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  #1  
Old 10-21-2008, 11:38 AM
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E300 spudders with white smoke till warmed up

My 98 E300 has developed a problem that seems to be getting a little worse as the temperatures get lower in NJ. It starts fine, I let it warm up for a short bit then take off down the road and when i hit a slight hill I push the pedal to request more power and it is like I am not doing anything. The engine does not respond, I keep pushing the pedal and then she wakes up and belches out white smoke and takes off. It does this for a few minutes then it performs perfectly for the rest of the day. It has 107,000 miles on it. I have only put 7000 miles on it. It happened only a few times in the summer and I didnt give it much thought. White smoke suggests to me to be injectors ??? can any one offer some insight ? Tranny shifts firm and fine, engine has good power after its done acting up. I think I will invest in manuals.

Scott

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  #2  
Old 10-21-2008, 12:05 PM
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Most cold running problems are due to weak/failed glow plugs. If you have several that are weak then most of the cylinders are taking a bit of time to reach "operating temperature". A "cold" diesel cylinder will not "fire" correctly.
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  #3  
Old 10-21-2008, 12:40 PM
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You ought to have a CEL or GP light constantly on in the dash but, even so, I'd check the GP's and relay first. Go to DieselGiant.com and follow the tutorial there for the W123; subtly different in terms of relay but principals are the same.

If one is bad come back and ask for more advice before attempting to change them. They have a habit of breaking off in the head in our model.
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  #4  
Old 10-21-2008, 02:56 PM
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Thanks for the fast replies. I dont have a CEL or glow plug fail indication but I agree that the system needs to be checked out.
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  #5  
Old 10-21-2008, 04:39 PM
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My '96 E300D performed the same way 2 years ago when the temperatures got colder! My short-term fix was to plug-in the block heater overnight, and when I couldn't do that, I let the glow plugs heat about 20 seconds longer-than the dash indicator light. It turned out to be a combination of a failing battery, too high of an oil viscosity for the cold weather, and one bad glow plug!
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  #6  
Old 10-21-2008, 05:47 PM
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Is the engine stumbling at all? In my experience even one cylinder misfiring will make the whole car shake, so I think you'd notice if you had a GP problem.
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  #7  
Old 10-21-2008, 06:18 PM
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Mine did the same thing in the fall 2 years ago. It was caused by the main filter being full of water. Changed that and no more problems. I suggest that if it has been at least one year since you replaced the main filter you do it again. It is a sump where water will collect and this time of year you get a lot of water in the fuel distribution system.
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Old 10-21-2008, 06:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by parrot of doom View Post
is the engine stumbling at all? In my experience even one cylinder misfiring will make the whole car shake, so i think you'd notice if you had a gp problem.
+1
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  #9  
Old 10-22-2008, 12:10 PM
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Even after it has warmed up I notice it missing occasionally when idling. Defineitly getting worse as the mornings get colder. Diesel giant says injectors should be done every 100,000 miles and I have 107,000 on mine. My quick search shows injectors to be about 95 bucks a piece so I will put that towards the end on my troubleshooting list. I am away on buisness so I have to get the car back to New Jersey before I can get started.
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  #10  
Old 10-22-2008, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by smacmoyle View Post
...Diesel giant says injectors should be done every 100,000 miles and I have 107,000 on mine. My quick search shows injectors to be about 95 bucks a piece so I will put that towards the end on my troubleshooting list. I am away on buisness so I have to get the car back to New Jersey before I can get started.
I'd almost be willing to bet you the $600 it will cost to buy new injectors that after you replace them it will act exactly the same. The 100K mile figure is myth. Many people have 200K, 300K and even more miles on original injectors and they are fine. Mine are coming up on 170K with no problems.

White smoke is almost always a sign of water being burned.

Do yourself a favor and replace the main fuel filter first. It costs all of $15 and takes 10 minutes with no special tools needed and even if it doesn't fix it it is money well spent.

The next step would be to look closely at the delivery valve seals at the top of the injector pump. Is there any sign of leakage there? Is the IP damp with fuel?
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  #11  
Old 10-22-2008, 12:21 PM
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This is just a shot in the dark but I believe that low injection pressure can bring on "back firing" and white smoke. The fuel systems in these cars are famous for sucking air and this can cause a variety of problems. A bad lift pump can cause low injection pressure but I don't know how common a failure that is on this injection pump.
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  #12  
Old 10-22-2008, 01:58 PM
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I agree changing the fuel filter is a no brainer and cheap. Its also easy to check the glow plugs. Though the fact that it misses sometimes during idle leads me to think less about glow plugs and more about water in filter. I am ordering a filter now and will change it when I get home. results to follow. Thanks for the input.
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  #13  
Old 10-22-2008, 02:09 PM
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Does the '98 have a primary fuel filter also? (my '96 does) Change it too, and remember to get a new o-ring, the replacement primary doesn't automatically come with a new one. There have been tales of woe posted here about people throwing out the o-ring with the old filter and not having a new o-ring for the new filter.
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  #14  
Old 10-22-2008, 02:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremy5848 View Post
Does the '98 have a primary fuel filter also? (my '96 does) Change it too, and remember to get a new o-ring, the replacement primary doesn't automatically come with a new one. There have been tales of woe posted here about people throwing out the o-ring with the old filter and not having a new o-ring for the new filter.
It does have the pre-filter (it's really a coarse screen). I've changed mine a couple of times and it was barely even discolored, and never had any chunks in it but it is a good thing to do if it has never been done. And yeah, be sure you get the o-ring.

When I had the exact problem the OPer has it was because the can filter was filled almost all the way with water. All it takes is one bad tank of fuel to contaminate the filter with water and this time of year there is plenty of condensation in the station's tanks. I really thought I had something serious wrong but was really relieved when the new filter took care of it.
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  #15  
Old 10-22-2008, 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by smacmoyle View Post
I agree changing the fuel filter is a no brainer and cheap. Its also easy to check the glow plugs. Though the fact that it misses sometimes during idle leads me to think less about glow plugs and more about water in filter. I am ordering a filter now and will change it when I get home. results to follow. Thanks for the input.
Good luck and let us know the results.

Remember to pre-fill the filter so you won't have to prime the system by cranking after you replace the filter. Some people use ATF but I keep a small container of clean diesel fuel for this purpose.

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