Update......DEAD
 

Well, as I mentioned a bit earlier in this thread the E300 ran fine on Saturday after a few miles of 'flakey' running. I did not run the car at all yesterday. Today I went out started the car and backed it out of the garage to sweep the garage. The car started right away any ran a bit rough for about three seconds. I left the car running just to see what would happen. After about a minute and a half it started to run very rough. It ran like this for almost a minute. I decided to get back in the back to 'nurse' the pedal to see if that would make any difference. The engine quit before I got in the car and it would not restart. I open the hood to find that the fuel lines had not fuel in them.:eek: The CEL is now on, but I have no idea what the code is at this time. I hope that this will be fixed with the K40 relay when it arrives. Right now the K40 is to arrive ‘overnight’ this Friday and then I am to leave Saturday morning for Indy. If it were not for the fact that I have the relay ordered (and hoping that this will fix the problem) I would call the dealership and have them pick up the car. I would have a loner for the weekend, but it would be a C Class and with the current plans the E300 would be packed pretty tight.

What does the IFI stand for? I am just curious as to how this car works. It has an IP not much unlike the one on my 300D. Why is there not fuel in the lines? Is there a separate fuel supply pump? Sometimes I think that the engine control on this car with a mechanical IP is more complicated than a common rail injected engine.

IFI is "Inline Fuel Injection," which (I believe) refers to the form-factor of the pump.

It's unlike that of your 300D in that the 300D has a mechanical control for the rack position, whereas on your E300 it's electrical, completely controlled by the PCU. On your E300, there is no mechanical connection between the accelerator pedal and the injection pump.

The "fuel supply pump" is called a "lift pump" and is responsible for bringing fuel from the tank to the secondary (large) filter. It's on the side of the injection pump. Your 300D has one as well, but on the 300D there is a manual control to prime the lines.

Further update....
 

I had the car towed to Shaver Imports in Fort Wayn, IN. This is the dealership that we bough it from. I called the dealership to have it towed. The service manager said that I had to call roadside assistance. The roadside assistance had a tech from Shaver's call me to tell me that it needed to be towed.:silly: What a !#@$%& setup. Apparently, M-B must believe that their customer's are idiots.......well, apparently I am for buying an E300.

See what happens.....

They don't expect anyone who buys their cars to do any work to them, at all. But neither do the US manufacturers, these days.

Whenever I call the dealer to ask for a part by number, they always ask me "Who is this?" I answer "Cash."

Today my wife says........
 

".....get rid of the car (E300) and get me something reliable. Even if it is old. As long as it is in decent condition as has working A/C."

She likes W123 wagons and Jetta wagons. So I might be selling the E300

The problem was the dealership needed $342.64 for a car wash and an o-ring.

The problem turned out to be the o-ring in the fuel prefilter. Here is the aggravating part...last November I had a leak on the fuel shut-off. The problem was the o-ring. I replaced that o-ring as well as all of the other 'clear' fuel lines along with the o-rings. That o-ring in the prefilter lasted 8 months:eek: . I now have another problem and I just started a post concerning that issue. I am sick of this alleged 'Mercedes'.

Perhaps, instead of a different car you need a better mechanic than your dealership...if they charged me $342 for an o-ring replacement I don't think I would go back to them again.

If I added up all the parts I have bought for my E300 in the past year I don't think it would be $342 and that includes front brakes (pads and rotors). I do the work myself on it now so it's quite a cheap ride...at least it has been since I have owned it.

I am curious though...does the $342 include the tow and if so then how much did they charge just to replace the $1 o-ring?

Of the $342, $133 was for the tow. So there are basically $211 for the o-ring service. However, I spoke with the servie department and went into great detail about the problem and my I questioned a fuel leak. The service included checking valve actuation and a few other misc items. I am not too disappointed in the cost, but I am agrivated about an o-ring that lasts 8 months.

Now I have a new problem...here is the link:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/158166-1999-e300-mad.html
I think that I am going to fix it and sell it.