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#1
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well it stopped again
about the same place on the full tank between half and the white line above reserve. took it on the hwy and did 65-70 with the cruise on. i went about 60 miles on the hwy and on my way back i felt it surging. my wife had experienced the same feeling a couple days ago.
there was no woosh as i opened the drilled gas cap(the previous sure fire answer from the indy shop) as a mmatter of fact i am finding diesel in the shallow part of the area around the cap. obviously fuel is venting out. the valves were adjusted and the fluids changed. there are a few new lines. the tow driver saw that there is a smoke leak, and i haven't found the part name so here is the description, it is from the bottom of the cannister that the valve cover hose goes into. it is smoking from where it meets the steel line at the bottom. sorry i am feeling technically incompetent right now. the fella i bought it from knows the vaccuum is clamped off but we don't know why and he thinks the other lines are reversed somehow. it has broken down teice in three weeks. it has 144,000 miles and i have less than 700. he has offered to buy it back at a reduced price and i am ready to do that. any thoughts? Last edited by 83-240D; 10-31-2004 at 09:07 AM. |
#2
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Sounds like your tank's vent needs to be cleaned out.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#3
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83-240D,
How much fuel does the tank accept when you fill it back up? It is possible your tank sender for fuel level and the reserve light is malfunctioning and you are just out of fuel. This has happened to each of my cars as they aged. You get to depend more on the mileage and less on the sender unless you fix it. I never bothered, and just used the trip odometer when I filled up. If you have a hole drilled in the cap you don't have a vent problem. Going around corners may cause a bit of fuel to dribble out and make the side of the car wet with fuel. This will cause dirt to stick and make the car look messy. But with a hole in it the need for the vent system, or the need for a functiong vent system is superfluous. If you have fuel and you are not getting it when the tank gets down to some level, you have some foreign material in there. I once had a VW bus and it acted similarly. I used to take the carb of every night and clean it, then put it on in the morning. One day while putting the unit back together, I noticed something inside the fuel line. Turned out to be an entire 8-track tape! I pulled it out, slowly, and then, no more problem. Once the fuel level is low enough, the suction of the pump will draw the foreign object over the tank port feeding the pump and soon there is no flow. The smoking you see is likely by-pass gasses and is a sign the rubber connectors are shot. The whole point of the cannister is to separate oil droplets from non-condensing gasses in the blow by, send the gasses back to be burned again, and collect and drain the oil droplets and condensibles to the sump. Leaking connections also makes a mess and they are relatively cheap, so get some new ones (there are five rubber connections as I recall, one at each end of the tube from the valve cover, one on the line going to the sump where condensed oil vapor drains, and one on each end of the tube going to the intake). I change them all when I do it. Good luck and I hope this helps. Jim
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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) |
#4
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Probably time to clean the tank -- as the fuel level goes down, all the algae and slop that's collected over time get concentrated and plugs the tank screen, cutting off the fuel. If it start again after sitting a while, then stalls and/or lacks power, this is the problem.
Best is to remove the tank, but just draining it, pulling the screen, and flushing will help tremendously. Common problem on older cars. You also need to find and clean the tank vent under the car (large rubber flapper thingy on the end of the vent line) and replace the cap with the proper non-vented one to prevent spills, it's messy and flammable... Muc daubers and spiders like that vent opening. Peter Peter
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1972 220D ?? miles 1988 300E 200,012 1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles 1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000 1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs! |
#5
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okay.......
going to check the fuel level in a few minutes. i will take a coat hanger to fish the tank.
we were in the grand am with 133,000 miles coming home from church and the dash was rattling and squeaking all that plastic rubbing on each other and i said to my wife......did you notice the benz dash doesn't squeak? yes she said but this car is reliable and hasn't stopped twice in the last three weeks. point point. there is only 190 miles or so on the trip odo but maybe with the little leaking out it is enough to lower city driving considerably. so check the tank first. filter is still filled with green stuff no pepper flecks in it yet. anyone think it is a pump going bad??? another thing...it diesels almost 85% of the time now. i have to lift the hood and press the stop button when leaving it in gear doesn't stop it. |
#6
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checked the tank
there is fuel but tapping the filler with the cap it sure sounds not real full.
how hard is it to pull the tank? lets guess that i will have the tools to do it. |
#7
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If you have fuel in the suction line filter (the clear one), the tank probably isn't empty. Take a peek while either cranking the engine or with it idling -- lots of big air bubbles going past is a leak or empty tank, no fuel moving is a plugged tank screen.
Another easy check is to operate the hand pump -- if it stays down and won't come with the spring (new style) or is difficult to pull back up (old style), the line or filter is plugged. If it leaks considerable fuel while pumping, replace it, it's toast and leaks air in while the engine is running. I'd also check the fuel gauge sender, accessable through the first aid box tray at the rear window - remove tray, sender is under the screw fitting there. If it's reading incorrectly, you are just running out of fuel! Tank is below the rear window, remove cover panel at front of trunk to access. Take a look at the suction side lines in the engine compartment, too -- they have been known to leak air, and the car will stop when the tank gets low and more suction is required to move the fuel -- air gets pulled in instead, and the engine quites when the IP fills up with air. Peter
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1972 220D ?? miles 1988 300E 200,012 1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles 1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000 1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs! |
#8
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thanks psfred
i just found the 123manual on line and have been reading it. i will check the sender tomorrow in the light. the sellor also thinks there may be muck in the tank that settles when the tank is low. maybe I could add fuel from the outside and fish out what is blocking from the sender opening. whattya think?
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#9
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Clean the tank and replace the screen.
Not the cheapest way to do this, but the only way to comletely eliminate the problem. You won't have to listen to either the squeaking rattleing dash OR you wife complaining about unreliable cars! Peter
__________________
1972 220D ?? miles 1988 300E 200,012 1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles 1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000 1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs! |
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