Hi Everyone- I am new to the diesel world and have been doing some maintenance on my 95 w124 diesel. Last week, I replaced the main spin on fuel filter. I had to special order the prefilter and picked it up at the dealership today. I replaced the prefilter in a couple minutes. I started the car afterwards and it stalled out about 30 seconds later. Now, I can not get the car to start at all.

I am assuming that I introduced some air to the fuel lines? Can anyone suggest a way to easily bleed the lines?

The car runs and drives 100% prior to me changing the prefilter. The old prefilter was quite dirty so I was glad it was replaced.

Thanks in advance- Cory

Sometimes it takes a bit of cranking to get the air out of the lines. Don crank too long, and let the batttery "rest" between cranks. Hope they also sold you a new Oring.

I didn't replace the o-ring. I do have some fuel line o-rings that the previous owner gave me. I tried starting the car a few times, but it still wouldn't start.

Wingas's point is that the prefilter has an o-ring on it. If you threw away the old prefilter, o-ring and all, and didn't put a new o-ring on the new pre-filter, that is your problem.

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

I have the old prefilter, but do not see an o-ring anywhere on it. The only o-ring that I saw was on the top of the fuel line that plugs into the top of the prefilter.

Can you point me in the right direction? Here is the old filter.

Your picture is so dark that I cannot see the groove or whether it has an o-ring in it. I have never seen an all-black prefilter.

Here is a picture of a new prefilter with the o-ring groove marked with red arrows. The o-ring fits in the groove. The o-ring should be moved from the old filter to the new one or a new o-ring installed. For biodiesel a Viton o-ring should be used. As was written in an earlier post, new pre-filters do not come with a new o-ring, they are sold separately. Since most other filters do come with new o-rings, this has caused confusion.

Edit: I lightened your photo so the o-ring can be seen. It is mashed flat and clearly very old. The filter is filthy. Please get a new o-ring.

Jeremy

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________

"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

As Jeremy says you *have* to fit that o-ring when replacing the pre-filter or you get an air-leak and that's what causes the stalling.

It is stupidly not included with the new filter and 9 times out of 10 the dealer won't tell you you need it either...

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1993 320TE M104
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past:

1983 230E W123 M102
1994 E300D S124 OM606 (x2)
1967 250SE W108 M129
1972 280se 3.5 W108 M116
1980 280SE W116 M110
1980 350SE W116 M116
1992 300E W124 M103
1994 E280 W124 M104
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"music and women I cannot but give way to, whatever my business" -Pepys

Yes, that why I asked. Only a parts person who knows will say, " hey they dont include the oring." And it wont start without the oring, which is causing an air leak.

Many thanks guys! I didn't know enough to ask when ordering the part. Little did I know that my three dollar part was going to cause this much aggravation. I won't make this mistake again and am glad this old black filter has been replaced.

Well, I reinstalled the old filter. There was no way that I was going to get off the old o-ring. I filled the main filter with diesel and tried to start the car. Unfortunately, I could not get the car to start. It was just turning over and over like it did yesterday.

I am so frustrated at this point. I really don't want to have to tow the car to a mechanic.

remove the air intake hose from the crossover pipe

have someone spray WD-40 into the crossover pipe after you have started cranking the engine

the WD-40 can with the misting type nozzle works the best

it will start

__________________
Greg
2012 S350 BlueTEC 4Matic
2007 ML 320 CDI
2007 Leisure Travel Serenity
2006 Sprinter 432k
2005 E320 CDI
1998 SLK230 (teal)
1998 SLK230 (silver)
1996 E300D 99k, 30k on WVO
Previous:
1983 240D, on WVO
1982 300D, on WVO
1983 300CD, on WVO
1986 300SDL 237k, 25k on WVO (Deerslayer)
1991 350SDL 249k, 56k on WVO - Retired to a car spa in Phoenix
1983 380 SEC w/603 diesel, 8k on WVO
1996 E300D 351k, 177k on WVO

Getting the engine to start can indeed be challenging, especially after all your cranking has pretty much filled the IP and lines with air. Here are some suggestions.

Remember that a full fuel tank makes life easier for the fuel pump. You can't take the car to the fuel but you can bring fuel to the car. Half a tank at least, please, and remember to change that o-ring.

1. Put a battery charger on the battery.

2. Follow factory recommendations for cranking--30 seconds at a time with several minutes in between so the starter motor doesn't overheat--I don't remember the exact numbers.

3. Disconnect the hard lines at the injectors so the air can bleed out. Put a clean rag around each injector to absorb the burps and trickles.

4. Put a wedge under the secondary filter to hold it in place, then remove the center bolt. Now put a small funnel in the hole and completely fill the filter. If the fuel level drops it's because fuel is flowing down and filling the lines and IP. Wait, refill, repeat until the fuel stays up.



5. Try cranking again. Repeat as necessary. A remote starter will allow you to crank while watching the hard lines for burps and flowing fuel. Otherwise have an assistant do the cranking while you watch.

6. Once you have fuel flowing at a hard line, reconnect it and watch the others until all have been reconnected.

Be patient.

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

Many thanks for the suggestions guys. I finally got her started! The battery was on its last leg and she finally got going. Crisis averted

No...


This is not what he needs to do