I will dis-connect the vacuum lines as you said and see what happens. I also would like to swap the fuel lines as mentioned here on the forums to rule out the fuel tank filter screen. What is the best way to do that? Can I swap them where the rubber hoses (from the IP and plastic fuel filter) meet the hard lines in the engine bay, or do they have the to be swapped somewhere else.

To all, Thanks for the help with this so far

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

If the car ran before the valve adjustment, the problem is something done in the process. Perhaps continue that track until issue is resolved. You don't want to further complicate things.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Ok, found the problem (sort of)

On a whim, I decided to see if the reason the car was running like crap was fuel related and not valve related. It sort of acted like my TDI when I had a bad filter.

Anyway, today I went over to the car and played with the fuel system. I took a spare fuel can and ran a hose from it directly to the IP input(no filter), and then ran the return hose from the spin on fuel filter housing directly back into the fuel can. So in effect, I isolated the car's fuel system, except for the spin on filter.

Took the car out on the road and Holy Crap Batman!!! It ran like a scalded dog. No stutter, no high speed miss, hit 80 MPH like it was not working hard at all. In essence, running fantastic.

Hooked up the regular fuel system lines again, and the car could barley hit 40 MPH floored and stuttered and missed at speeds above 30 or when pressed hard.

SO......Based on what I discovered, There is either a bad primary (plastic) fuel filter, a clogged tank screen, or both. Since I ran the fuel from the can into the IP and the return came from the spin on filter housing I'm assuming the spin on filter was still in the system, and since the car ran great that way, I can assume the spin on filter is OK.

Funny thing is my buddy just changed both fuel filters at the same time we did his valves.

So, what would you do next? I'm telling him we should plan on draining the tank and cleaning the tank screen this weekend and also changing the plastic fuel filter again as well.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Glenn

__________________
2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)