This is more of an annoyance than a problem, however I would like to solve it. I cannot figure out what would cause a diesel to be more difficult to start when it is hot than when it is cold.

My 84 300D starts fine when it is dead cold (a little bit of stumbling & misfiring for just a few seconds, then it smoothes out perfectly). Once it is fully warmed up, if it is left sitting in a parking lot for more than a few minutes, it takes quite a bit of cranking to get started again. If I tip into the throttle to assist in starting, there will be quite a voluminous cloud of smoke from unburned fuel burning off. This really flies in the face of conventional wisdom regarding diesels in general -- it should be easier to start once it is hot. I have searched through the archives and cannot find a similar problem under the same circumstances.

The injectors are new, valve lash is set properly, compression is good, glow plugs are new & working properly,etc. etc. The only thing that I can think of is possibly that the fuel pressure in the injector lines is bleeding back down. I have seen references in a couple of posts to some type of check valve seals in the injection pump, yet I am not sure if this type of problem would be caused by that. If that IS the cause, could someone please outline the procedure for replacement of the check valves? (I cannot find the procedure on the service CD) Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again


RTH