Ok, so I adjusted my valves for the first time, had three exhaust valves that were super tight. None of the intake were tight. Erred on the side of letting them be a little loose, as I wasn't sure how tight they should be on the feeler gauge. Should the feeler gauge have some resistance when pushed in?

Also, what affect would loose valves have on the car?

I did this adjustment due to hard starts (as in I have to push on the pedal to get the car started, only when the car is cold), more smoke, more vibrations, horrible mpg. As of now, the smoke seems decreased, the vibrations the same, not sure about mpg yet and I still have hard starts when cold.

What else could my hard starts be? An air leak maybe?

Vibrations could be a number of things, most probably motor mounts.

So yeah, I mostly want to know what loose valves would do to the car. Also, if I opened it back up next week and tightened them up a bit, would the new valve cover gasket still be cool to use? Dumb question I know, just want to make sure.

Thanks,
David

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1985 300D. 179,000 miles.

Just a slight drag is perfect.

slightly more noise is all


Bad glow plug would be my first thought.


as long as it is not hardened up you do not need to replace it.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

I checked all the glow plugs and they all showed .6 ohms, I didn't remove them to check them though, I just hooked up the voltmeter to each one.

David

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1985 300D. 179,000 miles.

The shop supv. at the first diesel shop I worked at said to push the throttle in 1/2 way on diesels when starting, but back off after cranking 5 seconds, as extra fuel doesn't help a bad situation. (That was a mack fleet). So I don't worry about pushing in a bit on my 240D. My glow plugs also read 1 ohm, the minimum on my voltmeter. The glow plug relay can be dirty, check the voltage at the plug when starting, should be 11 or 10 on a cold start. Also, at 185000 mi, your injectors are probably dribbling instead of spraying. If the exhaust smokes with a hot engine, that is a bad sign. I put new injectors in my 240D for $240, took about 3 hours, no harder than spark plugs but be careful not to cross thread the injector tubes, and you'll probably need new injector drainback hoses too, mine popped off next week after change and dumped 1/4 tank of fuel in a couple of miles.

Unrelated to my valve adjustment questions, I totally forgot to say how dumb I am, I had removed one of the cloth injector return lines when I took off the valve cover and then forgot to hook it back up, drove the car around the block and then the car died, had to spend a while bleeding air out of the system.

I did notice however, that no fuel spilled out, even after driving 3 blocks. Would this be a sign that the injectors aren't spraying enough?

Also, does anyone have any opinions on if I should replace with Bosch injectors or just replace the nozzles with Bozio Nozzles like the tutorial on Diesel Giant says to do? Would there be any benefit to replacing the whole injectors as opposed to just the nozzles?

Also, I do have smoke when warm.

Thanks,
David

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1985 300D. 179,000 miles.

Depending on how tight your valves were, your hard starting issue could have to do with burned valves and low compression in those cylinders! The only way to make sure would be to do a compression check. Valves that don't close properly are often an overlooked culprit of the problem you mentioned.

I replaced all five with Bosch, didn't get a chance to drive much after that, died of other causes, but didn't notice any difference. Unless your injector body is damaged, no need to replace. You're going to need a bench vise tho.

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83 SD

84 CD

I have to be the one to ask the stupid questions. Did you change fuel filters?