Hi all,
New here.
Have a problem which is driving me up the wall, The car fails to start in the cold, its as if its run out of fuel.
I replaced all the plastic fuel pipes last year because of air in the pipes, now i have noticed that the air is back and there is fuel on top of the injector pump.
Read the thread on changing the seals in the pump and going to try and replace them today or tomorrow.
does anybody know if this would cause the injectors to bleed back and suck in a s**t load of air.

Cheers.
Paul.

I have a 96 E300d, and about a year ago I did the delivery valve seals. In my case, the top of the ip was damp, and I was getting a small puddle of diesel accumulating in the lower belly pan. There were no starting or performance issues. I don't believe that leaking delivery valve seals would allow air to enter the system at a point where it would be visible in the clear lines to the naked eye. Usually cold starting issues can be associated with one or more glow plugs being out, but that should produce a code along with the dash light staying on. The other thing I have read regarding air in the lines is the small fuel pre filter. There is an "o" ring that is not supplied when you purchase the filter that should be replaced, and that is often overlooked. The other issue might be water in the main fuel filter. You might have fueled up at a station that had "dirty" tanks, or a bad batch of fuel. The other fuel starvation issue might be algae in the tank itself. I use Startron on a regular basis to insure that the algae situation is kept under control. Good luck

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96 E300d

Cheers Pimpernel
I do have an issue with the glow plugs, i changed 5 of them last year and left 1 that was too tight and was worried it would snap but figured 5 new ones would be enough.
just been out for a run, hard start again, got to where i was going and noticed fuel is leaking quite heavily from the ip, but when i got home its barely leaking at all.
Do you think the seals in pump are leaking more when they are cold due to shrinkage causing the hard fuel lines to empty out over night thus giving me that run out of fuel feeling?

Cheers.
Paul.

Spray everything clean with brake or carb cleaner and take another look to be certain where the fuel is comming from. May be another leaking line at the SOV or lift pump that you can't see becasue of fuel leaking down from above.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

I had a leak where the IP meets the SOV. There's an oring in there. After changing that, dry as could be. But I'll tell you one thing. It was very hard to determine the leak was there because the fuel would run down the fuel lines and looked like it was coming from anothe line. Anyway, it only leaked when engine was running. Which make sense that it was spitting out while under pressure.

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Mike Mass
Freehold, NJ

1999 E300 TD 178,000 miles
2007 E320 Bluetec - Sold

1998 E300 TD - R.I.P.

Thanks for the feedback
whats the SOV? and has anybody got a schematic of the pump tried to explain what i wanted yesterday to mb and i might as well bin talking chinese.
Going to order the socket from MB to remove the delivery valves today, what other o rings/gaskets are there that i should change while ive got the manifold off.
Had a look last night and it seemed no 1 delivery valve was the culprit so i took the locking tab off and smeared a load of instant gasket in there to see if it would seal for a day or two, no joy wife went to go to work this morning and killed the battery trying to start it so i guess the fuel could be disapearing somewhere else.

other option is, i work all night and she leaves the car running while shes at work cos it dont leak when its warm
Cheers,
Paul.

AHA!
SOV=shut off valve, im getting the hang of this.
found this on another post http://detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.asp?TP=1&F=210025&M=606%2E962&GA=722%2E608&CT=M&cat=19T&SID=07&SGR=045&SGN=01

off i go to buy some more rubber.

Mine exhibited the same characteristics, and you may be right about the cold having something to do with it. The other thing is the fact that once the engine compartment warms up, the diesel fuel will be more apt to evaporate quickly, and give the impression that there is no leak. TMAllenson's post gives some excellent advice regarding tracking down the leak. I used his method along with a lot of paper towels. Spray the area of the delivery valves, used the paper towels to blot up all traces of liquid. Start the engine, and pay close attention to the delivery valve area. Use the paper towels and squeeze them around each delivery valve with your fingers. In my case, the towels showed leakage that you could not be notice just looking at it with the naked eye.

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96 E300d

Thanks

putting her over my friends pit tomorrow so Hopefully everything will be here by then.
Will go armed with a load of kitchen towel.

by the way had no trouble with leaks until i used vegi oil last year, dont know if its coincidence or not, she has done 180k

Clean that area around the delivery valves meticulously before you open them up. A good mechanic will do that job in a dust free environment. That may be extreme but it is important you have that area clean.

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Mike Mass
Freehold, NJ

1999 E300 TD 178,000 miles
2007 E320 Bluetec - Sold

1998 E300 TD - R.I.P.

Will do.
Cheers Mike.

I would like to say a big thanks to all of you for the help in diagnosing this problem.
I have now replaced the delivery valve o rings and the so valve o ring A much simpler job than i first thought and she is running like a new car again.....until next time!!

Thanks again.
Paul.