81 300d n/a

I needed fuel yesterday and pushed it another day, gauge was acting funny, way below empty and then back on empty. Light never went on, and I am not sure if that works anyway.
Put 10 gallons or so in of diesel, double checked the green pump and the receipt says diesel as well. I started it and got in line at Mcdonalds and there was a stutter, and I never had it do that. The a/c was on full blast and I was idling in the drive through so I didnt think too much of it. I got further in the line and then more stutter and then it died. I coasted to a parking space and then went and ate my sandwich.
I came out and the car did start but died quickly when I tried to accelerate and pump the accelerator. I opened the hood, nothing looked out of sorts. I tried to prime the pump and felt resistance pulling but not pushing. No leaks, oil level good, did not over heat.
I change both fuel filters regularly, but never the tank strainer. I walked home and am now wondering what to do next.

If it were me, I would confirm that the feed and return hoses under the car were in good shape and not leaking; how much air do you have in the pre-filter? Might even pull the fuel strainer to see if it is plugged. What is the history of this car? How often do you drive it?

Well it could be really bad fuel, which would prompt me to ask:

- Was it a station you normally use?

- Did you put anything into the tank apart from fuel (such as an additive)?

- Do you think the tank was nearly empty?

Or it could be a big coincidence (which happened to me once) and something let go and is giving you a LOT of air in the fuel lines.

Do you have the updated black primer pump or the original? You mention push/pull and the black style is mostly push.

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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

How far did you drive after filling it? Basically across the street?

It sounds like you ran out of fuel just as you got to the fuel station and got air in the lines, but it's odd that she could run for a while afterwards. Check all the fuel lines again, from the in hard line to the out hard line. Did you try cracking open the nut on top of the fuel filter a bit and prime with the hand pump? You should see fuel start to come out, and the priming pump should make a squeaking noise (at least mine does). Tighten nut back down then try starting again.

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1984 300D Turbo 350K 50K WVO (two tank) "Maeby"

Common problem. Empty tanks get all the gunk loose then you pour in fuel and stir it all up and suck in gunk. Filter is plugged. Pull primary and dump it out. Try priming again.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

The Mcdonalds is connected to the gas station and it is a very busy one right off of the interstate, and I have used it as my primary source of fuel for the last 6 months. The car is my daily driver which I have owned and driven without a hiccup in performance since then.
I will go back and see if I can change out the primary filter, prime, and see what happens.
Thanks, and I will let everyone know how it turns out.

Thank you everyone for their help on this one. It appears that is was as vstech suggested, a plugged primary filter. I changed it and it wouldn't prime though. I could pull and push the old style primer and there was no resistance and no pressure in the line. I could barely see fuel in the primary filter. I had to crank for a while and it would catch for a second and die. I had to do this 10 or 15 times until it would stay running but it would not idle. I had to hold my foot on the accelerator all the way home. It finally cleared up as I entered my neighbor hood and idles and starts like it always did.
Lesson learned: Don't let your tank get that low again as it is not worth the trouble.

Note: I didn't have any additives in the tank and it had been a while since I used Starbrite tank cleaner. I guess I will get back on that program too as preventative maintenance.

If you have the twist and pull primer, you should replace it....could be that was the issue all along.

You would have wanted to crack the injector hard lines at the injectors, and then crank the engine untill you seen fuel leaking out of all lines.

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I like the diesel KLEER from power service. It's the white bottle with the GREEN letters. About $12 a pintish size and it cleans the tank similar to startron, and bumps the cetane of the fuel.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!