HELP! 300CD Roadster crapped out on me today...
 

on the way to Midas to get the brakes checked...as I am likely trading in the 280CE on Friday...provided all my finances are lined up by then.

Here's what I know: The car started leaking diesel on the garage floor and there's quite a bit of it there since parking it about a month ago. The priming pump was quite wet with diesel and I picked up a spare to replace it, but haven't done so as the car hasn't been driven...until this morning.

The car started right up today though, and I let it idle for several minutes to smooth out the rough idle after starting. I made it halfway down the street when it dies. It just slowly stopped as if it ran out of fuel. :(

I tried cranking but the longer I tried the fewer and further apart the instances where it would almost fire.

I thought maybe my fuel guage was off, so I pulled out the diesel fuel can and got no more than a gallon into it before it was completely topped off. Nope, not it, the guage is good.

I pull off the filter (white, not clear so I couldnt' tell if there was fuel in it) and it started to run out...so I figured I was good up to there.

I started undoing the hardlines at the injectors and the front 4 appeared to have fuel, the back one gave me spit bubbles as I loosened it. I tried cranking the car with all 5 disconnected and I saw nothing coming out.

Any ideas? I will likely have to drive it this weekend and need to fix it ASAP.

My guess, in this order;

- Old style prime pump not screwed down all the way.

- Fuel filters clogged

- Fuel tank strainer clogged

I'll bring over the proper clear filter tonight for you(I have like 10)..


It ran fine before(when you picked it up)... and it has been sitting before and after you bought it. I wonder what the in tank screen looks like... surely that will not be fun with a full tank of diesel and current diesel prices.

I'll also rummage through my stuff and see if I have a spin on fuel filter as well

Sounds like you are pulling in a lot of air with the leaky primer pump.

Replace it and then check everything.

I'll do that tonite. I had to get to work and didn't have the time to try and fight with the priming pump on the side of the road when I already knew I'd be late for work.

My wagon had a similar issue until I replaced the primer pump. Make sure to upgrade to the new Bosch pump. No unscrewing and leaking.:)

I'll have to look for the Bosch part next time. The spare I've got is a (visibly) non-leaking one from a 300SD outta the salvage yard.

I think Ralph has your most likely scenario...... ;)

Try this...

pull the vacuum hose off the shut off valve and see it it keeps running. I had an issue in the SD where the vacuum switch in the dash started leaking and allowinng a small bit of vacuum to get to the valve on the IP. It would take 10-15 minutes and then the vacuum built up enough to shut down the car. It would shut down regardless of where the accelerator was. I replaced the switch and fixed the issue. It would run fine for a while then start to slow down as the valve closed off the fuel rack until it would gently shut down.

I'll bring my mity vac as well

Do you still have the 280CE?

And what are you asking for it?

last posted add in Tampa craigslist was on the 25th for 3K

James- I'll almost gaurantee you if the primer is the spin off style and is leaking that much that its the cause of your problems. Get a new one, they're cheap. Another member did an excellent write up on how to replace it- see it here: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/109076-heres-my-payback-diesel-primer-pump-replacement.html?highlight=pump

also has the part number listed at that link...

Thanks Johnhef...I've got TheDon making a call for me today on a new one. My spare from the junkyard was even worse than the one on the car!

Yes, I still have the 280CE...and I'm still asking $3k (what I paid) for it. It's got just over 180k miles and no rust...If I can get the $$ scraped together by Friday, I'm trading it and "some cash" on another car. I'd rather the car stay here in the family...but it's got to go or I'll miss out on the deal I'm about to make.