The problem went away for a few weeks and then returned.

Additional analysis and discussion with some knowledgeable CIS guys pointed to the fuel accumulator, which can easily be tested on the car by disconnecting/plugging the hose from the backside that tees back into the supply line hose from the tank and installing a clear vinyl test hose to the nipple.

Upon turning the ignition key on, which energizes the fuel pumps for about a second, fuel filled up the test hose. The accumulator was obviously leaking internally, so the system was not holding operating pressure after shutdown, and the leak made it hard for the fuel pumps to develop operating pressure during cranking, which is why it became hard to start, hot or cold.

I had a helluva time finding one even though Mercedes probably built 3 million cars world wide that use this part from '84 to '93. Several Bosch dealers I tried starting with Pelican were out of stock, so I called Bosch USA and they are out of stock until late May. I finally ordered one from a dealer in Kansas City who offers a good discount from list. They said there was one in the Fontana warehouse, but the computer was wrong, and it had to be backordered to Germany, so it took about two weeks to get the part.

I replaced it on Tuesday and got my California ASM emission test, yesterday. It goes into storage for the summer after the Pelican show in Palos Verdes on Saturday.

I plan on disassembling the old accumulator to do a failure analysis and will start a new thread with the results.

Duke