Yes, if the e=brake is working right and the ramps have a hump on both ends of the level part where the tires are to sit.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

Long shot but was the engine warm when you picked up the car? You drove it home and next day it would not start? I read you went for a drive the same day. The engine was more or less warm all the time.

If this is the case compression may have to be checked. Buy or borrow a compression gauge for a diesel with the right adapter to fit if it comes to it.

If you continue to farm out work the car can become very expensive pretty fast. Harbor freight sells a cheap diesel compression gauge. Around 20-25.00 dollars if I remember.

Normally if you brought a car and drove it home it would start the next day. Trusting people that sell cars is usually not in the cards. I am not saying this is the problem. It is just something to consider as a possibility.

You might want to talk to the last owner. Some will lie and others not. He may have done something abnormal to get the engine running to get it warmed up enough to start when you picked it up.

Also there is an adjustable knob for the idle speed on the dash. If you turned it down the engine may not start.

One of our daughters called me once saying the car of ours she borrowed refused to start. When I got there it took me a minute or two to establish she had just turned the idle speed adjustment down.

I will take a video tomorrow of a cold start, it is still a bit rough but it seems to be better now after the new filters and biocide. The car was already warm when i bought it. I drove 3 hrs to look at it and he drove an hour and a half my direction. I don't mind doing the work myself, i just get uncomfortable doing internal work like valves myself. I am going to help the mechanic do the valves so i know exactly what I am doing next time. I really think its a valves and glowplug issue for the hard starting right now, butI could be wrong.

I was making a shopping list for harbor freight anywayd, need to add that lol.

Lack of reverse: I believe that on your car's transmission, there is a bolt on the side of the transmission that can be tightened up to restore reverse. Sorry I can't help more than that, but if you search around on this forum and you.tube etc, I'll bet that you can find something.

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Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

https://youtu.be/Cz5iR3LsEn8

Should start easier than that, but how cold was it?

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83 SD

84 CD

That's not a good start. It should start more like https://youtu.be/pdL3LP9mDik
That's my 85 300 D 20 F cold start this morning with 20 seconds of pre glow and a little bit of after glow.

I would suggest checking for air in fuel and do a compression test. If both check out okay , replace the injector nozzles

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

As far as I can tell injectors and glowplugs have never been replaced. And it was only 50°Friday out. I suspect it is a combination of valves, glowplugs, and injectors but that's all going to have to wait until next payday .

i think i have those brand new on my shelf. i ordered them not realizing they were the wrong ones for my trans . on the bag there is a sticker from auto haus az and they have part number 000 991 38.22 and bin d29d3.
i am going to see if my other benz uses these. if not ill be happy to sell

If you have series glow plugs, they were all working because it wouldn't have started as quick as in your video if they were not, so save your money there. I think you have air in fuel from the way it started. If you are interested in diagnosing it rather than throwing parts at it, lmk and I will post a how to.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Well I would definitely rather diagnose and fix the issue cheaply rather than sinking my wallet into it lol. I was just pushing for those new style glowplugs because everyone says they work so much better and help with hard starts. I suspect that the glowplug chambers need to be cleaned out at the very least. I was thinking of running a tank of B100 through it and then changing all filters, screen, and flushing the tank out.

Another Video, the second start was harder because I left the idle adjust all the way down.

https://youtu.be/TDf1MMH4zo0

Polie I do not quite like the sounds of that engine . When attempting to start. Here is one thing I would do..

Now that you have the valves adjusted. Do a compression check first. Even if a cylinder is low you can still drive it and not spend dollars in speculation.

If compression is good start the simple tests. If you want a little more information post a video cranking without the glow plugs activated. Just no pre glow and turn the key to the start position will do.

I suspect uneven cranking sounds as at least one other noticed. This could also be a cylinder attempting to light off earlier but with no glow plugs used the rotation of non starting the engine should sound pretty even if the compression is. You of course could do this before the compression check.

Yeah you have a bit of injector "nailing", replace the nozzles, perhaps. Or have 'em tested for spray pattern (nozzle) and pressure (springs).

I saw some bubbles at the pre chamber, that may be a problem.

Should start better, but continue working on it.

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83 SD

84 CD

If you want cheap don't throw parts at it. I'd recommend verifying if you have air in fuel first, which sounds like you have from your videos. Air can get in from: clogged tank vent, clogged tank strainer, pin hole in rusty fuel line under the car, fuel banjo washers not sealing, fuel filter washer/o-rings not sealing, old /dried cracked fuel hoses in engine compartment etc.

Cheapest /easiest way to diagnose if you have air in fuel is get a length of 1/4" i.d 3/8" o.d. clear Vinyl tubing from Lowes. Lowes around here sell them by the foot, Home Depot by 10 ft rolls. Cut a length of the clear tubing to temporarily replace the cigar hose which returns to tank. Soak the ends in boiling water and stretch it with long nose pliers then slip over the barbs. It should be tight enough without needing clamps to drive around with for a few weeks. If you want to be 100% safe, wrap some rubber bands around the tubing as hose clamps since hose clamps that small are hard to find.

You should see no bubbles at any time, engine running or not. If you let car sit over night and see a bubble at the highest point of the clear line, you still have air and need to find and fix it first before doing anything else.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Its been a while so time for update. I haven't had time working 7 says a week atm to work on the ol girl so i farmed it out to a local shop. I know the owners very well from church and they have always done righr by me. Anyways they found the coolant leaks... one was the small tube and the other was the PO failed to put a bolt back in the water pump when it was replaced. So new pump, and hose fixed along with he installed a catch can for the overflow coolant for a very resonable price. He also wasnt able to adjust the bands any to get the tranny to work properly. Its in another shop now for the tranny. $1300 out the door for a rebuild at one of the highest rated shops in seattle.

Im sitting on new pencil glowplugs to put in and will adjust the valves as well when i get her back.

Odd thing i noticed, when driving to the other shop for the tranny it would only get maybe 65-70°c it blew warm but not the usual scalding hot air. She normally was 80-85°c. If it continues i will have it check out again.