Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Diesel Discussion

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-25-2003, 08:54 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 1,078
Over my head - diesel purge disaster confession

95 e300d 115k. Shakkkkkking at idle, reverse, neutral, etc. New mounts. Decided to try diesel purge straight. Changing filters was easy enough. Decided to run diesel purge from a glass jar. Trying to remove plastic tubing from prefilter I cracked the tubing - problem #1. Tried to use hose fitting connectors and hose clamps with no luck. Clear plastic tubing running from under the intake to prefilter is brittle and hose clamp didn't make airtight seal. I could see little air bubbles getting in. Rigged tubing from hard fuel line - under windshield washer container directly into purge. Diesel fuel continued to spill out of hard line on garage floor - problem #2. Split grommet holding washer pump in fluid reservoir - problem #3. Can't remember if wires and sensor imbedded in washer fluid hose go inside washer fluid reservoir - problem #4. Due to leaks, couldn't get air out of system long enough for engine to run more than 1 minute - problem #5. Even tried filling filter with purge two times. Poured diesel purge from glass jar back into cans and back on the shelf - out of sight. Tried to get back to square one and thought air leak in hard plastic tubing would make me end up calling the tow truck. Using a section of black rubber fuel line a tiny piece of copper tubing - slid it into brittle plastic tubing, I was able to finally reconnect fuel to the prefilter - without any air leaks. Car started up after a bit of trying and eliminating air. Seems to work as before. Don't think much diesel purge ever got through. Garage now stinks, big stain on the floor and of course still shakes at idle. I'll live with the shaking until I can get it to a shop sometime in the future.

Final thoughts. After reading and re-reading posts on diesel purge, I thought I had it figured out. I didn't. Cracking the clear plastic tubing going to the prefilter was the first and biggest mistake. I should have fed diesel purge directly from where the fuel hose meets the hard fuel line - under the washer fluid reservoir. Now, I have to repair the clear tubing which is impossible to reach due to it being under the intake manifold. I'm not going there. Could have been an expensive adventure. I'll stick with changing oil and filters. Techs need to make a living too! I have an entirely new appreciation for my local tech hero. Anybody know where I can buy a washer fluid motor grommet? And does anyone know where that sensor goes? I can't imagine it goes inside the washer fluid. If so, how?

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-25-2003, 11:03 AM
gsxr's Avatar
Unbanned...?
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 8,101
The hard plastic lines are never meant to be taken apart. They are a single assembly. You need to connect the Purge where there are soft rubber hoses to work with. Might not be easy on that car. You'll need new plastic line assemblies to replace the broken ones. As with the grommet, they're probably not available aftermarket from FastLane, you'll need to contact the dealer or Rusty (800-741-5252) for those items...
__________________
Dave
Boise, ID

Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-25-2003, 11:57 AM
gsxr's Avatar
Unbanned...?
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 8,101
New plastic lines with metal fittings are about five bucks each from internet dealers. Here's my old & new ones. I like being able to see the fuel inside the lines, personally...

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID

Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-25-2003, 12:37 PM
Diesel Power
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Yeah, don't give up THAT easily. If I would have given up after killing the VW Rabbit, I wouldn't have the MB's in my driveway now. It's all part of the learning curve.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 08-25-2003, 12:47 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,373
Bummer.

You are working on a nicer, newer car than I am accustomed to. But just the same, I wouldn't give up that easily. I have rubber all over on lines that were originally the hardened plastic.

Sleep on it a few nights. I suspect that there are still a ton of operations that you can do on your car and beat the repair bill.

We all have a few disasters. You should see my driveway. Two weeks ago, I yanked an engine but forgot to drain all the fluids first. Hey, it was my first engine pull ever. I'm praying for rain and tons of it to help the driveway.

Don
__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 08-25-2003, 02:13 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 1,078
more

I found a source for the grommet. As for the plastic lines....I now know that they weren't meant to be taken apart. The plastic fittings and plastic tubing are what threw me. No steel banjo fittings anywhere near the fuel filters. Plastic fittings snap in place and are held with plastic clips. Kind of cheap looking actually. Not at all what I expected.

Most lines and connectors are plastic. The other end of the plastic tube that connects to the prefilter is connected to another plastic fitting just too far out of reach - intake manifold is in the way. I don't even know what part that is. I couldn't reach it with any of the tools I had. Another obstacle is that the Bently Book and Alldata offer little in the way of identification of parts. I don't even know what parts I'm looking for or at. (CD-rom ordered but not here yet)

The car is in exceptionally nice shape, runs strong, starts easily, gets good mileage. I just got it and I don't want to flip anything up.

I guess I didn't figure on having to take off the intake manifold and the washer fluid reservoir to change a 7" long plastic fuel tube with flimsy plastic fittings.

I will sleep on it a while and eventually tackle something new.

Regards.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 08-25-2003, 02:28 PM
gsxr's Avatar
Unbanned...?
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 8,101
The factory service manuals are the only manuals to use for working on these cars. When you get the CD-ROM that will help a lot.

For part identification, you'd need the EPC (electronic parts catalog) that the dealers have. It's not sold to the public but you can get copies on the internet if you poke around. They used to be all over eBay but not anymore, don't know why. If you want a copy and can't find one, drop me a private email and I'll see if I can help...


Regards,
__________________
Dave
Boise, ID

Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 08-25-2003, 02:29 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: central Texas
Posts: 17,281
This is a much newer car than most of us deal with here... but if Performance Products has a dedicated catalog... they usually have nice exploded line drawings and the names of parts.. really helps then when talking to Phil at Fast Lane or asking questions on the forum...
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 08-25-2003, 02:36 PM
gsxr's Avatar
Unbanned...?
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 8,101
BTW, on the shaking... did you replace the tranny mount, and have you tested the injectors? Actually I would have tried diesel purge before pulling the injectors myself, bummer you weren't able to complete that... hmmm....

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID

Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 08-25-2003, 04:18 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 1,078
Good thought

I didn't check the trans mount. I thought I'd do the diesel purge as it seemed easier than pulling injectors. Heck, a $1.50 worth of plastic tubing got the better of me. How do I think I'll change a trans mount? I'm down, not out. I'll get there sooner or later.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 08-25-2003, 08:01 PM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Woolwich, Maine
Posts: 3,598
connerm,

What I got out of the story was you got in over your head, started to sink but quickly learned how to at least tread water. That is how it goes with all of us.

My first encounter with tools under the hood of a car came with a 1967 Fiat 124 Sport Spyder. I inherited the car and when I took charge it was running poorly. I took it to the Fiat dealer and for $76.00 or so I got back a car that ran like new. The bill showed about $25 for parts, things like plugs, points, condenser, air filter, oil filter, etc. The next time it ran crappy, about 12,000 miles later, I took the bill to the parts counter and bought the same stuff. I did not even know where these parts went (well, some of them, like the condenser) and started to work. It took me about two days to get the car running again. But it was running like new again. The next time it was less traumatic. But we all start out getting in over our heads, learning, and then doing it again. There is always something coming up you have not done before. After a while you get the confidence to figure you won't do something that cannot be recovered, and once in a while it bites you.

I just spilled about a quart of Diesel fuel on the driveway changing my fuel filters (first time on a 1998 E300D Turbodiesel) basically by diving in before thinking about the consequences. Now that I think about it, I believe the problem could be solved by taking the cap off the tank fill line to loose the pressure, and then making sure the front of the car, where the filter is, is higher than the tank level.

When the leakage started I was more than a little surprised. I was unfamiliar with the arrangement of parts, how they came apart and so on, and decided I could clean spilled fuel later. I elected to concentrate on getting the new parts in and closing the system up. It worked and I learned another precaution. Don't get intimidated, just use the experience to make the next attempt go smoother. Good luck, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page