1982 380SL won't start when warm after sitting for 20 minutes

[JustJim]

So I finally got my 82 380SL to run smooth. It idles fine and develops power as it should. The only problem I have now is that after it warms up, if you shut it off and let it sit it acts like it is flooded. If you restart it immediately upon shutdown, it starts right up, but if it sits for 15-20 minutes or more it is hard to start, like it is flooded. If it sits for more than 3 hours, it starts fine again. Is there some sort of fuel shut off that is supposed to stop the fuel from entering the engine on shutdown? or is there another direction I should be looking for the solution?

Thanks for any help or insights you can provide.

[rowdie]

Typical symptom of a failed fuel accumulator. It keeps pressure in the system to aid in warm starts after sitting awhile. It is located above the fuel filter in the fuel pump package.

[timm9]

rowdie is 100% correct. I had the same car with the same issue which was rectified with the replacement of the Accumulator.

[sublettm]

Before you spend the dollars on the fuel accumulator take 10 minutes to pull the valve on the fuel distributor and make sure the o-ring isn't broken. I just resolved this issue with my car. I replaced the fuel accumulator, pump, filter, injectors and in the end it was a 5 cent o-ring.

[JustJim]

Thanks. I had already replaced all of the O-rings and diaphragm in the fuel distributor, as well as all of the fuel injectors. The idle greatly improved when I replaced the rubber boot under the metering valve (air chamber?). I replaced the fuel accumulator and now she starts up any time.