96 E300D. So about a 2 weeks ago, I noticed the smell of diesel when walking around the car. After looking under the hood, I could see diesel dripping from my one of my fuel lines that connects to the Shut-off valve. Since I was going to have to remove the Intake Manifold, i decided that I would change out everything. I ordered new fuel lines, and viton O-Rings.

The job was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, except for getting Banjo bolt O-ring in place. I finally gave up, as I could not get the bolt back in, and just put the old O-ring back on.

Anyway, once I got all the fuel lines, delivery valves, and other O-rings replaced, I decided to start the car before getting the manifold back on. I finally got it started after 2-3 rounds of letting it crank for about 30 sec. It was very loud and stumbled. I thought this was normal, as there may be air moving through the system, so I let it run for a few min, and then shut the car off. I put everything back together, and started it again. This time, there was a very lound distinct clacking noise coming from the engine. It sounds like 1 cyl. Thinking that it would go away if I drove the car, I took it for a 5 min spin. The car was clacking the whole time, and when I come to a stop, it stubles.

I'm wondering if some dirt fell in one of the DV .. or there is more air in the system??? I do notice that all the lines have fuel in then, except for the line that goes to the top of the pre-filter, but no leaks that I could fine. My lines were black before changing them, so this may be normal.

I'm afraid that I may have to take everything apart tomorrow.

What do you all think?

Thanks