Well, while you are just hanging around, why not test the glow plugs to see which ones are bad and which ones are not? I very seriously doubt all of them are no good. If none are getting power there is a fuse in the box on the right front fender that may be shot. In that box there is a plug that has the glow plug connections on it, labelled by cylinder number front of engine to back. You check the resistance from the plug socket/pin for each glow plug to ground. Depending on the plugs you have, there is a specific resistance value and tolerance. Burned out plugs register infinite resistance, and internally shorted ones have too little. But they typically fail open in short order. So, you are essentially looking for resistance values that are within a few tenths of an Ohm (I believe mine are around 1.8 Ohms) of each other, in the low single Ohm numbers. Only bad ones need to be replaced.

The other issue is fuel. I believe your car has a pump on the front side of the injection pump that is for hand priming the system. You unscrew the knurled (actually too nice a description - it has some rough, sharp cut grooves designed by some S&M Nazi that will peel the skin off your fingers while pumping the pump) top, and then lift it up and push it down a few hundred times or until you hear a sort of "buzzing" noise on the downstroke and feel some resistance. Once the system is primed you push the plunger down and screw the top back down finger tight, and then you can try to start it. Without fuel, glow plugs are pointless. And once you get fuel in there, you have to make sure there are no air leaks. So, once it starts let it run while you look for leaks.

Other items that affect the ability to start are valve adjustments, and the viscosity of the oil. As it gets colder these features can play a bigger role. You need all the heat of compression you can get in cold weather, and valves that close at the wrong time preclude generating the highest compression and temperatures. Overly thick oil also places a significant extra load on the starter, which slows the speed of the engine down. And, when the engine slows down the cold block acts as a heat sink, lowering the air temperature in the combustion chamber.

So, while you are waiting around, you can be addressing some of the items. That fuse is a few cents compared to the $60 glow plugs and if you have been energizing the glow plugs a lot, it seems likely that if none are working now that the fuse and not the glow plugs themselves are at fault.

Keep us posted and good luck, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Thanks JimSmith for the reply. I have checked the fuse it is good. Only one glow plug is good. Valves may need adjusting. I need to learn the procsess before trying. Or let a shop take care of that. Heard it's only a 1 hour job for a shop.

I was planning to keep working on her. My friend is lending me his truck so that I can get back to work. I have quite a shopping list. I need manuals and a few more tools and parts. Now that the flow of cash is coming in things can move forward. I'll just keep at her until I (we) figure it out.

I will be focusing on getting her started then I'll try to figure out my tranny problem. I'm leaning towards a B2 piston failure. None of the forward gears respond and the buggy has over 250k, about right for a b2 failure I would think from all I've been able to read and gather.

I have a couple of ideas but first need to understand a few answers to some of the earlier questions before trying to prescribe a solution to the core problem.

Did you locate the electrical cord and male plug for the engine block heater?

If yes, did you plug it in to a live electrical circuit for at least 5 hours or more before you tried to crank with the ignition key?

Third, did you use the manual fuel primer pump until your were confident the lines are presurized?

Finally, using the ignition key, did you cycle the glow plugs several times and then spin the engine continuously for a good long time (perhaps as much as up to two minutes)...or did you stop before 60 seconds?

__________________
Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis

Let me edit my earlier post...

Please do not operate your starter for longer than 15 seconds without a rest
for the starter in between attempts of at least one minute to allow the starter
to COOL off.
I promise you will not like R+R ing the starter on this model Mercedes(It damn
near killed me to have to do it with the car on a set of ramps from underneath!)

HINT:Find the block heater cord and plug it in for some hours(at least 3)
With fuel and compression the SD will start in 3 revolutions or less.

this is the silliest thread I have ever read ....

Get some glow plugs and put them in the damn car.

My 2 cents

billy

Been in a fiscal crunch MANY, MANY times!

I've got two used, but working, BOSCH GPs you are welcome to. PM me with an address, I'll put them in the mail.

That'll give you 3 working plugs. I pulled these out of my 1983 240D OM616, pencil tip. Think they will work for you.

Anyone else? Only 2 plugs shy of full compliment!

Baby that tranny!

I think you said that very well. I thought of it, but decided to hold back this time.

__________________
Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

was your final repair?

My assumption is that it is running now.