Hi Everyone

Let me start this post by saying I am a new MB owner and do not have much in the line of auto knowledge in general. I have a 2003 Mustang and to be honest this purchase was on a whim, I have always wanted one and there it was. So here I am.

I bought an 82 300D Turbodiesel two days ago from an individual that had originally purchased the car with the intention of making it into an art car. It has been sitting and seldom driven while owned by her. She had the ac worked on last year but I found out the compressor is locked up and will need to be replaced plus both of the front windows do not work.

Yesterday I replaced the muffler, tires, gas cap which was missing then filled it up and had an oil change. There was some oil leakage last night but then it seemed to stop. I drove the car all day today and was very pleased, just the small maintenance yesterday did a world of good. I have never had or driven a diesel before, assumed it was running fine. About four hours after parking the car this evening I went back out and there is diesel fuel running downhill from the vehicle at least 10 feet. It was no longer dripping when I got out there a while ago and there's no smell in the car itself. From my car-idiot knowledge it is coming from the center of the engine area. Does this help at all?

Any ideas or input would be great...when I was getting the oil changed, inspection done yesterday the mechanics were going on about what great shape the engine was in, etc.
I don't want to take it somewhere and get reamed because they see me coming.

Thanks in advance for any help...
Maryann

Open the hood and look on the driver's (left) side of the engine. The fuel lines run between the fender and the engine. Look closely, then report back. Chances are, if the leak is occuring when the car is stopped, it is the main fuel line. It attaches to a plastic (usually white or clear) fuel filter. Check in that area.

Many will probably point out that the problem could be caused by putting a gas cap on a diesel car.

__________________
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

Thanks for the reply...

OK, I went and looked at the fuel filter area, nothing seems odd there. However, the car is dripping again and from what I can tell it is coming from the area directly down from the fuel filter area and a little back. The whole area down there appears wet with diesel. I didn't start the car, I'm not sure what I should do besides have it towed somewhere.

Thanks again

Is it possible that it is leaking from the joint at the fuel filter and running back down the hose and then to the ground? Does the filter have hose clamps holding it to the hoses? Try tightening them.

__________________
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

i would venture maybe it's leaking from your primer pump which is in the area you describe. there is an easy diy upgraded replacement (bosch) available from fastlane - click above.

it looks like this

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

Thanks again for the replies, this forum is great. Investigated further and cleaned things a little to see where it was coming from. Tolerate the guesswork here and don't make fun...

The connection with one of the hoses going from one injector to the next is leaking and was kind of just hanging on & leaking. It's worn & frayed at the end. Pulled on it and it came right off leaking. Need to replace anyway so clipped the end of it to reattach it, now there doesn't seem to be anything dripping from there, just what has been leaked all over everything else. I need to replace them all I guess. Like I said I'm a car idiot but is there no fitting attaching this? I didn't see anything on the others.

Thanks again, I can't tell ya enough. I need to find a reputable place to take it to around here and I need to educate myself on the whole system. (Dallas/Ft. Worth area) Once I can get this taken care of then I can deal w/ the a/c issue.

Maryann

glad it was a simple fix. there has been some discussion here recently on exactly the same subject. you can search if you like on ''injector return lines''

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

I'll search on that for sure, I would have earlier if I knew they were called "injector return lines", my searches were less than productive.

to answer your earlier question, no, there are no fittings attaching them to the injectors. they just push onto the ends.

__________________
1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP