You did not say what was causing the filters to plug up so often. Are you using diesel or an alternate fuel? In the long run it you might consider fixing whatever is causing the plugging problem or switch to a larger fuel filter.

kragens are horrible .. id much rather deal with autozone .. prices are usually higher and returning a item is a huge hassle .. autozone on the other hand takes anything back no questions ..

I'm found I think two mechanics in Oakland, ca, who are supposed to be very good, and reasonably priced. A David Pham, and James Auto Repair. Now I have to decide who to go to...David Pham quoted $95 to diagnose, and around $550 if he had to tune up and replace the big fuel filter..(don't know the name..sorry), the other shop said they would drive it to see the problem, and they said the labor is around $47 for a half hour so it should be around $50 for a diagnosis...I don't know much about repair except for changing the little filter so i Really want a Good, Honest mechanic....

Still need to know if you are using diesel fuel from the local gas station or not.
If it is only plugging up the little plastic filters the problem is somewhere between the filter and the fuel tank. If that is so there is not too much to diagnose.
If you are buying good clean fuel there must be some contamination in your fuel system (there is a type of algae that can grow in the fuel tank).
Some of the other members (I have not had to do this to my car so far) should be able to give you the names of several really good preparations that you can pour into your fuel tank (follow the directions on the bottle) that have a good chance of cleaning your tank and killing tha algae.
However when you put the cleaner into the take the gunk is going to loosen up and plug up your filters again. You will need to have extra filters including the "big" filter and also have someone who is able to change the filters when they become plugged.
You will also need to start this like on Friday after work so that when the filters plug you will have time to change them when you do not need to use your car. Eventually the gunk will be (dead) and cleaned out and it will stop plugging you filters.
The other alternative is to have the fuel tank taken out of the car and cleaned.

Would someone recommend something to clean the fuel tank.
I hope one of the members living in your area will tell you a source of a good mechanics so you can have some other sources.

I use diesel fuel from the service station. Do you know how often the big fuel filter should be changed?..I'm sorry I don't know the correct name. I see you're from Long Beach. My ex LA mechanic who is excellent and Very reasonable lives nearby if you'd like his contact info. Do you have a ballpark range of repair for someone to replace this?...In the bay area, the prices seem to be all over the place; most quite expensive.
Thanks

The "big" filter is the "spin-on" type filter that looks like this:

http://catalog.worldpac.com/mercedesshop/sophio/quote.jsp?clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&cookieid=1CQ0J3JZ428Y00RIQH&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&partner=mercedesshop&year=1983&product=E1000-11961&application=000005444

It costs about $10 and can be installed in a about 5 minutes (not a big deal). There is always some debate as to how often to replace them. I believe the "book" says 30,000 miles, but in reality they can get clogged anytime resulting in a loss of power. It is a very good idea to know how to replace it and have a spare with the necessary tools in your car. This is the type of thing that your shop could do when they are doing an oil change for an extra $20, or so.

If you are frequently clogging the small filter, you probably have some debris in your fuel tank that needs to be cleaned out. That is likely to take a couple of hours and cost a couple/few $100.

I would recommend finding a good shop that you can trust for routine maintenance (oil changes, valve adjustment every 15,000 miles, transmission service every 30,000 miles, etc.). They will be able to help you diagnose the fuel issue and, hopefully you can get them to show you how to replace the filter if necessary.

When I bought the car on ebay the owner lived nearby and showed me how to replace this filter...but that was a while ago. I have a couple books, manuals for the car in the trunk...Maybe I'll try and do myself?...Do you think the written word would be enough or do you think Someone has to be there to do this?
Also is there yet another filter that has to be changed at some point?
Thanks

The basic process for changing this filter is to loosen the bolt on top of the filter housing and unscrew the old filter, screw on the new filter and tighten the bolt, prime the filter with the hand pump (near the small filter) and restart the car. In practice, it's easier if you fill the new filter with fuel or an additive (like power service) so you don't have to prime it as much. It's not that hard, sometimes the bolt will tend to leak if it's not tight enough or the washer is damaged.

The only other fuel "filter" is a screen in the bottom of the fuel tank. It can become clogged if you have lots of debris in your tank for some reason. Changing it is considerably more difficult and tends to make a large mess.

inline Bosch filters are $1.78 at ***************

I've always had good service from them.

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'79 300SD
'82 Chevy Chevette diesel

Before you remove the big fuel filter be sure that you have the 2 "O" rings that go on the filter bolt. Ask some of the members for the part number. The last time I changed my big filter I did not change those O rings and ended up with a fuel leak around the filter bolt. I got the O rings and replaced them and no leak.
The bolt you loosen (put something under the car to catch the fuel that will leak out) to remove the filter is in the middle where the black #1 is. This is also the blolt that has the 2 "O" rings on it (you need to pull the bolt out to change the O rings). Ounce you loosen the #! bolt the filter you will be able to spin the filter off by hand or put your hand under the filter and turn the #1 bolt out until the filter comes off.
Pull the #1 bolt out and replace the 2 O rings. Put a little diesel fuel on the O rings and push it back into its hole. Take the new filter and put some diesel fuel on the rubber gasket on the filter. Fill the filter up with clean diesel fuel or screw the filter onto the filter bolt firmly by hand and loosen the bolt #2. Pump on the hand primer until all of the air is out of the filter and you are getting fuel out of the loosened bolt #2. Tighten up bolt #2 and try to start your car. It may take awhile for all of the air to get out of your system before it starts and runs ok.

The small plastic filter is called the primary in-line fuel filter.
The big metal filter is called the secondary fuel filter and costs more.
The screen filter in the fuel tank is the fuel strainer.

My 300d running on wvo has many plastic in-line filters and one oil filter/water separator in the engine compartment and I'm about to add another oil filter/water separator so I can reroute the lines when one filter fails so I don't get stranded on the road. You can never have enough filters.

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1987 Mercedes 300sdl, 280k mi (daily driver)
1982 Mercedes 300sd, 205k (occupying driveway)
1985 Mercedes 300d, CA, 148+ mi.
1986 Chevrolet suburban, 50k? or 150k? mi, diesel
1998 BMW 740il, 120k mi (for sale)
1999 Honda CBR900RR, 42k
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sport, 103k miles (sold)

Hi,
Thanks much for all your advice..i talked to Phil about parts and he suggested i give Roy a call; that he would be happy to give me advice...
Well Roy told me that before I change the filter, i should prime the pump and if there was any liquid to replace??...Anyway, this is over my head so I think I'll leave it to a professional. But at least I can tell him what I want done...I think....I wish Roy was a mechanic and lived in my area...But Detroit is a bit far, even though I Love my car.....

This is pretty easy, as mentioned, fill up the spin on filter before installing. When I do this, I loosen the small bolt on top of the filter housing, top most, when I'm pumping the primer to fill up the primary, clear in line, filter, when a little fuel comes out there, tighten it back down, I have always had the car start right up.
Your primer pump is probably a white one near the in line filter, you need to unscrew it to pump, many of those leak and have been replaced with a newer style black unit that does not need unscrewing, just pump.
The pic shows the new style. The in line filter you see is not connected to the fuel system, I put that in the windshield washer line, just in case.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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83 SD

84 CD

i found some universal ones at my local parts retailer for 99 cents so i stocked up on them.

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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.