel economy .

I already answered the fuel tank question ~ YES you can remove the Coup's original 21 gallon fuel tank and replace it with another or the smaller 17 gallon tank .