I'm in Maryland - it's a little cold. However I've had the car towed to my climate-controlled garage where I keep the heater set at 40 degrees. Even if I go to the garage and spend a couple hours there with the heat at 65 degrees, this does not help. Plus it should be winterized fuel in the tank, as I mentioned it does flow freely from the tank if I detach either of the rubber hoses from the metal lines under the hood.

Ahh, this is a good test. I did this before to bleed fuel from the lines after replacing the injector nozzles on another engine, so I'm familiar with the process. I'll give that a try next chance I get. I might just go ahead and replace the nozzles on this engine too since I have new ones at the ready. They don't seem to be problematic though - as I mentioned the engine does run very smooth once it starts - it's the smoothest Mercedes diesel I've ever owned.

I'm not sure which intake you mean - can you please describe this better? I'll see if I can get my roommate to come up to the garage with me and give this a try...

There is no block heater on the vehicle. I have a heater that fits inline into the big hose of the radiator from a junk yard, but haven't tested it and not sure if that's really the same thing as a "block heater".

Yeah, I've already replaced the starter once.

One of these days I am going to get my ir temperature gun and shoot the temperature of the squigly wires between the old style series glow plugs to get a benchmark of what temperature they should be after say a twenty second well timed glow plug initiation.[/quote]
I don't know if it matters but my engine uses the newer pencil-style glow plugs.

How many miles on it? Have you done a compression check?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Remove as much as the air cleaner as you have to. You want to spray into the port that the air filter protects.

I only mention this because some earlier diesels had an oil bath type air filter. I am not sure what yours is.

On the newer mercedes you just take the top cover of the filter holder off and there is a hole in the centre of the filter area to spray into. On an oil bath type of air filter you may have to remove more of the filter assembly. It has been a long time since I had one.

You may be making things hard on yourself as well by trying various things at the ambient temperatures you mention. I would check out the hose heater you have and if good and it will fit install it. Warm the block for about two to three hours before trying to start.

At 40 degrees you may not identify the problem easily. Yet you can still try. No harm is done but some frustation perhaps at not being sure the engine is warm enough to respond.

If you have either a compression gauge or a friend you can borrow a diesel rated one from.You might want to consider doing a compression check at the temperatures you are forced to work at. It is always a good ideal to check it anyways to know what you have. Certainly before spending any more money at least.

Harbour freight also has a questionable one for about twenty five dollars. Or if money is an object bidding an a brand name used one on ebay is a source you might consider. Although the harbour freight one is okay for occassional use. It is made pretty cheaply at the present time. Eventually this chinese version will be improved hopefully.

The earlier diesel engines besides just being older experience more wear in their cylinders I believe. A diesel remember can run quite well and smooth. Even with lower than practical compression to start easily. So keep that in the back of your mind as well.

I don't know if it matters but my engine uses the newer pencil-style glow plugs.[/QUOTE]

No you are right it does not matter or is even practical to do the test I suggested with your glow plugs. I had assumed that you still had the series plugs as that was all there was available at that time. Someone upgraded the engine with pencil versions obviously. That will be the next area other than a compression check if the car will not fire off on the wd40.

I am not going to read back at this time and see what you have actually done to verify the glow circuit is really functional. At the temperatures you quote it has to be in pretty good condition to start. A lot of diesels will not even start at really high temperatures in comparison with the glow plug circuit substandard.

Since I do not work on cars for a living I am forced to go at them systematically to prevail. For me it works well usually. Once the habit is entrenched there is little you cannot do. You simply eliminate possibilities by simple tests until you have it established what exactly the issue is..The more you do the easier it gets.

Sorry I do not know how I was under the impression you had a really older diesel engine with the series plugs. Plus perhaps the oil bath air filter.

In their Factory & Dealer training of course .

The old style ones leaked when new when you were pumping them .

Agreed an old primer pump that seems O.K. when locked can still allow air in and cause running issues , BTDT .

My old '78 300CD's engine was totally worn out but still started easily in 40° F temps when I followed the Mercedes cold starting drill .

It nailed chugged & smoked terribly but it *always* started in a matter of seconds .

This one has me puzzled , I can't wait for you to figure it out and share the info .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

i was having sporadic fuel delivery problems and couldn't figure out why sometimes it was fine and sometimes wasn't. ended up being a clogged fuel vent. in retrospect, the times the car started were right after opening lines, changing filters, adding diesel...anything that released the vacuum temporarily. hearing a big 'whoosh' when i opened the filter was the giveaway.

Where is this "fuel vent" and how do you clean it?

Well, it is an OM615, which was was introduced in 1976, and it's a 200D, which was only sold in the W123 chassis in Europe...

Almost exactly 200,000 miles. I have not done a compression check on any vehicle ever, though I did buy a diesel compression tester a while back that I could use. Is it possible to do this test without the engine being startable?

Yes it is. If you confirm fuel at the injector lines, the next step should be a compression test I think.

Are the pencil plugs original to that motor or were they retrofitted? Do they have the smaller diameter threaded portion like OE pencil plugs or larger diameter threaded portions, the size of the loop plugs?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

In post #1 you said it is a 1983 240D.

we flip flopping back and forth? or did I miss something along the way?


Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

No I didn't. I said "1983 200D".

Okay, I'll look into this next time I go up to my garage, maybe tonight.

They are original to the motor as far as I can tell. The holes have the smaller diameter and the plugs are interchangeable with my 1980 300SD and probably the other two diesels that I haven't messed with the glow plugs on. I also have a glow plug hole cleaning tool, so maybe I'll run that through next time I have at the car as well, just in case.

Correction - a sticker under the hood specifies the displacement as 2.4L and horsepower of 67 or something like that, and the intake manifold has a 616 P/N, so I guess it's an OM616 despite the 200D model number. It does seem to have a 3.92 diff though, as the RPM's are higher at highway speeds than my 240D was. If somebody wants to share how I can authoritatively determine the engine I'm all ears.

Just a quick update to say that I loosened the injector hoses and cranked the engine - they all leaked fuel readily, so it appears the IP is working. I guess next step will be to rebuild the injectors and/or do a compression test. I also haven't tried the WD-40 trick because I can't figure out a way to do it my myself.