There are lots of opinions, questions and suggestions flying around. You must feel like you're doing batting practice, with five pitchers at once.

I would suggest that, at this point, all roads run through a compression test.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Yep I do.....They are all good suggestions but I personally think that the PO running unfiltered wvo was the nail in the coffin....I will try to get the stuff to do a compression test.

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Anyone in your area that you can borrow a tester from? Harbor Freight was were I bought mine. This is not a waste of time and will keep you from spinning wrenches wondering whats next .I can show you steps following the compression numbers,they have to be known.

UNFILTERED. Aha.

How many miles were done on the WVO? Straight or cut with diesel, kerosene, etc.?

Unheated prior to injection I assume.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

On the paper work I got with the car, it stated the PO ran a splash blend of wvo and Bio. it was a single tank system, so I believe it wasn't heated prior to the injection. The old IP pump was gummed up really bad, the lift pump was seized and I seen no evidence of a heating system. I don't know how many mile but it said roughly 25k.

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By all means check the compression but at this point I think you need to be engine shopping. If the pump and lift pump were that bad, I seriously doubt the rings have any hope.

If I remember correctly, you said it was parked for a month. I wonder if that put the rings over the edge. When the car was in regular use, the heat was keeping them minimally serviceable. Once it was parked, the accumulated, partly-burned WVO sediment simply hardened into place. I'll throw that out as a theory, in any case.

Eight or ten years ago, this stuff was new (to North America, anyway) and lots of people got bad advice and condemned their motor or IP or both to an early death, but with good intentions.

There is zero excuse, nor any financial payback from "free" fuel, to justify destroying a car like that, with all the solid WVO info now available on the Net.

To run unheated WVO is a chance some people do take in warmer climates - that is one thing. But running unfiltered WVO, unheated, is just plain braindead.

The PO gets an honourary membership in the WVO Jackass Hall of Fame.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I bet your right, with the regular use it was getting it kept the goo soft.....sitting gave it a chance to flow into the rings....now its acting like a glue.....probably when temps rise it will soften back up and let lose of the rings but next winter it will just happen again...

There's a 300td 1983 local for 1800$ that I am thinking about calling on but I would have to use all the money I have to my name to get it...

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I understand the appeal of getting shot of this boat anchor you now have in the driveway and moving on to new pastures, but using all the money available to purchase and leaving nothing for what happens after isn't a sound strategy on these old cars.

I suggest you take a portion of that pot of cash and get this one back on the road. Set against to all the work you have into it right now, the engine swap shouldn't be too hard for you.

If you don't have any local leads, you could try putting a "WTB" want to buy ad in the Used Parts for Sale and Wanted subforum on this board.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Personally I'd like to see a compression test before this thread goes away. Occam's razor has rarely let me down and this is a perfectly simple explanation.

Sitting with the residue of wvo in the ring lands over time causes it to change to a type of glue. How was the base oil consumption on the way up? If you do not have a broken rings type of situation or excess scoring you may still have a slight chance.

If you have the time. Drain the oil and start applying solvents through the injector holes. I think from your description they will run down into the oil pan pretty fast initially.

Drain them out of the oil pan or place a catch container and apply them repeating several times over a few days. If the rings are letting go you will notice the cylinder drain down time will increase. You need the block heater working as at low tempertures chemicals are almost inactive. Preferably also inside a heated garage.

For what it is worth again if you have the time you could chance it. Miracle mystery oil and laquer thinner in combination perhaps. I do not think the miracle oil is aggressive enough in your situation if it is just stuck rings. Acetone is another stronger solvent but I do not know if it reacts with aluminium. Your highway trip may have also baked any glue like existing residue in those ring lands pretty well solid. With your descripton of the blow by certainly it is cylinder sealing is the issue I would think. I do not think you have a hole in a piston as the engine should have started on the other cylinders.

One other test is to loosen off the injector lines one at a time. Crank the engine after each one is individually loosened. This to see if the raw fuel being expelled out the oil cap hole is coming from one cylinder. If it is then I suspect there is serious damage in that cylinder. So then there is no sense in trying to free rings. Or confine the treating to the one cylinder to see if you can get it stopped. You cannot have raw fuel mist coming out the oil filler hole unless the rings are totally seized on that cylinder or there is real damage I would suspect.

I just want to chime in to say.. I feel your pain Guy. I am really hoping you can get this sorted.

Gotta do that compression test. Mostly everybody is wanting to see those compression numbers to get a better idea of whats going on there. Should be high on your list of diagnostic tools for this engine.

Hot engine compression readings are best but "cold" will tell a story too. Get the engine as hot as possible with block heaters, lights, blankets N'at.

Also, You mentioned near the beginning that you believe the valve lash to be withing specifications. Don't assume that its all good from back before your troubles started. Too Tight valves could definitely prevent the engine from starting

Please check them again. Its so easy to break out a feeler gauge set, pull The VC and check 'em one time.

good luck

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"

Well I am going to go look at the wagon Thursday. He says the trans has been rebuilt, and the engine has no problem starting in the cold...Hes also a diesel mechnic.States it has had regular oil changes and he even knew about the sls system...he said it is working but his son stated it was a.little stiff...also stated.

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As far as oil consumption, During the trip I lost a quart at the half way point, the next day after my arrival it was another quart low....

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Symptom of bad accumulators.

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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

I didnt read this whole thread, but heres my experience. I bought a 601 that had been sitting for a while with a bad trans. It was smoky on startup and hard to start generally. And a genuine dog off the line.

But the harder I drove it, the better it began to sound. I floorboarded that car up every hill and pushed it down the fw as often as I could. I think there was an undisclosed wvo issue here in the rings that improved itself as I drove.

Youre also in a rare cold snap, so its possible you have a fuel gel problem with nothing but warm weather fuel available at your local. So things could look up for you if it warms up.

Get it to run, and then drive it hard.....