'87 300D with 208kMiles and it wont start.
The History:
I was driving down the Interstate, and lightly accelerated to pass a car, and heard a noise under the hood. It sounded similar to the pinging of a gas car. It lost power, and I pulled it over, and towed it home.
I decided that it was getting fuel up to the injector pump, but not enough pressure coming out of the IP.
I didnt want to mess with the IP, so I took it to a reputable shop. They agreed with me, and replace the IP. It still wont start. They diagnosed it more, and said that I was getting power to the EDS, but no power coming out of the EDS. They were 100% sure it was the EDS. He told me the results of his test, but all I can remember. I remember that there was voltage getting into the EDS, but nothing coming out. He said that OVP is good. HE said the EDS supplied voltage to the IP. So they replaced the EDS, and it still doesn't start. They say that they can run it on ether, and said that there was a lot of oil in the exhaust pipe. (a big black spot on the ground under the tailpipe.
They have pretty much given up, an I am looking for assistance.
Does anyone have any pointers that I can check? Maybe something they missed????
I am pretty sure it is not getting fuel.

The '87 300D has a mostly mechanical-and-vacuum fuel injection system. It should run even with the electrical system completely gone. The Electronic Diesel System in that model is limited to running the EGR system (which you have hopefully eliminated) and the idle speed. I'm sorry to hear that the shop talked you into a new IP and a new EDS module, both extremely expensive items. Will they refund your money or are you stuck?

Try loosening one or more hard lines at the injectors and crank the engine. You should get fuel. How about IP timing? There's an electrical test thingy for that. Fuel and compression are all that your engine needs and I can't see losing compression an all (or even several) cylinders at once.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

This sounds like more a mechanical failure not electrical.
Compression test needed.
Does it crank ok? Not fast then slow then fast.
Was there oil at the tail pipe previously?
Any history of problems?
Will it start on WD40?

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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

The mechanic eliminated the EGR valve.
I haven't discussed money with the owner yet, but everyone I know says he is reasonable.
The mechanic says that there is not enough pressure coming out of the IP.
He has triple-checked the timing of the IP.
It sound fine while cranking, and there has never had any smoke(or oil in the exhaust) in the past.
I tried starting on WD40 prior to changing the IP. It wouldnt start, and that is one reason I agreed to change the IP.

How much volume and pressure should I get if I remove one of the fuel lines going at one of the injectors?
The mechanic says that it should be enough pressure to push your finger off the line. Mine doesnt have enough.

Try removing the ALDA and plugging the vacuum line that goes to it. I had the ALDA go bad on my 87 300d. It would run, but had almost no power. This was the first thing that came to mind. I removed (temporarily) and drove the car and it ran good again. I ended up removing the top cover and taking out the guts, putting the cover on and reinstalling it. Some people are able to find the right size plug.

Search the forum for ALDA for more info.
Good luck.
Lee

Roughly 0.003 cc per stroke at 2300 psi.

.

The ALDA line is intake manifold PRESSURE, not vacuum.

.

You could put electric one on and try it.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

As a test, remove the ALDA.
If it starts your diagnosis is done.

.

Don't take it back to them.

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Jim

+1
They don't seem very familiar with these cars. Hopefully they haven't caused more problems than when you had it brought in.

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-Louis

'87 300D Anthracite

That test indicated the opposite if you think about it. Thats if it was done in some form of reasonable fashion. Except for the noise you heard it could be something as simple as bad fuel if you filled reciently just before the problem or a filter even.

I put an aftermarket electric pump on it (as a test) before I took it to the shop. No change.
The mechanic said that it had about 6 lbs of pressure going into the IP. He replaced the secondary fuel filter. He says that he has no voltage at the fuel rail, or at the back of the IP, or the air mass, which is why he claimed it was the EDS. He checked the OVP, the and eliminated the EGR.
Since the IP was changed, I would assume that nothing is plugged inside the IP (like the plunger)
The ALDA was changed at the same time the IP was installed.

Any other ideas???

not to rag on you too much, but you probably gave them a million spacebux to replace the IP. i wouldn't give them a penny more until they get the thing running correctly. i'd take it somewhere else if i could.

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1981 NA 300D 310k miles