I have a 76 300d that will not start. I had a can of diesel that must have gotten water in it and needless to say i didnt make it very far before she quit. I have replaced the inline filter, cleaned the canister filter and all lines and i have replaced the glow plugs. I know i have heat, compression(bc it ran fine before this), and air so that leaves the fuel system. The book says there is a hand pump on the injector pump but mine has a pump attached to the canister filter. There is a line running from the bottom of the inj. pump into the canister filter and this line is full of air. I have tried to loosen the nut on top of the filter and pump and i have tried pumping while the engine was turned over to no avail. The engine is trying to hit but it doesnt seem to be getting enough fuel. Any suggestions?

Remember air is lighter than fuel. If you have a porous fuel line on the suction side of the pump, it will pull in air if there is a leak. Check all hoses and connections on the suction side of the pump. I bet thats where you are getting the air.

You can prove this by temporarily rigging a fuel container higher than the pump so that the fuel flows by gravity to the pump. If the engine now runs, you know what is the problem.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

ive checked all the connections and lines and they seem fine it seems as if the air is coming straight out of the injector pump. I dont think that I am bleeding the system right as I have been told diff. things. I have loosened the main nut on top of the canister filter and pumped the primer, i have left everything tight and cranked and pumped said pump at same time to purge the air out the system as recommended by MB mechanic, I have read some other forums where people have had the same problem after they had changed fuel filters so this leads me to believe i am not bleeding correctly. Thanks for the help I've got antique tags on mine also

On my '83 300SD, I cracked open the injector supply lines at the head and cranked until fuel came out at all of them. Then I tightened them up and cranked until it started. About 10 secounds and a cloud of smoke later, it was running. After nursing the throttle for a bit, it finally cleared out all the air and ran like normal. As a warning: If you try this method, be really careful around the injector return lines if they aren't fairly fresh, as they are very easily damaged while loosening/tightening the injector supply lines. I sprang leaks on two of them immediately afterward.

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1983 300SD
Rusty, Loud and Proud

Ok i got it cranked. This is for anyone with air in their lines and car wont start. Pull behind truck at 40 mph or above as the transmission wont engage until over 40 and drop it into drive or second. I have been working on this car for two weeks now and this is the only way i could get it to crank. Thanks for everyones help.