About a year ago, I saved an 87 300D from going to the crusher (guy said he'd sell it to me for crusher price). I got a great deal on it, worked on a few things, changed fluids, etc. then sold it.

The owner is now selling the car (he's moving to a city). Here's how he describes the problem he has: "The 300D needs a new or rebuilt fuel pump. This winter the pump started leaking fuel. The shop I brought it to fixed the problem but also messed up the fuel pump's timing and thus the engine's timing. So now only 5 of the engines 6 cylinders are firing. The car ran fine for a couple months like this but now is having intermittent starting issues which no one seems to be able to pin down.....I went to two separate mechanics in an attempt to diagnose or fix faulty cylinder. One mechanic said that the fuel pump needed to be rebuilt the other claimed that the car's engine was bad. Based on my experience with the car over the last year I would guess that the issue is with the fuel pump but I am not a mechanic." Sounds like he's talking about the IP, not the fuel pump.

It doesn't sound like he or his mechanic(s) have any real idea what's going on. But, for the right price, I was thinking about buying the car back and seeing if it could be repaired. I remember well....once I took the ALDA off that thing it FLEW!

Any thoughts, diagnoses from afar based on the description?

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

The info is kind of sketchy.

Is the Fuel Injection Pump leaking again?

Was a Compression Check done to determine if there was a bad Cylinder?

Look up doing the Injector cut out test. If doing that shows a suspect Injector and you swap the Position of that Suspect Injector with one from another cylinder of the Engine and the Problem follows the Suspect Injector you have an issue with that Injector.

If the problem says with the same Cylinder after moving a different Injector there you either have a problem in the Cylinder or the Fuel Injection Pump.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

My impression is that it no longer leaks. I agree, sketchy info. Neither the owner nor his mechanics seem to know much.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Sounds like do a compression check if they have not and given you the figures. If relatively normal compression grab a used injection pump from the wreckers.

You could try dealing with the existing injection pump if it is the indicated problem but it may be easier just to get another one. Thats if you prove it has a specific problem. They may have somehow messed up the pump when doing the delivery valve seals would be my expectation if they stopped leaks.

As said by others. The information is sketchy. Yet at the same time it sounds pretty solid. Basically they changed the delivery seals and messed up the injection pump. You just have to verify it. You actually may be able to repair it if you pull the side cover and examine the rack connections. Unless they have the sequential timing all over the place.

I'm sure this guy won't be taking it back to a mechanic....he's selling as is with what (little) he knows....or junking it.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

It's a shame....when I sold the car to the kid (he's maybe in his early twenties) I said MAKE SURE that you take it to someone who knows his way around these cars. But it sounds like he took it to Joe's Garage or whatever....

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Bet it needs delivery valve seals. That would cause a leak and make the car miss at idle.

Although presumably that's what was leaking and was "fixed." Maybe what happened is that the mechanic botched the delivery valve seal job.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Messing up the procedure to change them is where the current issue originated I really suspect. Critical examination of the element in the injection pump for the cylinder that is missing would be my starting point. Nothing wrong with the rack linkage etc I would just redo that elements seals.

Plebtly of people aren't aware of the copper crush washers either. Its a simple job that is also simple to do wrong.

If the DV job was botched, could something have been damaged? Or is it simply a matter of redoing the DV job?

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

If you overtighten them you can crack the injection pump itself.

Otherwise, no not really if its not sealing its not really harming anything else

If someone reaches inside and Grab the outer part of the Delivery Valve body and is not careful it is possible to pull up the Element Barrel (there is a Pin in the Fuel Injection Pump Housing and a slot in the Barrel) and get those misaligned when it goes back together.

One of our members had the misalignment issue and it pushed the alignment Pin away and the Barrel did not line up correctly and did not put out the proper Fuel.

In His particular case I think it was due to the other way the Barrel can move is if you rotate the Engine without the Delivery Valve holder in place.

If the Barrel has raised up and over the Pin and you torque it like that it is possible to deform the IP Housing. The Steel Barrel seals against the aluminum Housing by a good fit. There is no Gasket or Seal down there.

Another thing that can happen on Fuel Injection Pumps that use the same type of Fuel Rack and adjustment is that if each Element has an Adjustment Screw and Block. If the Block Screw comes loose the Fuel Adjustment for that Element will be off.

The above Info concerns M Type Fuel Injection Pumps. MW Pumps are different.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I actually recently picked this car up, the gentleman who had the car was my neighbor and he sold it to me at scrapping cost. I diagnosed the problem to be a misaligned control sleeve from the "botched delivery valve seal job". This mistake was causing cylinder #1 to receive no fuel, which in turn was causing a "misfire". I removed the pump and sent it out to metro injection, a bosch injection pump specialist who is going to re calibrate the injection pump. The car seems very solid otherwise! You said that you had removed the Alda, is this a wise thing to do or would it be better to let it be? But before I start messing around I will be catching up on all of the maintenance, my only question is the mileage is sketchy on the carfax, it shows around 90,000 now and I believe it was swapped out, but maybe you being a previous owner could fill me in.

I read this thread with much interest, I have a similiar miss at idle, but mine also has much blueish smoke out the exhaust that smells like unburned fuel, it is NOT the head gasket oil passage I have fixed that and the problem remains.

The PO said he did the delivery valve seals because they were leaking, the car ran good when I bought it and the problem came about suddenly, now I am wondering if he messed up the job.

What exactly do I look for if I take the side cover off the pump, or will any mistakes be readily apparent??

Maybe I should do more reasearch on the delivery valve job.

Thanks