Id like to add that when the car idles for awhile and your outside, there is a heavy diesel smell, I've spent hours with a flashlight and a mirror looking for leaks and have come up empty handed

__________________
hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

could be any number of things,,, from clogged pick up screen in the tank,,, Once started, fuel flow must be there.

I would imagine that once the symptom appears, the car should atleast idle for a period, maybe enough time for you to pop the hood and look see the fuel system.

__________________
Closing the store
Benzbonz.biz on your smart phone or tablet.

If you can smell diesel then there is a leak. Get sume engine cleaner and clean the engine in the area of the fuel system. my guess is that the leak is in the connections of the pre-filter area. Buy some new fuel line and hose clamps.

__________________
Closing the store
Benzbonz.biz on your smart phone or tablet.

I had a leak in that short hose that runs to the fuel heater. The one with the weird bends to it. Some NAPA Diesel fuel line fixed it right up

__________________
"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

Engine is clean. Clean since the day I got it, and I keep it clean too. there's no Gunk build up..

When I get back I'll Check the Fuel system again. Where is the Fuel Heater? I dont Think I've seen one before

__________________
hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

If you smell diesel, there is a leak.
If there is a diesel leak, then air also can enter, and fill the system with air.
I would very carefully remove the spin on filter and see if it is full. I would bet it is not. and that you have pulled air into the system.
this would explain the chugging, and the die.
If not already checked, I would replace the hand priming pump. and check the motor mount below it for fuel.

__________________
83 300SD Dark Silver Dark brown inside

Since you never said the diesel smell was from the engine compartment, try checking the rubber lines coming from the fuel tank to the hard lines.

__________________
too many w123's
84 280 SL 5 speed

Follow the fuel line from the plastic pre-filter. It goes into a junction where the list pump is. Then there is a short (6 inch?) hose that kind of makes a 180 degree turn. That is going into the heater. That is the hose that was leaking on my car. Since it is so short and bends so radically it gets brittle.

I also had leaks at the delivery valves on the IP. I smelled Diesel long before I saw the seals leaking. In fact I had to be looking at the IP with the engine running to see the leaks.

__________________
"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

Delivery Valve seals were replaced a month ago abouts... I will check the Fuel Heater when I get the car back. I was ironicly Driving it to the repair place when it Quit

__________________
hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Well, the shop called. apparently they had the car die on them 2 times so far... their latest solution was to again Drain my Fuel tank and clean the tank screen thinking there was only a little diesel left in it...Needless to say I was right in the fact it was just over 1/2... I asked them about the little Fuel pump on the engine, the lift pump I think it is, they replaced it and apparently it's fixed the power problem, engine has no trouble making it over 2,000 RPM's now... so again I think they have it solved fwiw... Thanks for the input. We'll see how long the repair lasts this time around.. they are now replacing the cruise control Actuator..

__________________
hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

I dont know what it can be anymore. I just got the car back and it still Went dead. 2 times. I'm at wits end.. the whole Fuel system has been gone through, I cant Even Understand what could be wrong now

Lift pump: Replaced--
New injectors
Tank Drained (still more then 1/2)
New fuel lines all around
Delivery valve seals
Sending unit checked
Tank screen checked
injector over flow lines replaced none wet
3 totally new sets of filters primary and pre
Glow plugs checked and rechecked for the 40th time... Compression tests all in the high 300's... I'm at a loss to know why this pos wont stay running.
This car.... I dont know what to do with anymore. when it runs, it runs awesome, I just dont know what else to try.. It's spent more time in the shop and being towed away then I'm able to enjoy it...

as a side note. please dont merge this with the last running Td topic, It's far to long...

__________________
hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

We keep ongoing issues together so a big picture can be attained. Chopping it up loses continuity. And interest...........

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

First, understand that I don't know jack about cars.

Next, if you're sure it's a fuel problem, just a guess in left field, is there a pressure leak somehow? When I change my fuel filters, I always open the fuel tank cap to relieve pressure.

If you're checked the other stuff 40 times, then stop checking that. Spend you time on other stuff. If you haven't already, take it to a Mercedes specialist, let them take a look at it.

My guess, if you're saying it's a fuel problem, then the car would maybe chug with the last gasps of fuel it's getting, rather than cutting off completely. And if it is in fact a fuel problem, just seems like maybe fuel's getting to where it needs to be, but perhaps not enough of it. It's possible you have some rubber from one of the old seals that dropped down into the chamber, clogging something, but even then, you'd have fuel for the other cylinders.

Take it to an independent Mercedes specialist, get it fixed once and for all before something serious happens where you need the power, and it quits on you.

Good luck,

jeff

"Went dead" is not a terribly helpful description of the situation. A more detailed description of the symptoms and circumstances might generate a more useful response.

How about a you tube video of a run then die session with the hood up? Next best thing to being there...

__________________
Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)