I will have to agree with Larry. It was 16 degrees this morning. I started my 300d and my buddies 82 6.2 Chevy with no trouble . Niether vehicles block heater was plugged in. There is also straight summer blend fuel oil in them. The mercedes motor is in good shape. But the 6.2 is suffering with bad injectors and a weak injection pump. I guess my point is even if your vehicle is only in fair shape as long as the battery and glow plugs are in good working condition and the filters are not clogged, it will start.

I will go on to say that most people mistake frozen filters with gelled fuel. In most cases water builds up in the filters over the summer and then freezes. It does not take much water to freeze a fuel system. I run straight FO year round. When it gets below 0 degrees. I put conditioner in my storage tank. Except for the gallon or two of motor oil in the thank, thats it. I have been running my diesels this way for more then five years and have never gelled any fuel. We have many a night below -25 degrees up here.

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If it isn't old. It isn't worth beans!

85 300d 365,000mi war wagon
84 300sd parts doner, many parts for sale
90 Nissan Pathfinder 250,000+mi work horse

Starting fluid is popping up in threads again.

"it may be foolproof (son) but it is not damned fool proof".

tom w

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[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.

The problem with ether is that when you have introduced it into the engine and the glow plugs light up, you risk the head blowing off the engine. As soon as the glow plug heats up the ether does what its supposed to, explode. If you have enough, then boom. Tractors and class 8 tractors may come from the factory with ether systems, but they are desiged for it and will not blow the head off.

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1981 300D 147k
1998 VW Jetta Tdi 320k
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 141k
1979 300D 234k (sold)
1984 300D "Astor" 262k(sold)
Mercedes How-To and Repair Pictorials
I love the smell of diesel smoke in my hair

As may have been said in this thread NEVER use ether in an engine that has working glow plugs. If any of your plugs work disconnect the relay or pull the fuse, etc. Once the engine is running you can reconnect the glow plugs. I don't know how much compression pressure ether will develop in an engine but it is enough to bend a rod and that is a lot of pressure.

My Diesel Mechanics book (Shulz..pretty old school book) specifically states that the engine must be turning BEFORE you inject the ether. This is key. And they specifiy to do it from a distance and shoot the ether in the direction of the engine...not nessisarily direct (obviously varies from air filter setup to air filter setup)

If you spray it in, then start cranking...I think you are asking for problems.

But if you are cranking and THEN, while its cranking, give it a little juice...you are golden.

I would not be so worried about explosions or popping of heads. Anyone have that happen on a mercedes diesel yet? Doubt it.

Blowing out the head gasket and/or bending rods using starting fluid, heck yes.
I have not done it, but watched it happen many times!

Hmmm, let me think what diesel vehicles I have watched being wrecked using starting fluid, repaired or scraped after blowing out the head gasket and/or bending rods, Mercedes, Peugeot, Volvo, VW, Audi, GM, Ford, Renault, Citroen, Toyota, Dodge, Nissan, Honda, etc, etc...

The ones that bugged me where owners I warned, then to watch them spraying half the can of starting fluid into the intake in one long blast, jump in start up, and drive off trailing a massive white cloud and/or a terrible knock.

Done properly, with small quanitity of ether injected while the engine is being cranked (not before) I HIGHLY DOUBT any sort of serious engine failure.

I could see the extremes totally taking the engine out...but if done properly?

The overhead cam engines don't have rods so that would be sorta hard to bend anywho

All piston engines have connecting rods.

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'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88
'01 VW Beetle TDI
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD
'89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T
'78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110
Oil Burner Kartel #35

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oD/bioclip.jpg

That gave me an idea why not carry around a cylinder of propane? it would be safer than ether wouldn't it?

danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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Here is some wise guy named Brandon 3141 something and he is telling us all how bloomin much he knows of "Ether", and then has the stupidy to make this statement, "don't have to worry cause overhead cams don't have rods anyway". What tree did you fall out of?

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Brandon,'

I don't know what kind of mechanical wounderland you live in but in my 50 plus years of working on car/boat/airplane/heavy equipment/super tanker/rail road/ engines the only one I have ever seen without a connecting rod is a Wankle engine and they are few and far between.

Your engine does NOT need to be turning when you inject ether into it. If you spray ether into the air filter housing it will not get into the engine until the engine is spinning. It can't move up the air inlet until the spinning engine creates a vacuum and pulls, or in scientific terms the external high pressure pushes, the ether into the engine.

The only problem I have ever seen using ether in a Diesel engine is when the glow plugs are operable. When they are glowing the plugs cause preignition. This causes the engine to balk and puts an extreem load on the piston and connecting rod.

Wait till Brandon gets back from school.....I believe he does know his stuff but used a poor choice of words when he typed that out...lets give him a chance to correct that statement before crucifying him.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Yup, A friend of mine works on tractors, some have ether starts (looks like a 14 ounce propane can mounted outside the truck), but they do not have glow plugs, it is either glow plugs or ether start, NOT BOTH!

John

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1986 190D, 2.5L, 5-speed swap, 180,000 Miles (60K by me).
Jeep CJ-7 with Cummins 4BT/NV4500/AtlastII 4.3.
Grand Wagoneer 4BT project in progress!

I think he was talking about push rods. He probably thinks you guys are crazy!