Update and question
 

88 190e sedan
8v 4cyl / auto

It had a bad overload relay which has been replaced. The trans was shifting very late and loosing fluid. It was the mod valve and the engine was taking the trans fluid. This too has been repaired.

Engien runs great and has plenty of power once started.

What's left is a very hard starting condition which I've yet to look into as I still have another issue to check out.

It seems to have loads of blow by though there is no indication of poor compression (no, haven't tested compression yet, but will over the next couple weeks when I get my kit back).

I actually have an oil soaked breather element and I'm wondering if the crank vent system might be similar to Volvo's. With the older Volvos you need to clean the flame trap / crank breather to keep a similar problem from occurring. Anything along those lines with the ke jet 4cyl?

THEN after I know whether it's worth digging deeper into, where are the common areas for tracing down the hard start issue? This thing still use a fuel accumulator like the older ones? And what else would be in the common? (it is a fuel issue btw as I can prime it for an easy start). I guess I should mention that by "very hard start", I mean a fully charged battery will seldom start it alone be it warm or cold start.

Many Thanks!
Frank

1) Accumulator
2) Fuel pump
3) Fuel pressure regulator
4) EHA

Check the fuel pressure before replacing any parts.

Lower chamber pressure too low = EHA.
Upper pressure too low = Distributor/Fuel pump
No holding pressure after 30mins = Accumulator.

Many Thanks,

Now to see if I can find my k-jet book somewhere.
Don't rem squat about upper and lower chamber.

UPDATE...
 

Ok, looks like I have a bad FP which I can deal with. Many thanks to you both!

Now before I dig in and spend money on the FP, any enlightenment on what looks to be blow-by? I'm wondering if it's actual blow-by or if this thing has a system simular to my Volvos and might actually be something as simple as a gunked up crank breather box (assuming it has one) or flame trap (ditto), or anything of that sort.

I will be running a compression check on it as soon as my tester gets returned. As it stands, No one cyl shows signs of loss or oil consumption (though the A/F is oil soaked where the crank vent connects) and the engine runs strong once it's finally started. This doesn't mean it's good, but does make me wonder if there are commons to look for such as on my Volvos.

Thanks again!
Frank

One more shot
 

beating a dead horse?