Alright, so I have a bunch of information on my other thread titled "300d 4 speed manual conversion" Basically, I did a valve adjustment during the conversion and now, my car starts up really rough, and it smokes white ALOT. It smells like it runs rich or something and it randomly misfires, no matter if the car is warm or not. I changed all of the glowplugs, but the one on #1 cyl was broken so I used one of my old ones. Now the glow plug light doesnt light up unless I turn the key 3 times. I did a compression test and all cylinders seem to have ok compression, all are above 300 except #5 is just under 300. I replaced the heat shield washers under the fuel injectors, hoping this would solve my problem. I also pulled the valve cover off again, thinking maybe I adjusted the valves wrong or something, but everything seems to be fine. I'm 16 and I dont know what to do anymore. Please help! Thanks. -David

Is it possible you were working with S.A.E feeler gauges instead of metric when you adjusted the valves?

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1981 300TD 310k miles
1970 280sel 172k miles
1966 230 Fintail 162k miles

"Where are we going? And why am I in this hand basket?"

From your post, it sounds like the smoking started after the valve adjustment. Did you check clearance, for the valves, in the correct area?

The diagrams in this post illustrate this very well: Valve adjustment OM615, 616, 617 FYI.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Bad glow plugs....white smoke is usually unburnt atomized fuel.....what do you mean the glow plug broke? What brand of plugs did you put in? Did you ream the carbon? No glow plug light also suggest bad plugs....may also be the relay....

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Yes, I checked the clearance in the right area. And what I meant by broke, was when I put in that glow plug, the upper part unbolted and a bunch of white powder fell out. I wasnt sure what that was, so I installed an old one, but I thought maybe it was the one that was failing, so I changed it out with a could of more, but it still starts the same. I have a feeling that glowplugs are definatly a problem, but its not the problem of the white smoke and misfire randomly. The white smoke doesnt stop, no matter how long the car is running. I have a 300SD with the 617 and it starts up rough because of glowplugs, but one it warms up, it runs really smooth and doesnt misfire. Here is a video of the startup. 300d w123 rough start - YouTube

Id sure recheck all your valve settings. Next would be vacuum connections especially the one down low close to your oil filter housing.

Great looking MB!!

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Are you sure that you did not mix up the intake and exhaust valves (the adjustment spec) on some of the cylinders? (You said you went back and looked, but if you were using a cheat sheet that was wrong to start with....)

Front to back: 1)Ex In 2)In Ex 3)Ex In 4)In Ex 5)Ex In

Here is a diagram (courtesy toomanyMBZ):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachments/diesel-discussion/73663d1256495798-valve-adjustment-sheet-confusion-valve-info-001.jpg

Did you at any point turn the motor counterclockwise?

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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'm pretty sure I did not confuse the two. I used dieselgiants diagram and the specs he has on his maintenance page. If it is necessary, I'll pull off the valve cover a 3rd time. I just need to fix this car already.

As I recall he did the demo on his page on a non-turbo, which has different settings (though he does list the correct numbers for a turbodiesel). You used the right settings?

Please check your work again. The first time I did it I used his diagram, I got confused on two cylinders... but I wasn't sure of myself, first time doing it, so I went back and checked before I buttoned it up.

You didn't answer my last question: did you at any time turn the motor counter-clockwise, in other words to the left?

Your car sounds like it isn't inhaling and exhaling properly. There are only two ways that could happen, through mixing up the valve settings or the motor being out of time.

I am not an expert in this stuff but I HAVE put a motor out of time, a straight six gas engine, and it sounded not unlike yours.

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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

Post some photos of your engine bay....if this just started after the valve adjustment and your positive you used the correct turbo specs and adjusted them correctly, put the gauge in between the lobe and pad....then its possible you knocked something lose.....I can tell one thing I don't like, is that crappy air filter setup....still beats me why so many people add them on, maybe impressed by Hondas or something?

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I used the correct valve specs for the turbo diesel, I did notice that in the demo he was working on a non turbo. Also, I made sure to turn the engine over clockwise and not counterclockwise.

Could you explain what you mean, "knocked something lose"? You mean under the valve cover? I'm not sure what I could have done wrong. Also, I'm not 100% sure its from the valve adjustment. Over the summer, I started the manual conversion, and finished it at the end. The car sat for about 2 months. Could it have anything to do with the actual conversion, or is that not likely?

How do I check if the engine is timed properly?

Changing tranny's doesnt make a car run like that.
You might ask a buddy to come over and ask him to check a couple valves
per the diagram.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

I would take a break from the car for a day or so. At least that is what I do if I become stumped. Seems to clear the head and the next day or so I do much better.

Then,

1. I would double check the valve adjustment. If the Valve Adjustment was the "event" in which the car ran Ok before the valve adjustment and after it was done it did not run so OK, then it's most likely the valve adjustment. Not sure what else one could have inadvertantly knocked lose, et cet.

2. Are you leaking fuel from anyplace ?

3. Going from auto to manual trans has nothing to do with the engine running that way.

4. If anything, whatever it is, it is fixable.