I'm just getting home for an hour or two and and am quickly trying to catch up on all the recent posts...Thanks to all.

-glow plug fuse is good and 12v to each gp
-I did crack the hard lines and fuel does trickle out
-canister filter was filled all the way prior to spinning it on, lines were bled
-I did remove the air filter and tried cranking (did not try the wd-40), no change

Whunter, thanks for all the links. I'll be able to start reading them tonight.

So, at this point:

1. The glow plugs appear to be working as designed.
2. Fuel is making it to the injectors.
3. The starter is turning the engine over.

Thoughts:

Starter cranking speed. How fast is the starter turning the engine over? This makes a big difference in cold weather starting. I usually judge this by ear, but I'm sure someone here knows a more accurate method.

Low compression. Could be result of valves out of adjustment or from engine wear or some other problem. A valve adjustment followed by a compression test would be a good idea.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

excellent cranking speed.
Brand new interstate battery with a big-assed Century battery charger assisting.

Again. thank you to all who are helping me with this frustrating journey.
I'll be out of town for the next fews day and will be looking forward (sort of) to hopefully getting closer to the cause.

for now, since it is dark and snowing, time for a beer.

With the links in post #30, you should have days of educational reading.

Roy to the rescue!!

"All you ever wanted to know about starting a diesel Benz but were too afraid to ask"


I think there is some thing starring us all in the face about this motor that we havent seen yet!

Its got fuel at the injectors,
GP's are good,
valves are adjusted,
good battery,
cranks well.
it has run previously,

We will all have to wait for the next episode !!

__________________
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

'

While many have switched over to the fuel...
I suggest that Skippy has the next logical answer... which was mentioned earlier but I did not see where you DID THE VALVE ADJUSTMENT....

The reason this is logical is that WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT the valves expand... thus, if your clearances are a little too tight cold... you get MORE LEAKAGE at the valves when warmed up... SO A HOT ENGINE WILL START LESS WELL THAN A COLD ONE.....

This fits with your description as far as I can tell...

__________________
1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/10414-help-i-need-check-stretch.html

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

Please keep us updated Bill. We're all curious now.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

alright, here is the update. I've been having to work a ton lately and being that this is my wifes daily driver I eventually had to through in the towel and I had it towed to the diesel shop. I openly admit that I am embarrassed to have not solved this myself but lack of time was the ultimate deciding factor here. I do feel like with the help of all of you I was able to give it a fair shot and did not over look anything simple or obvious. So, anyway, here is what was explained to be the problem. The guys at our very reputable diesel repair shop found that it was sucking air from the primer pump assembly (not the actual plunger pump, but within the housing that it screws into) and that was the the source of the air leak. I have not gotten to talk with the mechanic who did the repair yet, hopefully tomorrow, but so far, that is the explanation. So, the car is again running great, with a repair bill of under a $100. So, I'm curious if it was a gasket to that assembly or could it have been something inside?
Again, thanks for all the advice but it seems that this may have been sort of an uncommon or odd situation.
Any thoughts?

My "new style" primer pump was leaking around the sealing washer where it mounts and giving me hard starts till I replaced it.
The pump itself was OK

__________________
1981 240D 143k 4 spd manual -SOLD

2004 VW Jetta TDI 5 speed 300k -still driven daily

updated two posts up