PEH,

That is right, I was off by 50% or more. I used numbers I could add and subtract, and multiply and divide late last night. The 3,000 rpm was probably wrong too but it was a nice number. Considering he probably did not see the injector squirts at anything like 3,000 rpm (more like an idle setting if he was cranking with the starter motor) the point was it is not a gusher - so don't be alarmed by the relatively wimpy spritz and suspect the injection pump is sick.

As for the air getting into the fuel lines, it really does not matter where in the line between the injection pump guts and the injector nozzle you get air. The air is compressible and the system is designed to have a non-compressible fluid so that the pressure builds and pops the injector in a predictable relationship to the rate of rotation of the shaft in the fuel injection pump. The injector is essentially a simple relief valve and once the set pressure is reached it opens, and stays open until the pressure drops. If there is air anywhere in the system, that tiny stroke of the pump will not be enough to compress an air bubble of any volume, and push the intended quantity of Diesel fuel through the injector. The net effect is the engine won't start readily or at all.

The point was that FineOlBenz reported the lines were loose and leaking and that would contribute to a hard starting condition. Given a loose connection, the fuel in the line will leak out when you shut the machine down. Air will leak in, and the pump to the injector connection is no longer "solid" resulting in a need to do crank for a long time, or use the hand pump, to re-establish a solid line of Diesel fuel between the injection pump and the injector nozzles. Makes for hard starting.

So, if I were FineOlBenz, I would fix the leaks and try to start the car again. The leaking lines surely did not improve the starting performance.

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)