Hardstarting E300 - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

slowmoe · #31 01-19-2004, 11:58 AM

"You may want clean the soot out of the runners and loosen up the flapper valves while the intake is off "

Sorry for some basic questions here...

What are the runners, how do I loosen the flapper valves - is this done by the cleaning of the runners?

Is there anything else I should do while I am in there?

What would you recommend to clean with ... brake parts cleaner? carb cleaner?

I am still unable to pry off the basket filter without feeling like I am about to break it. I will try to get in there again tonight. When I replaced the spin-on there was plenty of fuel in there and it looked good.

I think I will get whatever gasket I am suppose to from the dealer. It looks like the only time this week I will have to do this job IS TONIGHT. So, I will have to swallow the $44/ea GP from the dealer as opposed to $29 from fastlane, sorry Phil.

So, 12mm deep, 6mm Allen... some kind of cleaner. Is that it?

shoe · #32 01-19-2004, 12:40 PM

The runners is a term for the intake itself. Once you have the intake off and look at it where it bolts to the head you will see holes for lack of a better term, those are the runners. You will see that they are partially closed from soot unless you run the car really hard and keep it blown out. The flapper valves AKA resonance valves are on the bottom side of the intake and are attached with 10mm bolts. Remove them and clean any carbon on them and in the bores that they fit into. Oh by the way you will need to take the section of intake running fron the air cleaner to the intake off first I forgot about that part it has a flapper valve too. You will see what I am talking about. If my memory serves me correctly the allen socket and deep socket are all that is needed and I pretty sure of the sizes any body more certain than I am jump in here. It has been about three months since I had mine apart (memory is the first thing to go). A good carb cleaner that is not harmful to aluminum will work fine.

slowmoe · #33 01-25-2004, 01:19 PM

To all who are interested...the saga continues. Last night I finally completed the glow plug replacement. It was a nightmare - I actually did have a nightmare one night after working on the car. I had bad glow plug lodged in my stomach that the surgeon was unable to remove!!

Anyway, 5 of the 6 gps were stuck very badly. One electrical connection broke. Two gps were stripped from the 12 pt socket. Another later cracked in the head. After one week, all six were finally replaced.

I started the car last night in the garage - 28*F. It started and drove wonderfully - much better than before while cold. I parked her outside last night. This morning (5*F) I tried her again and NO START!!!!! - Same thing....crank, crank, crank and no fire.

Any other ideas???

shoe · #34 01-25-2004, 04:17 PM

How long are you letting the gp's run before cranking. I discovered that I need to wait 10 to 15 seconds after the light goes off or mine will run a little ruff on the first cold start of the day. And I am not in nearly as cold as you are.

chuck95e300d · #35 01-25-2004, 05:17 PM

When you turn the key on and the glowplug light goes out the glowplugs continue to heat...so let them heat for another 10-15 seconds before trying to start.

But I still think that the problem is the fuel and not the glowplugs.
Have you been able to remove the screen filter to check for fuel?

Here are a couple pictures.

chuck95e300d · #36 01-25-2004, 05:18 PM

In this picture the bolt and plastic hold down (for lack of a better term) is removed.

chuck95e300d · #37 01-25-2004, 05:19 PM

In this picture the fuel line has been pulled off and the filter removed. You can see the fuel in the reservior.

chuck95e300d · #38 01-25-2004, 05:20 PM

Do you have fuel in the reservoir? If not, perhaps the fuel has gelled again. 5 degrees is cold. Trying heating the area with a hair dryer for 30 minutes. Then crank for about a minute to reprime the system and the fuel flowing.

Good luck!

slowmoe · #39 01-25-2004, 06:57 PM

I have glowed multiple times until I hear the relay turn off consecutively without it starting.

Chuck,

You may be right with the fuel. I am thinking it is either this or an electrical issue that is preventing the GPs from working.

I was able to lift the basket filter but not completly enough to pull it off. It is so cold here that the lines are very inflexible. However, I was able to look into the well and it does NOT look as full as yours - maybe onw half. What did you attribute your problem to?

chuck95e300d · #40 01-25-2004, 07:31 PM

I attributed my problem to gelled fuel.

When I removed the small filter it broke. Colateral damage. I wanted to see if there was fuel in the reservoir to test my theory.

I don't see how the problem can be glowplug related. The glowplug light comes on and then goes off as usual. Your car started when it was a warm 28 degrees and your car doesn't start when it is bitter cold.

Below you will see a picture of the screen filter. $5 or so part.

The "hothands" are sold at home depot for $1 each. Lately when it gets around 5-10 degrees I duct tape two of them to the canister fuel filter to keep it slightly warm overnight. May or may not help, but couldn't hurt.

slowmoe · #41 01-25-2004, 07:36 PM

Chuck,

I do not see how it could still be a fuel issue as I have put in new fuel as well as a lot of PowerService.

I can get about 3/4ths of the filter out without feeling like I will crack the fuel line. From what I can see it looks real clean. Th last owner replaced both filters 30K ago. So far I have only been able to do the spin on.

Rick Miley · #42 01-25-2004, 07:57 PM

The cold temperatures may be causing you to look in the wrong place. Hard starting has been reported a couple times as a result of air leaking into the fuel system. I think narwhal went through this recently. The O rings on the ends of those clear plastic fuel lines leak air. Next time you try to start, check those lines for bubbles.

Take a peek here.

slowmoe · #43 01-25-2004, 08:54 PM

Rick,

Thanks. I really thought that might be it. I just ran over to my indy's. The car is now parked there. I turned her on and looked as closely as I could with a flashlight at all the lines I could see and did not see any air bubbles. It is posible that with the poor lighting they were just not visable. I will tell my indy to look into it further.

Thanks again and please continue to tell me the "maybe's."

chuck95e300d · #44 01-28-2004, 07:14 AM

So have you been able to get the car started? Diagnosis from your mechanic?

slowmoe · #45 01-28-2004, 05:33 PM

No diagnosis yet. I am still waiting for him to get to it. Overall, this has been I very frustrating process for me.