jivadent,

Consider yourself lucky. Diesel fuel is very different from gasoline, and while there is a risk of fire by pouring gasoline into the intake manifold, there is risk of ruining the engine with Diesel. Diesel fuel will not evaporate and you run a good chance of filling a significant portion of the cylinder volume with liquid if you pour any in the intake manifold. The result is a bent rod, cracked piston, cracked head, broken crankshaft, etc, all really bad.

This is because liquid Diesel fuel is essentially incompressible, like water. Pouring Diesel into the manifold and sending liquid on its way to the cylinder, cranking the engine over, and having the car start is about the worst set of circumstances you can create. If your battery is weak it is feasible the starter will stall before you break anything. In any case it sounds like yours did not start when you did this so it is possible, even likely, you did not do any serious damage.

Since Diesel will not evaporate in the manifold and get into a condition where it will burn in the cylinder (liquid Diesel in a puddle is not easy to light) there are no carburetors for Diesels. Diesels require an injector that atomizes the fuel as it is introduced to the hot, compressed gas in the cylinder. This gets heat and Oxygen to the greatest possible number of fuel molecules, making the likelihood of ignition increase to 100%. A worn or dirty injector will not effectively atomize the fuel, and you get poor combustion characteristics ("nailing" is a common auditory signal, while increased smoking and poor starting and acceleration visual and seat of the pants indications) or even no combustion in cold weather starting.

Take care of your Diesel and it will pay you back with years and years of reliable service. Most of the idosyncracies are well known and accepted by the crowd on this forum, so ask whenever you are not clear on something. Good luck, and enjoy! Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)