I hook it up with jumper cables to my running truck while doing all this just to make sure the battery doesn't become an issue.

I went ahead and pulled the valve off and the spring had compressed down to 22mm. I will stretch it back out to 27mm and reinstall tomorrow. Hopefully this works...

I know the engine will not start with zero internal IP base fuel pressure, I tested and observed that when I was making adjustable fuel pressure relief valves. I am not 100% sure but I think it is possible with borderline base IP fuel pressure, that it may not fill all 5 elements with fuel. Do you have any fuel leaks anywhere in the fuel system in the engine compartment?

Your engine was running fine before you tore into it. The rag around the cam should have nothing to do with the fuel system problems you are experiencing. Since you did all the work tearing into the engine, maybe only you have the answer.

__________________
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

That's what I was thinking. I wonder if there's something none of us would consider under normal circumstances like the glow plugs not getting power because something is disconnected or the like.

Dkr.

I pulled out all 5 glow plugs today and bench tested them with a battery charger and not a single one of them got hot and turned red. I bought 5 new ones (and bench tested them all beforehand to make sure they got hot) and installed them. I thought for sure that I'd found my problem but the car still will not start.

I disassembled the IP check valve and stretched the spring back to 27mm and I believe I'm now hearing it open when I use the primer pump (I was not hearing it open before).

In the process of swapping the glow plugs, while I had the hard lines to the injectors off, I cranked the engine and observed fuel squirting from the 3-5 outlets on the top of the IP. This coincides with my inability to get 1 and 2 to leak out when cracking them open at the injector.

I think its pretty obvious that I have a fuel starvation problem and I was thinking back to before I tore into it and while it would start and idle fine, it did seem to be extremely under powered at times like it was starving for fuel. I only had the car for about a week when I dug into it so I didn't really have a long observation period to get to know the car and how it normally ran.

I keep going back to the lack of fuel from outlets 1 and 2 on the IP. Is there something internal of the IP that would cause this?

Thanks.

Ok, some of this background info would help. Before you bought the car, did someone else drive it regularly? Do you know how old the fuel in the tank is and that there is sufficient fuel in the tank?

The IP is a sealed unit for DIY purposes. Unless you are Bosch trained and have all their special tools and knowledge, I would recommend just leaving it alone inside. They are extremely well-built and rarely have any problems. It is possible to run with two injectors nominal or failing/failed, but you may have problems like this. You would probably also have a lot of engine vibration (more than normal on a diesel engine).

If the car was sitting for a while, I would rule out fuel contamination. You could try starting the engine with diesel purge in a bottle like in this article:

Diesel Purge Mercedes diesel maintenance tips

If it starts fine like that, you may need to drain and clean your tank.

Failing that, you may want to pop-test the injectors. You could also try swapping the position of the injectors to see if that swaps the lack of fuel issue. There is a crush washer that needs to be replaced when you pull the injectors.

If the engine has good compression it should start eventually without working glow plugs (although probably not sound very happy) unless it is freezing temps outside.

Maybe the shop rag was setting the timing (just kidding).

Dkr.

The issue is that the 1-2 outputs of the IP do not spit out any fuel at all. I need advice on why this could happen. I've isolated the issue to the IP. I took off all of the hard lines and monitored the IP while trying to start, and only 3-5 outlets of the IP spit out fuel.

It might be worthwhile to put a small temporary fuel tank near the injection pump and see if it runs well that way. If it does you have a fuel issue behind there.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Didn't he already do that?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

So, after you tore into it, all glow plugs decided to burn out, the IP stopped putting fuel out on 1-2?

__________________
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

Are you putting the pedal to the metal when you are cranking? Almost sounds like the stop mechanism or lever not sure if you have one is stuck between stop rack at no fuel output and idle position. Stepping on the petal will advance the rack to fuel more.

Do the above mentioned purge with a seperate tank it will fire so much easier.

__________________
92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

A small battery charger will not produce enough current to light a glow plug I suspect. So do not dispose of the ones you have removed.

Also you had a previous complaint to the start of the work. I would have someone constantly pump the primer pump while trying to start the car. Just in case the lift pump is pretty much dead.


Since the engine was running at least fairly decently before you started working on it it is unlikely two elements of the injection pump have failed.
Also the place you are working on the car should be at about room temperature for many hours before trying or at least the block heater running as I can tell by your post it is cold there.

X2 on that. I failed to notice they were tested with a battery charger. They need to be tested with jumper cables from a battery. They draw a lot of amperage.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Thank you everyone for the responses.

I suspect that maybe the glow plugs were already weak and I fried them with all the glowing and cranking I've been doing over the past week.

The battery charger had no problem lighting the new glow plugs within seconds, but would not light any of the old ones.

I am putting the pedal to the metal while cranking.

Another note is that it was ~40F when the car was running and it has since dropped to ~15F for the past week. The car is outside and does not currently have a block heater (it is an original Texas car). I plan to install a block heater today to at least rule that out. Unfortunately I do not currently have the luxury of a building to work in.

I will try the idea of having someone pump the primer while attempting to start.

Thanks Again.