Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Diesel Discussion

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-13-2009, 02:50 AM
Greg
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Carlos, California
Posts: 431
Looking at Non running 1987 300SDL

so this belongs to my great aunt and she says if i can get it running its mine. it hasn't run in maybe three years. it currently doesn't have an alternator, so that might be the problem.

i ordered a rebuilt alternator from Phil at fastlane and a serpentine belt as the old one is AWOL. new alternator pulley as well.

ordered all new filters, fuel and oil.

what am i missing and what should i check before cranking this baby

__________________
Current
2006 E320 CDI, 57K bought at 67K "Liesl"
1986 190E 2.3-16, 198K bought at 56K "Brigitta"
1987 300TD (Chuggin Along), 292K "Friedrich"
1995 E320 Wagon, 200K "Louisa"

Past
1987 300SDL, (sold) 125K, bought for 1$ "Kurt"
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-13-2009, 08:09 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posts: 6,510
With a good battery you can get it started without an alternator and belt. Did she tell you why she stopped driving it? You really want that information if possible. It may have just been because a new alternator was required.

Just do not run it very long without the belt as the waterpump is not circulating. It does not hurt to run this heat sensitive engine at an idle for a couple of minutes. Normally coolant circulation is not present until the engine warms to operating temperature.

You may want to inspect inside the air cleaner. Just to verify a rodent has not built a nest in there. Roll the engine over for a bit without starting to get the oil on dried out internal parts. This may require disabling the engines ability to start with someone holding the shutoff lever on the injection pump. As soon as the oil pressure registers you have pre lubed. A little oil in the combustion chambers with the glow plugs out will help pre lube things as well. Leave the glow plugs out perhaps to blow that oil out and help the engine to roll over easily for the pre lube. That way the injection stop lever will not have to be held down either.

Last edited by barry123400; 08-13-2009 at 08:17 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-13-2009, 08:40 AM
LUVMBDiesels's Avatar
Dead on balls accurate...
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Red Lion,Pa
Posts: 2,207
Barry has got it covered... I would also add changing the oil before cranking it as all the oil has made it to the pan by now and probably has collected water by now.

I would also add the step of spinning the turbo to make sure it is free.

Then with the glow plugs out cranking it over to pre-lube it would be the best thing...
__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-13-2009, 09:34 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 2,156
you wont be able to run a car for long without a alternator since the battery wont be recharging. If you plan to buy just make sure you dont have drive far.
__________________
1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 08-13-2009, 11:06 AM
compu_85's Avatar
Cruisin on Electric Ave.
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: La Conner, WA
Posts: 5,234
You can run an old mercedes diesel for a lonnng time with no charging system. I figured out I could run the headlights on my 91 ECOdiesel for 2 hours before the battery would get low enough to not hold the full cutoff switch open. On a benz with the vacuum shutoff it'll just keep going and going and going...

-J
__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 08-13-2009, 11:10 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posts: 6,510
With no belt though the water pump is disabled as well remember. I agree you could drive the car for several days easily with no headlights with a bad alternator though. The engine consumes no electrical current at all for practical purposes once running.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 08-13-2009, 11:22 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 2,156
looks like a few people are forgetting something capacity called reserve capacity and how much components that are constantly on draw. The engine does consume electricity with the electronic diesel system, abs system, then when you factor in items such as wipers, radio, headlights, airbags, climate control. Most of those items you could go without depending on the conditions however you cant go without the eds system since the engine will not run at all. You can But I wouldnt drive the car since the waterpump wouldnt be working causing overheating.
__________________
1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 08-13-2009, 12:48 PM
LUVMBDiesels's Avatar
Dead on balls accurate...
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Red Lion,Pa
Posts: 2,207
I think he just wants it to start... Nobody has mentioned any road trips with out an alternator or water pump
__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 08-13-2009, 02:50 PM
babymog's Avatar
Loose Cannon - No Balls
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northeast Indiana
Posts: 10,765
The 603-powered Mercedes and previous will run indefinately without electricity, only idle-control will be lost which is not a big deal since the A/C won't be slowing the engine.

Electric fans would be helpful if the clutch fan failed, ...

Anyway, yes the water pump is the only problem, get the belt on and you're golden.

If the criteria is to get it running, run the fuel line from a fuel can directly to the intake side of the fuel filter, if it's got enough battery it should start and run. Then it's yours, you can figure out the details.
__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 08-13-2009, 04:06 PM
LUVMBDiesels's Avatar
Dead on balls accurate...
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Red Lion,Pa
Posts: 2,207
I would bring a freshly charged battery to the party...
__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 08-13-2009, 06:11 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Austin TX
Posts: 352
I would put in a fresh battery and install the alternator and belt. The drain out the oil and put fresh oil and oil filter on her. Then change out both fuel filters and pre-fill them with some diesel purge or biodiesel. After you have changed out the filters you can pick up some fresh diesel and put the diesel hose inside a clean can to get it going. After you get everything up and running your going to need to drain the diesel tank, there is no telling how much water and fungus is in that tank.

Good luck
__________________
Professional greasecar installer
Austin TX


98 Jetta TDI with grease car kit + veg-therm (totaled)
87 MB 300SDL running on B99 / greasecar kit + 30 fphe
www.austingreaseguys.com
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 08-14-2009, 11:17 PM
Greg
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Carlos, California
Posts: 431
okay, im not going to drive this thing anywhere without the belt or alternator. which is why i ordered them as stated in the original post. along with all the filters.

so thanks for all the facts about how diesels can run without electricity, but that does not answer my question.

so drain the diesel and get fresh, good idea, will do

change oil, already bought some 10W-40 for the job as well as a Purolator filter.

new battery is a great idea. ill go get one tomorrow before i head over.

couldn't find an new airfilter for the car, but will check and clean the old one to the best of my abilities.

crank engine with stop lever held, another good idea.

and free the turbo.

any last calls, im going over there tomorrow
__________________
Current
2006 E320 CDI, 57K bought at 67K "Liesl"
1986 190E 2.3-16, 198K bought at 56K "Brigitta"
1987 300TD (Chuggin Along), 292K "Friedrich"
1995 E320 Wagon, 200K "Louisa"

Past
1987 300SDL, (sold) 125K, bought for 1$ "Kurt"
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 08-14-2009, 11:28 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: DFW area (north side)
Posts: 1,288
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregoryV022 View Post
okay, im not going to drive this thing anywhere without the belt or alternator. which is why i ordered them as stated in the original post. along with all the filters.

so thanks for all the facts about how diesels can run without electricity, but that does not answer my question.

so drain the diesel and get fresh, good idea, will do

change oil, already bought some 10W-40 for the job as well as a Purolator filter.

new battery is a great idea. ill go get one tomorrow before i head over.

couldn't find an new airfilter for the car, but will check and clean the old one to the best of my abilities.

crank engine with stop lever held, another good idea.

and free the turbo.

any last calls, im going over there tomorrow
Good thing you brought this thread back on track and away from the attempted hijack!

I'd say keep things simple and cheap to see if it will crank.
I'd borrow a good 12V battery. Disconnect the old battery and attach the loaner with jumper cables (old one could have a short so that's why I'd take it out of the picture).
Have fresh diesel in a container. Disconnect the inlet hose and stick it in your fresh diesel.

See if it will crank. If it does you have something worth saving. Don't let it run but a few seconds. Then start spending the money on filters, oil changes, etc.

If the engine is siezed, evaluate finding a replacement engine?

Hijackers, good idea to at least read the original post before replying to the last post of a thread. Let's try to stay focused on helping the original poster, please.
__________________
Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=296386
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 08-14-2009, 11:35 PM
Gene
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Buffalo NY
Posts: 1,102
Most diesel motor oil is not 10-40 though, its 15-40 , Did you get the right oil? It'll take two jugs. Be sure to prefill the fuel filter as you dont want to excessively crank it to start.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 08-15-2009, 12:35 AM
babymog's Avatar
Loose Cannon - No Balls
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northeast Indiana
Posts: 10,765
The 603 filter doesn't pre-fill, it just dumps to the crankcase.

I think I 'd just hook up temporary fuel and crank it, see if it fires. If so, then worry about changing fluids and filters.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page