Hi,

I have a transplanted OM617A in my Merc. G-Wagen and I have a problem with idle smoke. The smoke is white/grey with a definite diesel/burned smell. Its not coolant.

The motor came out of a used/abused 300D that I bought for $300 bucks from some half-stoned hippie dude. 492,000km. To give you an indication of the state of the motor it was haemorraging oil, PO tried to seal valve cover with gasket seal and made a mess, and the radiator was clogged with mud (how does that happen?). My next project will be to save an entire 300d from the wrecker- not just the motor.

Anyway, I've read all the smoke/smoking threads but thought I'd throw it out to the forum again to see if there are any additional insights.

I've done the following:

1- Perform diesel purge
2- Replace fuel filters
3- Adjust valves

The only two things I can see left are:

1- Adjust IP timing
2- Replace injectors

With all the work I've done so far the engine runs beautifully, starts on 1/2 crank cold normally, and no glow required when warm - but I get a constant light smoke at idle. I don't think it will pass emissions as is, and I'm trying to get the truck running and insured for a weekend that's been planned for the last 6 months, so I'm keen to find a solution.

Anything I'm missing? Also, two questions. First, is it safe to turn the motor from the camshaft, not the crank? The crankshaft is inaccessible now the the truck is together and its 2h to pull the front of the vehicle. The PS pump doesn't have enough tension on the belts to turn the motor. Also, I am getting air in the fuel line from the pre-filter to main filter and main filter to the IP. Could this be causing the smoke? Is the cause of this usually a bad lift pump?

Thanks for the help in advance!

Cheers,

Michael

It could be air - have you got bubbles in your fuel lines?

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Do not turn the engine from the camshaft! The manual warns against this. Also, don't turn the engine backwards. Any slack or looseness in the chain needs to remain on the passenger side where the tensioner is and pulled in the direction of normal rotation by the crank gear. Using a wrench on the power steering and letting the belts pull the crank around works best when the glow plugs or injectors are out. Sometimes just putting pressure on the belt at the p/s pump pulley with the palm of your hand will get it to work a little at a time.
Do you have a bottom cover on the engine compartment? If so, remove it and see if you can get your socket on the crank pulley bolt from below. You'll need an assistant to tell you when you hit the desired mark, like 15 ATDC. I painted white and yellow marks so I can see TDC and 14ATDC from below.
Sometimes you have to rotate the engine little by little because of compression with the glow plugs and injectors in place.

__________________
1992 300D 305+K miles
1978 240D Sold