I'm curious what others think was in my tank. When I took the strainer out it was coated all black, but the holes weren't clogged up much if at all. I cleaned the screen with brake parts cleaner and soaked it in mineral spirits over night then blasted it with compressed air. Looks better now, but I don't think it's gonna do much for helping the fuel flow.

When I put my finger in the tank and felt around (a rock got in there and I had to get it out :/) there was a thin silvery paste on my finger. In almost all the threads I have read it looks like there is usually a brownish or blackish thick gunk in the tank. What is in the tank that makes it silvery? I'll try to post pics of the fuel that came our of my tank compared to new fuel soon.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1983 300D turbo diesel

My guess would be that someone in the past has coated the threads with anti-seize compound.

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Red Green "This is only temporary,Unless it works!"

97 E300D 157000 miles
87 300TD ?141k? miles

It's not on the threads it's coating the entire tank. When I flushed the tank with power washer the fluid came out thick gray. The only thing I could find related was here: fuel tank problem - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

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1983 300D turbo diesel

Could it be stud juice?



Err I mean could it be some sort of tank sealer gone wrong?

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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!

Have you ever used biodiesel or an anti-algae solution in the car?

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JWJ
1983 MB 300D - > 430,000 miles - Deep Blue - Bilstein Comforts - 0-60 in 24 seconds - 27MPG
1985 MB 300TD (wagon) - > 275,000 miles - Manila Beige - Thule rack - 0-60 in 18 seconds - 22 - 25MPG
Biodiesel, Mobil Delvac 1, and Viton fuel lines!

I have only had the car a couple of weeks so idk if the previous owner used those things. I came here since I am clueless and want to know if anyone else has noticed a thin grey paste lining the tank after using anything?

I also wonder if maybe this isn't the original tank and if the aftermarket one was coated in something? Anyone heard of that?

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1983 300D turbo diesel

That'd be the pure liquid carcinogen

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"