So my MB left me on the side of the road today and was towed back home. After running for about 10 minutes this morning I began to lose power. Looked in the mirror and noticed very long trail of white/grey smoke. The power lose got worse and the car no longer could move forward. The engine will idle for about 30 seconds and then shut down. It smokes the whole time it runs. The smoke does not have the typical diesel/fuel oil smell. The car has been running abnormally over the last week. here is the timeline:

• Car put into storage last winter with no shut off/no start issue
• Last week shut off solenoid on injector pump replaced
• Still had slow shut down so ignition cylinder assembly inspected
• wiggling of cylinder fixed shut down/start up issue
• 2 days ago car started "bucking" between 2-2.5K rpm. Associated this to resonance flap issue per this thread : E300 resonance flaps, vacuum trasducers, and lower control arm bushings
• increase flaring between all gear shifts
• fuel in tank is from January
• fuel filters changes 2K miles ago
• removed cross over pipe from intake and cars till ran poorly then stalled

I am not sure where to even begin beyond replacing fuel and and fuel filters. What should I be looking for?

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

you may have knocked a vacuum hose loose. check this site for the diagram and get to know your vac system. The 95 e300d vac system is easy to understand if you take your time.

Replace all of the orings on the fuel pipes. Shouldn't take too long now that you have the intake off. Get the orings from fastlane.

Your tank screen is probably clogged with gunk. Transfer the fuel in the tank to safe containers with a small hand pump from Harbor Freight. Remove the tank screen and clean it with an old toothbrush and some gasoline.

Maybe delivery valve seals? Check this site for symptoms. Lift pump issue maybe?

Maybe your catalytic converter is clogged. Search site for symptoms.

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2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

Is it losing coolant?

My thoughts too... Blown head gasket most likely.

If it is, it is not noticeable. It was loosing coolant last season but this was fixed by replacing the radiator cap. How much coolant lose would you expect with a blown head gasket? An oil analysis would tell me if there is coolant in the oil.

I did start the car again this evening. It runs without the cross over pipe on but will not run with it in place. It will not even start with it on. Faulty EGR valve? I will take it off and clean it tomorrow.

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

Your white smoke from the exhaust suggested coolant, but you'd see a significant drop in the level if you see the white smoke.

I'd be a bit surprised if the EGR valve could prevent it from starting, but there doesn't appear to be any other issue that could prevent a start unless you've got a thoroughly plugged air intake. Just for grins, take the air cleaner off and look around a bit. Also, spin the impeller on the turbo and make sure it's not seized.

Last week when I put on the shut off solenoid, I started the car up with only the intake piece that bolts to the head to check if things were working right before putting everything back. The exhaust exiting the egr was not visible. Last night it was was a thick grey/black. My thought was that it is choking the engine.

No turbo for me. OM 606 didn't get those until 1997.

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

Sorry............forgot that the '95 has no turbo.

I still feel that it's doubtful that a fully opened EGR would prevent a start on a n/a engine. The engine should have sufficient air despite whatever exhaust enters the airflow. But, certainly check the valve to see if it is fully closed.

Also, look around the intake for any possible restrictions. Hell, you could have sucked in a rag..............you never know.

I agree with Brian. If it has been sitting any length of time, there's no telling what may have happened. A creature of unknown type had built a nest in the hose from the fender into the air filter while mine sat for the winter a couple of years ago.

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-Louis

'87 300D Anthracite

Ok....no rats nest in the air filter housing and nothing blocking the intake. The egr was stuck open. It was cleaned and replaced. What would cause it to open a lot on start up?

When I put the intake back on, I re-used the old gasket. Would extra air going into the intake cause these issues?

What are the causes of incomplete fuel combustion in a diesel engine?

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

The EGR is closed on startup and at idle. The only reason that it is open is that it stuck in the open position.

Did the cleaning of the valve fix the start issue? You didn't mention whether the valve cured the problem.

No issues with an intake leak. A diesel has excess air by design.

Incomplete combustion can occur if the timing of the compression stroke is not matched to the discharge of the injectors. It can also occur if the temperature of the charge air is marginal to support complete combustion. It can also occur if there is too much fuel injected relative to the available air.

Currently no fuel in the car. The fuel that was removed was very murky looking. It did get a lot of air in it from the syphon pump so it should settle a bit by tomorrow. It looked like it had a greenish-grey tint to it. I need to replace that little rubber hose from the tank to metal fuel line. I wont get a chance to start it until this weekend.

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

I have the fuel line going into the tank loosened. The line did not loosen where I can see it. Something came loose on the other side of a rubber piece. Does the fuel line/screen assembly just pull out of the rubber, or do I need remove the piece of rubber with the fuel line still in it?

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

Ok - got it. Some of the threads are jacked so it will be replaced. I did find about 1/4" of black slime.

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

Got the car running last night and notice a lot of exhaust gas coming through the egr valve.......and none out of the tail pipe. When I push the egr valve closed with a screw driver the engine stalls.

I am going to take a look in the cat. Anyway to clean these out? I keep finding references to using citric acid and have easy access to that. It may have disintegrated and could be blocking up the muffler.

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95 E300 Diesel 200K