Help-ran out of diesel, pumped -still will not start

First ran out of diesel, have pumped ,still would not start, then loosened injectors, still would not start.. then as triing to get it to start a click sound came as if battery had gone down.. jumed battery ..battery not the problem... so am told starter problem ....had taken off.. no starter problem. Cannot get the engine to turn over at all now it is like it is locked up.. This is a 300D 1978 diesel. The Car is strong running, i know it is not anything wrong like engine blown etc.. is there some trick to this i need to know about.. just cannot afford the Diesel Mechanic right now with work being slow these days. Any help will sure be appreciated. Sign me desperate,:-) Gina

[JimSmith]

Gina,

A couple of questions. When you loosened the lines to the injectors and cranked the engine, did fuel leak out the joint you loosened? If not, you are not getting fuel to the injection pump.

How much fuel did you pour in after you had it run dry? It is possible the quantity of fuel and the way the car is sitting (if the front is higher than the rear, or it is leaning heavily to one side, for example) the amount of fuel you put in is not sufficient to cover the tank openning that has the fuel lines that run to the front of the car. I have actually had my car, low on fuel, not start because I parked on a steep uphill spot in my yard. I had to push it to another location to get the fuel to the engine.

If you are getting fuel to the engine, and it seems locked, it is possible you have managed to get a bunch of liquid fuel in the cylinders and the car will not turn over because the last part of the compression stroke is trying to compress liquid fuel. To check, and alleviate this, you can remove the glow plugs and try turning the engine over by hand, using a 3/4 wratchet wrench with a 27mm, I believe, socket on the crankshaft pulley. I use the power steering pump pulley to turn the engine over when I adjust the valves, because it is more accessible. Others in this forum advise not to do that because I guess it possible to damage the power steering pump if the load you apply is off center. With the glow plugs removed you should not have any trouble turning the engine over. I might even try it before I removed the glow plugs, but be cautious not to over do it. If there is liquid on top of the cylinders you can damage things by forcing the engine to turn over.

Once the glow plugs are out and if the unit turns by hand, try cranking with the starter. You should see a bunch of crap come out the glow plug opennings. Check the glow plugs for continuity and condition. Replace any that have been worn out or damaged. Put them back in, and give the machine a shot at starting.

I would also look at the little rubber lines that go from injector to injector. If they are wet, they may be leaking air into the system when it is depressurized. They are a pain to get off, I use a needle nose pliers and kind of twist and pull to get them off. New ones just push on, but the number 3 and 4 cylinders usually have throttle linkage stuff in the way, and I have used the needle nose pliers to push them on.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful, but don't lose faith, there are a lot of experienced Diesel fanatics reading, so let us know what happens and we will go from there. Jim

Jim, Thanks so Much! I will post tomorrow and let you know how it goes for me....really this has always been a great 1978 300D .. Bet I never run out of diesel again!!! :-) Gina

[JimSmith]

Gina, there is also the possibility that the last few ounces of fuel you used dragged a bunch of crud into the lines and the in-line filter is plugged. This would also limit or stop the fuel flow, but does not explain the reason your engine does not turn over. Jim

[h2odiesel]

Check your battery cables, especially the grounds. Check the connections from the ground cable to the body and both ends of the strap from the body to the engine block.They must be clean and bright. Most jumper cables won't carry enough current to turn over a diesel if your battery is dead. Charge it over night. You have to pump the hand pump until you hear a faint buzzing at the injection pump. (as many as 200 strokes) If the hand pump leaks you must replace it. Fill the fuel filter with clean fuel to cut down on pumping.

[MarkM]

First, do all the fuel hand pumping to ensure system is primed, "crack open" the hard fuel line connector to each injector prior to hand priming to ensure fuel is right at the injectors, then re-tighten. (you want to get fuel to every possible location manually....this makes a mess...put a bunch of rags in there to soak up excess fuel, and have a can of engine cleaner for later to clean up the mess!!!)

Now, to start the car.... agree with H20DIESEL....Likely to be related to lack of power from battery. If your battery connections are bad, you will have same no-turn-over problem even when jumping. If your battery is 3 or more years old, and if (as likely) you drained the battery, it is probably junk. Buy a new Interstate, (or diehard for most convenience). When you install battery, as previous post said, clean all connections. THEN, when you try to start your car, you may have to turn it over several times before the engine "catches".... you dont want to drain your battery right from the start....this is the one thing that is worst for car batteries....so....have a friend attach jumpers from another running car and turn over till it starts.

Good luck, Mark