I am just thinking out loud here.. please join in/comment if you feel the need.

I have this '85 TD that up until last winter ran GREAT. I mean it has like 1* of chain stretch, it's starts right up in the cold, it's fast(seriously it is), I use to drive it to Detroit quite frequently.

Sometime last winter I needed to drive the TD, I think I had a flat on my DD.. anyway, 4 miles in to my 8 mile trip it started running rough. It was all I could do to keep it running by the time I got to my destination. I was having to rev it pretty good at stop lights. I finally(lot's of pedal pumping) got it started for my trip home, same thing.. barely made it home.

I settled on lift pump/primer failure. I ordered a new primer and lift pump spring kit. Got it running and it started doing the same thing, running very very rough. I could see that the primary filter was "draining" while running then filling back up once empty. The gap in fuel was causing air to go through the IP. It would smooth out when the filter filled with fuel. So I cleaned the tank screen, drained the tank, blew out the hardlines with compressed air, pulled a vacuum on both the feed and return with no leaks noted. Hooked it all up, same thing. I then decided that I had the rubber lines(which I replaced all the rubber lines) at the tank mixed up. I traced the lines, looked at pictures and got them as they should be. Same engine issues. So I figure I have a hole in the feed line somewhere, they look pretty bad in spots. I test the theory with a remote container of fuel being fed to the lift pump. It ran fine for about 20 mins like that.

Fast forward to today. I had it running off a remote container and it started the same old crap. I thought perhaps this diesel I had was bad, so I go fill my can/remote tank with fresh D2 from the gas station. Get home and it's still running rough. Then the primary filter started doing the fill and empty cycle again, THEN it died. I could not keep it running with the throttle, normally I can.

I primed the poop out of it till the return line ran clear new D2 in to a jar. I cracked all the injector lines till fuel started squirting out while cranking. I tightened them all down... crank.... crank..... crank, I run the batt down three times. Nothing!! It's charging again now.

My general feelings:
I have been slowly working on it to sell. If I can't get the thing to run, then it's a lost cause. It's in the way, I'm sick of looking at it. I am toying with the idea of calling the scrap people to come get it. Problem is it's got lots of new parts. Do I pull those off and sell them? Try to part it out? Keep jacking around with it to get it to run? I would imagine that my next steps to getting it to run are: Check compression(remember it ran great originally), swap out IP's(which I don't have a spare for a 617), pull valve cover and check valves.

There are a few things I think that are worth a few bucks: Bosch Euro headlights w/orange turn signals, New water pump(?), brand new(never been driven) down pipe, SLS shocks, SLS pump, new R4 compressor, Just put new motor mounts on it yesterday(dunno if I want to pull them off).

So what are your thoughts?

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08 R320 CDI current

Past
95 E420
87 300D Turbo 5spd
90 300TE
83 300SD
85 300TD
92 400E
85 190D