Hello,
my name is charan, I am 17yrs.old
I am thinking about buy a 1982 5 cylinder sedan 300 Turbo Diesel with 100,000 miles for $1,200 obo. The owner say it runs good, but it won't start cold, that he sprays a little bit of starting fluid where the air filter is and it starts right up, and it will start no problem after that until it gets cold. he says he replaced the glow plugs and the fuel filter. Does anyone know what it could be and if that sounds like a good deal? Please let me know,. Also, I was going to convert it to run on Veggie Oil , can anybody tell me the steps on doing that myself?!
Thanks
Charan

If all it has wrong with it is cold starting issues, and assuming everything else is in good condition, I'd say for that price with that mileage you've probably got a good deal. They're probably asking a low price because they don't know how to fix something that could be as simple as a bad relay. Something electrical that involves the plugs or the relay is most likely the problem since it starts fine when hot. Do a search on these topics and you'll find hours of reading. Good luck.

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Seth

1984 300D 225K
1985 300D Donor body
1985 300D Turbo 165K. Totaled. Donor Engine. It runs!!!
1980 300SD 311K My New Baby.
1979 BMW 633csi 62K+++? Dead odo

He says everything is good on it, The engine, Trani.. What are some things you would check before buying it? I know on a gas car you look for smoking and knocking ect. I have never owned a diesel.. so I don't know.
Where would you search about the relay and plug info, Google?

I replied in the other forum too... I forgot about valve adjustment and rack damper bolt position too.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

No, not Google -- this site's search feature has a ton of maintenance tips, discussions, and tutorials on it -- it takes some work & reading to find what you need, but keep after it. Protocol on this site is that you only ask for help after you have read everything you can find in the search. Diesel Giant has some useful tutorials on his site, too.

For veggie lore, go to Frybrid.com & read all the archives & current stuff. To sum a lot of that up, you must have a system in place that heats the (well filtered) vegetable oil to 160F before injecting it, or you'll ruin your engine. Some people disagree with that, but I have read several accounts of people ignoring this advice & figuring they were OK because they engines ran well ----- only to have the engines die because the cold veg produced coke, which is carbon, which ate the engine up.

Good luck.

Ed

Probably the glow plug circuit.

http://dieselgiant.com/glowplugrepair.htm

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1981 300D 147k
1998 VW Jetta Tdi 320k
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 141k
1979 300D 234k (sold)
1984 300D "Astor" 262k(sold)
Mercedes How-To and Repair Pictorials
I love the smell of diesel smoke in my hair

I agree, it is most likely one of two things...possibly both. Glow plugs (and/or their related circuit) or a valve adjustment. There could be collateral damage though from the seller's use of ether...unless the glow plugs are completely dead.

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Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Well the seller did state that the glow plugs were replaced. Now granted that doesn't mean that they work, and most sellers lie like crazy, so take that with a grain of salt.

It could be a number of things, from a simple relay to broken rings and no compression.

Read and learn a lot about what you are buying on this site. Also find a shop that knows these cars well and have a PPI done.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

If it is plugged in (block heater), will it start then?

I'd rather see someone have it plugged in, until they can fix what's wrong, than to see them spray starting fluid in it.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D