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  #1  
Old 03-01-2007, 07:29 PM
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cold starting is becoming hard to do..

I adjusted the valves back in november, and just replaced the glow plugs two weeks ago... but the 84 300TD is getting more cold blooded by the week.. it has now taken to sputtering in to a slow running condition each morning after having the block heater plugged in for two hours.. some times it takes 15seconds to catch... would it be time for a compression test? or could there be some other reason? I am gonna re adjust the valves this weekend if I get out of work in time, But is there something that I might be overlooking? once it runs, it seems to be the same as normal...
I will not be able to get back in front of a computer until may be next week, but I will look forward to your suggestions.. and report back on the valve adjust/checking procedure.
Jason

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Old 03-01-2007, 07:48 PM
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check all filters, what kind of plugs did u use?, and how many miles since ur last valve adjustment?
just how cold is it, u might want to add some antigel
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Old 03-01-2007, 07:56 PM
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If the plugs were all installed at the same time, they could be burning out one at a time within a couple of weeks of each other. Also check your strip fuse as you may have several out of its difficult to start after a couple of hours with the block heater.

You say its getting more cold blooded so that means at one point it used to fire right up, right?
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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
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Old 03-01-2007, 09:15 PM
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try cleaning your injectors with diesel purge? your spray pattern may not be sufficient enough for cold starts........i think i'm going to try to get that MB diesel compression test kit from one of the many sellers on ebay.........it's a nice tool to have (alongside the essential mityvac) for diesel owners..
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Old 03-01-2007, 09:23 PM
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new filter in november, 6K ago.. run power service every tankful until green grass shows up.. temps are up over last month from low in the negative 5 to 15 range to now where it is only going down to single numbers.. last november it would start down to 10*F with out a block heater, now it struggles to do it with the block heater... and it has been my gut feeling that something has been slowly worse, causing it to start hard... But it has been really noticeable in the last week...
used glow plugs from fastlane, bosch I believe.. and yes 4 of them burned out all at once a month ago.. prior to that it seemed as if it was being a little cold blooded but it was wicked cold all january/feburary so it seemed rash to assume it was the car.. new glow plugs fixed it up good for 2 weeks or so.. then it has just gotten much slower to fire up...

What are the "fuse strip" s? fuses, or fuseable links? or is that the 80 amp fuse on the glow plug timer.. i think the timer is working, as it will fire right up once it has been driven in the past 4 hours, just when it sits overnight..

Oh and it has been about 6k since the last valve adjustment.. although I am gonna check it again, as the the engine seems to start hitting on 1 or 2 cylinders first for a couple revolutions then the others chime in... ...?
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Old 03-01-2007, 09:30 PM
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Did you ream the carbon out of the gp holes? You could have some carbon build-up in there that's touching the gp's and shorting them out, or you could have another bad plug or two. At those temps, my car will light right up as long as all five plugs are glowing good but get even one bad one, and it will significantly increase the cranking time and make it stumble on startup.

Check out Dieselgiant's gp troubleshooting page for info on the 80 amp fuse and an all around fantastic gp guide.
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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
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  #7  
Old 03-01-2007, 10:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sailor15015 View Post
Did you ream the carbon out of the gp holes? You could have some carbon build-up in there that's touching the gp's and shorting them out, or you could have another bad plug or two. At those temps, my car will light right up as long as all five plugs are glowing good but get even one bad one, and it will significantly increase the cranking time and make it stumble on startup.

Check out Dieselgiant's gp troubleshooting page for info on the 80 amp fuse and an all around fantastic gp guide.

good post/information...definitely something to be aware of...

and JD, what is "power service"?

same as diesel purge?
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Old 03-01-2007, 10:59 PM
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Power Service is one of the more readily-available diesel fuel additives. Most places sell it, including Wal-Mart. It comes in two versions, white and grey bottles. The white bottle boosts cetane by three points and is intended more for anti-gel in colder climates. The grey boosts cetane by six points and is more for a performance gain but still has anti-gel properties.

Power Service is added to the tank while Diesel Purge is most effective when ran undiluted in a makeshift fuel tank (juice bottle) straight through the engine.
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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
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  #9  
Old 03-14-2007, 02:51 PM
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updated symptoms

So The car still starts hard... 4 glow plugs were replaced, and that helped for a short while... now it will start on its own at around 20* and above.. starting to think it is an injection problem, so there is a bunch of power service in the fuel. that may help a bit, but it still is not right.

My question is: should I assume it is a fuel issue, or look to a compression test to start with?

Sailor 15015 , no I did not know to ream out the G.P.'s although the old ones seemed to be fairly clean... if that makes any difference.

Thanks

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