This problem also happens with a full tank. Where is the lift pump located?

1987 300 TD 196Km
1987 300D 184Km
2001 CLK 430 Convertible 34Km

Replace the fuel lines around the lift pump and pre-heater. About four short fuel lines in there. Also, make sure the pre-heater thermostat isn't leaking, or it can drain all the fuel out of the lift pump.

Lift pump is on the side of the IP, where the hose from the tank with the clear pre-filter goes. Connected to the pre-heater on the block through the pre-heater thermostat, but I don't remember if it's suction side or pressure side at the moment.

I did all of those hoses this summer to cure some idle and diesel smell problems.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Thanks Peter,

I will do them all this weekend and let everyone know how it went!

I have been having a similar experience with my 99 E300. The other morning it would not start. Cranked fine, no warning lights, but would not fire. I am still on starmark, so I called the stealership to see what they had to say. The roadside assistant folks said I should floor it and crank the tar out of it. I did and it eventually started. Very rough at first, then slowly smoothed out. I took it in to the stealership to have a look. They let it sit overnight, it started just fine, they ran a diagnostic and it turned up nothing. Gave me a bill for a $100.00 bucks and sent me on my way. This morning, the same thing happened. It took at least a dozen attempts, 45-60 seconds each. Feels and sounds like fuel, not electrical or mechanical. I did not call the stealership this time, I may tomorrow. I presently am parked in my driveway, up grade, 3/8 of a tank of fuel. If this is about parking on a grade with low fuel, this is no acceptable behavior!

Trapeze:
you won't have a problem sucking in air from the tank when the tank in 3/8 full. It's when you are on a very steep hill with less than 1/4 that it might happen. It sounds like you're getting air in the system somehow. I'd check all the fuel lines. By the way, you have hills in Florida?

__________________
LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

The hills of Clermont reach upwards of 150 feet above sea level.

The “hill” I am referencing is the grade in my driveway 3-4 degrees!

The stealership said they checked the fuel lines, I suspect they did a cursory look.

Just after shutting it down, I opened the hood and heard a faint hissing sound, like air? The sound stopped after two minutes.

As I said before, I have a starmark warrantee until August. Should it have covered the “look under the hood” the stealership did?

I'll bet they charge a "diagnostic" fee if they look for a problem and can't find anything wrong. This is probably their way of keeping the car hypochondriacs from constantly coming by. However if something is wrong Starmark should refund the money. Take it back and insist they look again.

__________________
LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

trapeze, this advice applies to you as well. Except on the 99 there are 6 clear (possibly brown by now) plastic lines that need to be replaced. I just did mine this week, and I have information about it posted in 2 different threads. One is by Mark Herzig and is just a couple days old. The other you can find by searching for "$793 fuel leak". The plastic lines are not covered by the Starmark warranty! Five of the six can be replaced pretty easily by removing the washer bottle, which only takes one nut. For the sixth, the intake manifold will need to come off. You should also take a look at LightMan's thread about glowplug replacement on the 99. That one could save you $500, as glowplugs are not covered by Starmark either.

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Last Thursday I had the same starting issues. This time I only tried starting twice, then called a different stealership. Asked them to tow it, I wanted them to see it in its non starting condition. They call me on Friday to tell me they found the problem, it is the “crankshaft position sensor”? B.S.!!! I told them that I would be surprised if they did not find a fuel issue. Sure enough, on Monday I get a call that the fuel shutoff valve was cracked and sucking air. (No mention of the previous diagnosis) They replaced the fuel shutoff valve as well as 3 of the clear fuel lines, all under starmark. They also replaced the fuel filter, to the tune of $97.93 parts and labor! I guess they felt a need to fill the amount I approved.

Thank you for pointing me to the fuel line issues!

__________________
1999 E300 DT 178k
1960 Ford Thunderbird Convertible 82k
2000 BMW R1200 CE 12k
2000 Nissan Xterra SE 145k
1994 Go Ped 1,000,000 miles

You found the loophole. The shutoff valve is covered by Starmark. So when they replace it under warranty, they can sneak the fuel lines in too. But lines by themselves are not covered. Glad you got it fixed.

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Turns out it was the pressure valve seals on the injector pump. See 603 injection pump leaking

1987 300 TD 198Km
1987 300D 185Km
2004 CLK 500 Convertible 200m

Jared:

Take the glow plug connector off the relay (left fender skirt on the W124 chassis) and check the resistance between the connetors in the free end and ground. Must be 0.6 to 0.8 ohm (use a digital meter, you can't see that low on a needle type meter). Zero or anything above 1 ohm means they are bad. You can also check between the connection at the glow plug and ground, but some of them are very hard to reach on the M603.

On series type plugs, check the resistance between the inner and outer connections on the plug -- just put the probes on the solid "wires" between the plugs right at one glowplug.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!