Well, it sucks that it is getting hard to fix. But I still think it ought to be something simple. You say it turns over with smoke, that suggests to me no pre heat.

What do you need to make a diesel go?

Fuel and compression, and in a precombustion engine , pre-heat.

You say you have fuel at the injector lines ,
320 and 410 compressions, so it should light up on at least some of them.
Need pre heat.

If I were there , my next move would be to pull the glow plugs and hot link them individually to the battery to visually check they glow. Then clear the carbon from the hole they go in. The 617 starts pretty good with glow and compression ok, the only other thing that usually gets me is an old battery running out of grunt.

Still no go? Is it water in the fuel? Is the engine cranking fast enough?

__________________
'72 240D
'76 300D
'88 300sel
'40 Chev pickup , the shop hack.
'73 Monte Carlo Landau, for "Super Chevy Sunday"

You know I'm no mechanic. I've had a lot of broken down old cars and I like this one, but there is a time to give up. I had it towed to a shop today. I really hope that I just miss read a test and it is something stupid.

After reading many "won't start" postings hope my recap helps some people. Thanks for your help. I'll post what the shop says when I find out.

At least my Train/ buss ride home was really nice. I got to extend my Tahoe vacation

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

Your compression numbers indicate a blown head gasket at the two low cylinders. Sometimes if your valve adjustment is off it will cause you to get low compression numbers. I'd check the valve adjustment on those two low cylinders looking to see if they are too tight meaning the valves don't close fully during the compression stroke. If not that and it still doesn't start and you know you are getting fuel and its not the glow plugs, then it is most likely a blown head gasket.

BenzDiesel

Very possible with those numbers.

An oddity that I should mention is that the car was started and moved a few hours after my long drive. It never got hot going up the hill and drove fine. There wasn't any abnormal amount of smoke at any time as well. Positive thinking here as I wait to hear from the shop.

I really hope that because I didn't have time to pull the plugs and check them by hand that this is the problem.

Do they got warm to the touch on the outside when you warm them up? That's one thing I was wondering about.

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

the glow plugs do get very warm externally when working.

Diesel engines rely on the compression of gases to achieve combustion. This is fine in some conditions, however when the outdoor temperature is low, or the engine's cold, glow plugs are required to assist starting. Standard glow plug electrodes reach temperatures of roughly 850°C (1562°F) and take a while to preheat the engine in readiness for combustion.

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If this is true then it has to be a glow plug issue.

The shop said they think its a blown head gasket. I'm not sure if I trust this random shop. They never call me back

I've had a car blow a head gasket. You notice when it happens, smoke smell. It wasn't extra smoky or smelly when I finished my drive. Could it have blown with out the usual symptoms, or possibly when I was trying to start it? It was a bit smoky at that point.

I could technically run straight wire from the battery to the plugs to start it if it is the plugs right? It has to be this if the plugs never got hot after cycling them 3-5 times right?

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

If you run a wire direct from the battery , you will be isolating the glow circuit , which is a good way to start checking the circuit for faults , if it starts , then it is a circuit fault , not the glow plugs.
No start and there will be two or more plugs out. (I've started mine with one dead plug , it was a little difficult to get going , but did start up.)
I think you really need to pull the plugs and watch them light up, take care , they get yellow hot.

__________________
'72 240D
'76 300D
'88 300sel
'40 Chev pickup , the shop hack.
'73 Monte Carlo Landau, for "Super Chevy Sunday"

Where's the diesel purge get the 15 psi needed to fill the elements in the IP?

I'm not quite sure what your asking Brian, but I did bleed the air from the system at the highest point where the return line is.

The second day I worked on it, I tired starting it many times after hooking the original system back up with a new filter and bleeding the air, with diesel in the tank.

Thanks for the continuous help by the way.

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

Having a basic knowledge of the system is somewhat important before you dig into it.

The IP cannot fill without being provided with pressurized fuel. This is provided by the fuel pump on the side of the IP. It draws fuel from the tank and provides a constant pressure to the IP. If you decided to run fuel directly to the IP..........my question still stands............where did the IP get the 15 psi needed to fill the elements?

Sounds like bad glowplugs. Check the resistance, they should all be < 1 ohm. Easy and cheap to check and fix. They don't need to be pulled to check, just attach the meter to each one and to ground. They go bad often. Simply checking for voltage at the plugs isn't enough.

__________________
87 Mercedes 300TD, 81 300D, 95 Dodge Cummins 4x4

there are glow plug failures where the test meter gives false readings.

This is why I trust the simple bench glow test, it is never wrong.



Glow plugs link thread
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/137732-glow-plugs-link-thread.html#post1019018

Brian I should have wrote that I put the diesel purge at the primer pump not at the IP, thus giving the correct pressure.

Okay so in its simplest form when I go back to Tahoe on Monday I'm going to:

Check the ohms of the plugs.

Bypass the GP circuit because they don't get hot to the touch. (But I am confused that I got 12v at the black wire to the plugs and they still were not hot.)

If she still doesn't start I'm going to pull the plugs and check them. If they all glow bright red then...

I'm going to put in the new monark injectors that I bought.

Still no start then tow it home and do another compression test and probably give it some a head gasket after a leack down test and valve adjustment check.

Missing any thing?

thanks again

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

I think you need to re-examine the GP's, it sounds like you have everything going for you except the GP's.

Ok, i had a no start condition recently. My issue was that I left my rear defroster on, along with the antenna trying to go up and down while cranking the engine over. This lowered the crank speed enough to cause a no start with lots of smoke. Just a thought.

Also, you are now at 6k feet elevation. I dont think that is affecting anything, but maybe it could...I dont know

Over Donner pass in a wounded car? You are gutsier than I :-) I hope someday I can drive my 300D cross country and take it through Donner Pass, what a great drive. Last March I drove it in a Dodge Caliber rental car at night, in a storm, NOT fun.

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car