Hi guys,

I own a 2000 model Mercedes Sprinter 313CDI. Great van and have had running great for around 6 months.

Recently I have recognised a big issue starting the van. The starter engine turns over ok, and i give plenty of time for the glow plugs to warm, but the engine just wont kick in.

I took it to my mechanic and he thought it may have been a fuel delivery issue and replaces the rubber 'o' ring seals between the pump and the engine. Strangely, this seemed to fix the problem really well, but only for about 1 month, after which it started happening again. I have been using 'Start ya Bastard' (An ether spray) to start the engine via the air intake, and really need to fix this problem. do you have any ideas and have you heard of this problem before?

Thanks guys, i'll eagerly anticipate your feedback.

Matt

I honestly no clue what the issue may be but never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever use ether on a diesel engine unless it's a matter of life and death that you get it running.

If you know how to correctly use ether, there's no damage....... AS LONG AS THE GLOWPLUGS ARE DISCONNECTED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good night, most all farm tractors are ether-dependent in the wintertime......

__________________
-Matt

EPA Section 609 Certified MVAC Technician
-----------------
Oil Burner Kartel Member #10

Ahh the smell of Diesel Fuel, it's like coffee in the morning!

My Car:

1982 300SD Turbo Diesel (231,500 miles!) RIP

1984 300SD Turbo Diesel Custom (235,500 mi on driveline.) - On Road!!

www.icsrepair.com

Zapping it with ether sure isn't helping anything. That Sprinter is bound to have a diagnostic port on the engine. I'd suggest trying to retrieve the code and make a trouble assessment based on that information.

Another thing is that, the new ULSD is death to natrual rubber seals and o-rings. It's completely possible that your mechanic replaced the old seals with natural rubber and that they are damaged again. Maybe you should have the seals replaced again but, this time use viton instead of rubber.

LOL!!!

My JD 2040 actually has a factory fitting where you can insert a can of JD fluid to help start in cold weather. But, I've never needed to use it, even down to about 20°F...any colder than that, and I need starting or running (ie, Black Jack) fluid.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Please enlighten me as to what it is you are referring to as "natural rubber". I hope you do not mean latex rubber from the rubber tree? I don't think natural has been used for many many decades in automobiles.

Quote:
"Another thing is that, the new ULSD is death to natrual rubber seals and o-rings. It's completely possible that your mechanic replaced the old seals with natural rubber and that they are damaged again. Maybe you should have the seals replaced again but, this time use viton instead of rubber."

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

It is fairly well established that biodiesel blended to anything greater than B20 and, the new ULSD fuels can and will deteriorate the 'rubber' components on the older Benz' autos. Whether or not these are truly 'natural rubber' I don't know, that's just what I call them.

my .02

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

You also may want to try posting the question on the Yahoo Sprinter group.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Natural rubber (latex) is still used for condoms but not in automobiles AFAIK. I do not know for sure the exact compound used in old MB diesels. I'd guess it is NBR (nitrile buna rubber) or some other synthetic rubber.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I thought ether was death to Indirect diesel motors, not direct injected...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

To my knowledge, the rubber orings used by MB are a Buna material.

Your engine uses some orings at the ends of plastic fuel lines leading to and from the fuel filter and IP. Suggest you look at those next to resolve your hard starts. Sounds like you have a minor leak allowing air to enter somewhere. You do not have a manual primer pump. Priming is accomplished by cranking the starter manually (using key, rather than auto start feature) for 30 seconds. Repeat 2 or 3 times until it catches. After 3 tries let starter rest and cool off for 10-15 minutes.

Unless an oring was pinched when the delivery valve seals were replaced I could not imagine they would deterioate to the point of leaking in one month regardless of the fuel type used. Deterioation usually occurs when the fuel type is changed and the aromatics used in the different blends (LSD vs ULSD for example) cause rubber componets to fry out and shrink.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

It is to ANY diesel that uses glowplugs or an intake heater unless it's designed to be used with ether like Randy's JD 2040.

Just to clarify, my JD204 is a 'direct injection' engine.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

The GMC tractor - trailer I drove long ago - with a 671 diesel (very popular engine - a lot of marine use, too) - had a metal cup with a spring-loaded cap with a sharp spike on the inside of the cap. There was a tube from the cup to the air intake. When it was below freezing and the engine was stone cold, one put a gel cap of ether (the size of a red rubber toy ball) into the cup, let the cap spring shut to puncture the gel, get in & crank it up. It fired right off. Then you had to sit there with a foot on the fuel pedal until the engine was warm enough to hold idle - it was considered bad for it to let it "lope", which it would do for the first 5-7 minutes. The truck wasn't ever moved until the guage showed significant heat in the engine.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed thus far... This problem is driving me up the wall, as you can imagine.

it still hasnt been resolved, and I heed the warnings of using ether to start the engine, but as this is my only van I own, I have to get it started sometimes. I followed my mechanics, and your instructions on using it sparingly and without the use of glow-plugs.

I called my mechanic the other day and informed him that the o-ring replacement had not resolved the issue for any great length of time. He has resorted to inform me that the only other option is to completely replace the pressure pump at a cost of around $1500.00. I really dont want to spend that amount of money until I have exhausted all other cheaper options. and as you guys ahve mentioned, I think it must be a leak somewhere, and allowing air into the system because there is visible fluid build up on the engine around the lines. I tried the primer option and yes it does start the engine after around 40 seconds of turning over. I asked about the rubber issue also, and he told me no worries, the o-rings were definitely not natural rubber and would not have corroded this quickly.

Any other ideas or solutions would be much appreciated.

all the best.

matt

Hey,
Not sure wether you have fixed this yet. Ive had alot of problems with fuel bein drawn back because of air leaks into the fuel system itself. If you have changed all the pipes here are a few things to try,

Try and disconnect the injector leak off pipes along all injectors and clamp the pipe off before it would connect to the injectors. start engine and monitor the amount of fuel coming out the leak off holes in the injectors. If a larger amount of fuel comes out of one than the others theres your problem. next-----

On one end of the rail is a rail pressure sensor on the other is a rail pressure regulator. The seals break on these. heres the mb number for the repair kit if you find them broken .0149977045


Cheers and Good Luck
Carlo@ssmotorsuk