Fuel filter drain, and other drains on time & money - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

katja · #1 09-17-2010, 11:03 PM

I bought my 240D over 5 years ago, knowing very little about how to work on cars, but had this lofty goal of having Katja fully restored in 5 years.

Those who know me, know that I am better at procrastinating than anything else, and while I have succeeded in that, my 240D is far from "restored." You know....lack of time or money, or time and money.

And, I have finally come to terms with a few realities:

- I much prefer to wash, wax and detail my Mercedes than to wrench on it.
- My friends do not want to help me work on my car and don't have the time to do so anyway
- I love my Mercedes too much to get rid of it, but needs some upcoming major repairs, soooo....that leaves me with two choices: do the work myself (slow & painful and much higher probability of making potentially costly mistakes) or have my indy do it (expensive).

My strategy now is to continue to do the little jobs myself, by myself, and save up for my indy to do the big stuff that requires two people and tools & knowledge that I don't have.

And already, I'm stuck right now on the silly fuel filter drain. Sorry if this sounds totally clueless.

There are no symptoms that the fuel filter actually needs to be changed (I've already done the prefilter and even that wasn't very dirty), but I think this is a regular maintenance item and I believe there's probably some accumulated water that needs to be removed. Most other diesels I've looked at with had a water trap/separator as part of the filter assembly, but this appears to have some kind of grommet and plug at the bottom of the metal can for draining the fuel, and there's also a bolt on the side. I can't get either of those bolts to budge even a little. Any tips? (and how to keep from spilling fuel everywhere).

OK, so once I get this solved, while I play around at my own leisure at restoring the seats and various failed accessories, I have some important engine-related health concerns to address:

-Nailing on at least one injector, usually at light throttle....I'm past the point where diesel purge will help...they need to be rebuilt
-Constant bluish smoke at idle; not bad, but noticeable
-After climbing a long hill, engine idles high for a while
-Quite a lot of vapor coming out the breather & oil cap
-Rough idle & lots of smoke after a cold start (starts quickly though, even at sub-freezing temperatures).

Mileage is around 229K but speedometer was disconnected when I bought it, so could be over 300K in reality. Not much in the way of maintenance records before I bought it, either.

My thought is:

1) Have injectors rebuilt, or buy some rebuilt ones. Should I tackle the removal/replacement myself, considering I'm not an experienced wrenchhead?
2) Have the timing chain & associated parts replaced, & pump re-timed. Or should I just have the pump timing done & leave the chain alone?
3) Have injection pump diaphragm & vacuum pump diaphragm replaced, I suspect one of these might be the cause of the high idle after heavy load.
4) Accept the massive blowby because it's not economical to rebuild my engine

I know some of these jobs are going to be expensive, so I plan to stagger these out (procrastinate) over the next two years, but am wondering if I could cause imminent and catastrophic damage by ignoring any of the above for a while (by recent reports on this forum of OM61x engines grenading at 70mph on the highway suddenly, makes me worry). Any suggestions on how to prioritize my list or if I am off-base in my thinking, would be appreciated.

sixto · #2 09-17-2010, 11:15 PM

I'm afraid to bring up checking valve clearance.

Sixto
87 300D

katja · #3 09-18-2010, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixto

I'm afraid to bring up checking valve clearance.

Sixto
87 300D

That was done immediately after I bought the car; though I haven't gone 15,000 miles since it was done, I was planning to have it checked again. Valve cover gasket is leaking anyway. I'm starting to think this blowby is a real problem - there's oil leaking out of the breather tube, the oil filler cap, and also into the air filter housing - and I had renewed all the rubber seals on those parts within the last 5 years as well as the valve cover gasket.

Stevo · #4 09-18-2010, 09:36 AM

I suggest you buy a Toyota or Subaru for actual driving.

vstech · #5 09-18-2010, 09:38 AM

ok. massive blowby would not allow oil to leak out the breather tube or the oil filler cap. unless they had leaks. you need new breather tube ends, and a new seal for your filler cap. blue smoke is oil burning in the exhaust, usually from bad exhaust seals in the valves. none of those things need special tools or skill. and procrastination is another way of saying patient right? ok. order a new set of breather ends, get a new VC gasket, unless yours was changed with the valve adjustment, then it's likely OK and not leaking. (the oil could just be dripping down from the filler leak...) get the valve cover off and inspect the timing mark on the cam. align it PERFECTLY CENTERED then read the timing mark number on the balancer and see where it's sitting. if it's beyond 2, you will need to follow the 2mm valve lift test and find out EXACTLY how far it's stretched, and see if a offset key or a new chain is needed. THEN you need to replace all the valve seals.
not a lot of work, but once it's done you will have a cleaner car.

vstech · #6 09-18-2010, 09:40 AM

oh, and I'm going to need pictures of this drain you say you have on the filter...
none of my MB's have a drain. ya just change the filter by loosening the top bolt, and spin off the filter. I'm not familiar with the 76 model, but I thought it was the same as other 123's.

toomany MBZ · #7 09-18-2010, 10:48 AM

The pics are from the epc. A 115.117 chassis with a 616.916 engine, up to the end of model year 1976.

It seems you shouldn't have to touch the bottom line, as it's a banjo bolt to a line going to the IP.

Item #23 is a nut and item #20 (first pic) is a seal ring. I would think you can remove those two and lift off the top of the canister.

Palangi · #8 09-18-2010, 11:04 AM

The sediment drain plug on that filter is the one mounted horizontally, near the bottom. It should come out easily, but, before you drain it, make sure your primer pump works properly, and without leakage. This would be the ideal time to update to the new style primer. As I recall, changing the primer pump on that style may involve some minor difficulties.

katja · #9 09-18-2010, 03:22 PM

Palangi, thanks, I was hoping the plug sticking out the side of the cannister was the right one; I'll just have to use a little more force to get it off I guess. I had the primer pump replaced with the new style a few years ago & it works perfectly.

Vstech, the valve seals were something I never considered. I don't know what exactly is causing the exhaust smoke...can't really tell if it's oil or diesel that's being burned or maybe a combination of both. I suspect there is a combination of things that could be contributing, including poorly-spraying injectors, injection timing being a bit off, worn diaphragm in the injection pump and perhaps the exhaust valve seals as you mentioned.

This is my "weekend" car, it's not my daily driver, but my goal is to keep it road-ready as much as possible.