SO... as some of you may remember my 240D has been up at my friends house... well he has pretty much refused to work on it. and i just now got around to getting it.

another friend of mine just got out of the air force and is going to be around town with no car. i told him of my situation with the 240 and he was excited at the idea of getting it going. so we spent one night working on it... no luck, she just wouldn't start. she (the 240) is stuck in Auburn. its cold there at night. so we bought it a block heater, and installed that. today at around 1pm (hot middle of the day....) we went to the car and tried to start her... and she fired up!!! ok she was just cold...

so we took her for a drive. got about 1.5 miles from the house and she just up and died. so we walked back to the house to get my SD. got there and tried to jump the 240. no luck. so i called my friend's sister and she came and we double jumped the 240. and it started. ok so the battery is weak...

drove the car down into Rocklin to get some diesel. (we don't turn the car off) my friend pulls forward after fueling. and the car just dies. we were at the gas station for about an hour. another one of my friends came in his Toyota truck for another double jump. but the car wouldn't start. so i disconnected the rod between the butterfly valve on the intake and the injection pump. held the butterfly open and WAM! she starts. OK its an adjustment in the rod...

take it back to the house. adjust the rod till the engine sounds perfect. we turn it off. and she still won't start...

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what is wrong with this thing?
the block is hot!
the battery could still be low.
and how does the throttle on this car work?

with the butterfly disconnected. the butterfly seems to control the engine speed, but as the butterfly opens if it were connected to the IP it would pull on a lever that leans out the engine. so with that hooked up it must be adding air and taking away fuel. how does that work?

what adjustment needs to be made to make this car stable?

new battery? but the battery i have for it starts my SD just fine.

what else is there?

i'm about fed up with this car.
garrett has an extra 617.952 hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

BUT I LIKE THE LITTLE 240D

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Have you tested the compression of the engine?

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

I cant say for certain on the 115's, but I know on the 123's that throttle butterfly was only there for emissions reasons (and can be removed) and actually doesn't control the engine (though it may affect how it runs by altering the airflow). The fuel is still regulated through the IP. They only put those on 240's for some reason.

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Chris
64 190D R.I.P.
80 240D W/617 engine -for sale
82 240D -for sale

I don't have a compression tester. but is sounds like there is compression... i mean you can hear it try to start. like its stumbling.

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Even with low compression you still have compression. You just have enough to say, uh, start.........

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

on a diesel two main things to check first. filters and fuel. ok three, filters, fuel (clean and bacteria free), and correctly functioning glow plugs. Have you changed both fuel filters? Have you put biocide in the fuel tank? Do you know the glow plugs are working? oh yes, four things, clean air filter too. On that car there is an oil bath oil filter, so clean that out and fill with the right oil to the right level.

These things are essential to good operation of a diesel. Check these things and probably 90% of the time your starting problem will be solved.

My gut says you have bacteria in your tank.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

yep and yep
Installed new fuel filters, was running it off a bottle under the hood. then swapped it over to the main tank. it has new diesel in it. i had it up to 95 on the freeway while it was running. it only has a problem when it comes to starting. i took the air cleaner off to bypass that. and the glow plugs are working great. i took them out and checked them and they are in good shape.

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Good and good....did you treat the tank with biocide?

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

nope. i'll have to try that.

are their special adapters for the glow plugs for the compression tester? or do i have to pull the injectors? where do i buy such a compression tester? is it the same as the ones for the gas car?

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Ill be in the olympia area in a couple days, ill come take a look if you like. Usually you dont test compression by glowplugs, you test them through the fuel injector port.

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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

As long as they would add one additional commandment for you to keep thy religion to thyself.
George Carlin (Wonder where he is now..)

1981 240d (engine donor 1983 240d) recently rebuilt engine hurray! - No more.. fought a tree and the tree won.

pearl black 1983 240d 4speed (Converted!@$$%) atleast the tranny was rebuilt.

but it can be done either place if you have the right fitting.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Compression tester for diesels is not the same as a gasser. It has to read higher pressures. Got mine at Harbor Freight. It came with lots of adapters including ones for the glow plug holes or the injectors. Have used the one for the glow plug holes. Have to put a 90 degree adapter on the glow plug adapter to fit in the spaces between block and IP/oil filter housing.

Could be your starter is not turning the engine fast enough. Have you checked the voltage at the glowplugs when they're supposed to be glowing? When was the last valve adjustment?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I have the factory engine manual for the OM 615, 616 and 617 engines that went into the 115 chassis vehicles. The idle adjustments are done first using the cable adjustment feature at the bracket that is bolted to the valve cover for the knob that you turn on the dash board to control idle speed. Once that has been tried, if you cannot adjust the idle speed, you go to the butterfly throttle plate at the input to the intake manifold plenum. That connection is on the rear side of the engine, closest to the firewall. The throttle linkage connection on the front side is a different linkage and responds to your foot on the throttle.

The little reach rod from the injection pump lever to this idle throttle plate comes in two lengths (long, and, as it were, short) and the manual gives specific lengths for these, but in the end, once the idle speed is set correctly, the reach rod is supposed to be loose. The idea is to take that off the connection to the butterfly throttle plate and, with the car running at normal temperature, adjust the position of the butterfly throttle plate with a little screw next to, and on the top of linkage the reach rod engaged. Then, with the idle adjustment screw on the dash set all the way to slow, and idle at normal operating temperatures set to an acceptable speed, you put the little reach rod back on, making sure it is "loose" and not pulling the throttle plate out of its set position. When you step on the throttle pedal, the engine gets more fuel, but until the butterfly throttle plate opens, the engine won't come off idle. When it does though, the throttle pedal response is notably different - more linear and positive.

I am not sure why the older Diesels use this, but I think it has something to do with avoiding runaway conditions where the engine will run on blowby gasses or something and without load, can self destruct. I do know in the 1960's and 1970's MB Diesels were the taxi cab vehicle of choice and in the winter they would let them idle for long periods to avoid having to cold start them all the time. It may have something to do with the duty they used to see.

So, you may not be starting readily because you are not set up right - to much or too little fuel, or the wrong amount of air. Or it may be the starter, as has been noted already. Jim

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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 for all the input. i'm going to check the valves ether today or tomorrow. I adjusted them when i first got the car 6 months ago. and its been sitting about half that time... i would guess that they would still be in spec. but we all know how engines are... sometimes things like the valves stay in spec for years some times they are outta spec in a week.

i'll check the adjustment of the linkage. hopefully that will make a difference. and i'll be going to harbor freight to look for that compression tester.

thanks

i'll let you guys know how it goes.

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