99 E300D No Start

[cewyattjr]

So on my way home Friday, car stumbles to a halt. Fuel leak. I can see a loose fuel hose. It's a hose that heads way down below the manifold. About 3 weeks ago, I had a local engineer put in a veg system, so my guess was that this particular fuel insert connect was perhaps not inserted securely, or for whatever reason, came completely disconnected. Fuel would spill whenever I cranked.

I had AAA, so had it towed home.

I spent today getting the manifold off, reinserted the fuel line. "Felt" secure at least. Put everything back together. No doubt air in the lines at this point, I'm assuming. Now unfortunately the tow truck left me nose-up in my driveway. Not a major hill, but definitely a few degrees incline the wrong way.

No luck getting a start at this point. After several hours of cranking/jumping, I'm just going to let it rest for a bit. But here's one symptom: I cracked the injector line closest to the fuel filter, I'm not seeing ANY juice come out.

What's the best method to purge? I'm cranking, assuming it is the highest point, I'm pulling the fuel filter and filling to the brim, put it back, crank again.

I'm getting some very slight stumbling, but that's it. Shouldn't I see some fuel come out of the open injector line, especially if I feel a stumble?

Stumped and tired at this point. Argh.

Thanks for any insight or wisdom!

-Chuck