My 3 have an aluminum washer between the bolt & the housing and there is a rubber ring on the filter that seals between the filter & the housing.
If you can smell fuel, you should be able to see it. I have had fuel puddles on top of the filter.
a while ago some one had a problem with a cracked housing.
are all the fuel lines attached properly, with washers on either side of the pipe fittings?
are your injector return lines good?

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Just did this yesterday on my '82 300D. Diesel was seeping thru' mine also when I changed the secondary filter.
First of all, there is a copper washer (at least on mine) between the bolt and the housing- it should be replaced with a new one (my size was M18- 11/16").
Second- I sanded the housing surface (where the washer sits) very lightly with a 2000 grit wet/dry paper- so you have a very good mating surface to the washer. Make sure it is wiped clean.
And thirdly (i am not sure if this helped or not), but when I tightened the bolt, I made sure that the hole in the bolt (the horizontal one, not the vertical one) lined up with the "out" line from the housing. I made a mark on the bolt head to indicate the hole, and then lined it up. The idea was for a path of least resistance for the fuel to go to the "out" line.
This seems to have fixed it.

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1982 300D Turbo 3.0L 275K- sold
1992 300D Turbo 2.5L 300K
1997 Miata 115K
2004 Audi A4 Quattro 120K

I posted the EPC exploded diagram for the IP / fuel system in your other thread:

Problems Running 87TDT

We determined that there is no copper or aluminum washer. There definitely wasn't any on my 87 300D.

Since the filter seals against the housing with a couple pieces of rubber, you should check to see that the gaskets are all there, and are working properly. Give me a little while and I'll take a picture of the top of the secondary filter.

In the meantime, here's the banjo bolt, exactly as I removed it, and exactly as I put it back in (with new o-rings).

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1982 240D, sold 9/17/2008
1987 300D TurboW124.133 - 603.960, 722.317 - Smoke Silver Metallic / Medium Red (702/177), acquired 8/15/2009
262,715 and counting

Here's the top of the filter.

If all the other bolts check out ok, you're probably going to want to check the mating surface of the housing, and these gaskets. This is the old filter from when I changed them a little while ago, clearly a bit beat up.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1982 240D, sold 9/17/2008
1987 300D TurboW124.133 - 603.960, 722.317 - Smoke Silver Metallic / Medium Red (702/177), acquired 8/15/2009
262,715 and counting

"Banjo Bolt" (Hollow Bolt that goes into the top of the Fuel Filter Housing and
then down into the Fuel Filter.) [No metal,plastic or Etc. Washers]
'Has Two Rubber O-Rings ,The Upper O-ring has a larger I.D.
(These Rubber o-rings are a Maintenance items...Replace @ FF change)

If one is missing, or Use/Age Hardened You're gonna: Suck Air / Leak Fuel.

Picture courtesy Diesel911 's Post:
Lower Micron Fuel Filter Mod

Parts # s from RU site are Valid.

Member J A Davis (Fryerpower.com) will sell you an VITON o-ring kit for your
OM603 which includes the Two Fuel Filter "Banjo Bolt" O-rings.

http://www.fryerpower.com/store/page14.html

The Secondary is not a "Spin On " filter (Even though it LOOKS like one)
Proper Installation involves Holding the FF up against the Bottom of the
Fuel Filter Housing mating surface and "Snugging" down the "Banjo Bolt".
,into the Fuel Filter.

Is there a Chance the Wrench Turners "Boogered Up" the FF Install???
(I'd almost be willing to bet They didn't replace the Two O-Rings....)

Attached Thumbnails

       

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

it is possible, They did look it up in some book but I did not research what it was before they replaced it, It's a mann Filter and I can pull the numbers off to see if it's the right one. The center bolt has the 2 o rings in the picture and also the rubber around where the bolt goes into the filter, all of them are intact, but I did not see a copper or aluminum Washer between the Filter housing, and filter where the bolt comes though. it's just the one rubber washer that's held against the filter housing by the bolt when tightend

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Sounds like you’ve spent 4 or 5 days now postulating theory’s without learning a damn thing.

First things first, are the fuel feed and return lines connected correctly, fuel feed to the engine is the bottom or lower hard steel pipe at the wheel well and the fuel return to the tank is the top or upper line hard steel pipe. If that is correctly connected then you need to begin to isolate the fuel system sections and begin the process of elimination.

Get six feet of 5/16” ID clear vinyl tube, Home Depot sells a 10’ roll for $6, a clear plastic gallon jug or 3 liter soda bottle, and a new primary filter.

Attach a three foot section clear tubing to the properly oriented primary filter, then another couple inch section of tubing to the lift pump inlet and a second three foot section to the secondary fuel filter’s return outlet. Make certain that there are hose clamps on each bib and that the hose clamps are tight. Fill the jug ½-3/4 with good clean diesel fuel, make a couple holes in the cap for the feed and return lines, and get a piece of wire/duct tape/string to secure the jug in place.

Get the car started and running, if the car starts and runs your problem is down stream of the lift pump. If the same problem exists your problem is with the secondary filter or its associated plumbing.

If the problem persists with the fuel jug attached you should be able to see if there is any air entrained in the fuel by observing the fuel flowing out of the return into the jug. Because you have three feet of tubing you can make a loop of the clear tubing; that will create a high spot in the return loop into which any air in the system will get trapped as a bubble. If you get a continuous flow of fuel with air double check the tubing and the clamp at the lift pump inlet. If you don’t observe any bubbles but suspect a fuel leak somewhere in the secondary filter system what you can do is while the engine is running and the secondary filter system is under pressure add a small amount of crankcase oil to the fuel in the jug, this will essentially dye the fuel black, you would then carefully observe the secondary filter and the associated fuel line looking for the first sign of blackened fuel seeping or leaking from some connection or section of the system.

Air can not enter the secondary filter fuel circuit while the engine is running because that circuit is under pressure after the lift pump(.3 BAR at idle and .5 BAR at speed). There has been offered a theory that with the engine shut down, a leak can allow air to enter into the fuel circuit as the fuel siphons back down the return line to the tank. With the jug fuel tank attached, run the engine, shut it down, mark the fuel level on the jug, wait a couple hours and check the level on the jug, if the level has risen that theory is proven if there is no more fuel in the jug than when the engine was shut down then it is disproven.

If you get the jug installed and the problem is gone then you need to isolate and investigate the fuel thermostat valve first, the fuel pre-heater second, and the fuel lines from the tank last. You do this by starting from a good running engine/jug system and add the fuel thermostat into the fuel circuit first. If the engine continues to run fine then the fuel thermostat is not the problem. Then plumb the pre-heater into the circuit, if things don’t change then the fuel feed line/tank has to be the problem.

The fact that this issue developed immediately after changing primary and secondary filters, and the fact that the engine is hard to start, pretty much points to the secondary as the culprit unless you subscribe to the theory of coincidence and a problem developed in the fuel preheater or tank lines simultaneously with the maintenence work performed.

"theory of coincidence"? I don't ascribe to that or any other theory, my understanding is derived from an examination of the facts before me.

"Correlation does not imply causation" is a phrase used in science and statistics to emphasize that correlation between two variables does not automatically imply that one causes the other (though it does not remove the fact that correlation can still be a hint, whether powerful or otherwise).

“cum hoc ergo propter hoc” Latin for “ with this, therefore because of this” is a logical fallacy by which two events that occur together are claimed to have a cause-and-effect relationship.

For almost five days pseudo theoreticians have examined and re-examined their collective bellybuttons and the end result is that the OP is still without a running vehicle!

You “only” know that the filters have been changed, a problem arose a couple of days afterwards. After your own fueling fiasco ( http://www.peachparts.com//shopforum/showthread.php?t=254261&highlight=filter ) one would have thought you would be less prone to the “assuming you know something” methodology and would be more accepting of the “fact based process of elimination method”, but hey?

On the other hand, I choose to accept the reality that the engine has trouble starting and continuing to run and would employ methods that depend on empirical data and the process of elimination to identify the cause of the problem, rather than something to fit any theory. This is a tried and true method used by experienced mechanics.

My prescription is a series of simple steps that would through the process of elimination narrow down the extent of the possibilities. I’ll be waiting for any updates with additional information from the OP.

P. S. Just as an aside, it is not a “fact that this issue developed immediately after changing the primary and secondary filters” the fact is the OP stated on 12/08/2009 that the car started and was idling “so much better”:

http://www.peachparts.com//shopforum/showthread.php?t=267015

two days later the problem manifested itself and the OP started this thread!

Apparently, you chose the facts that suit your argument.

The vehicle ran fine on the return trip from the mechanic and was idling "so much better".

Then, it sat for a couple of days.

To wit:


The problem manifested itself after the vehicle sat for 48 hours.

You may refuse to subscribe to the coincidence factor between the problem and the maintenance, as that is your right.

My bet is on the secondary filter............and it's based upon clear judgment of very few other possibilities.

I'm sure you're familiar with the term "maintenance induced failure."

After this, therefore because of this.

__________________
87 300D 265Kmi
Factory rebuilt crate 603.96x engine at 200K

Well, It's safe to assume that when they replaced the filter they neglected to replace the washer there. there is some Diesel Pooling around the top of the filter after I ran the car and watched it. which would also explain why my prefilter always looks mostly empty rather then the almost full it is at when the vehicle runs. So, my next question is. where would I find a washer to fit this and how much should it run me... Also I am a tad short of money this month after putting in all the work on this car.. Is it safe to continue to run like this albeit I'll have to stymie the fuel leak to prevent damage to the motor mounts etc

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

I believe we determined you have two o-rings...........correct?

If so, then you have no washer beneath the head of the bolt.

An older design has one o-ring and, presumably, the washer was required to prevent any leakage between the head of the bolt and the area surrounding the bolt.

Yes. 2 o rings. Both replaced at the time the filter was replaced. I made sure of that. also they were re inspected by me and I could see no damage to them

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Either the wrong o-rings were used or the wrong filter was used. There isn't much else that can go wrong up there..........unless they cracked the housing.