Approx 50 mile drive

Did fine going up an incline

Coming down seemed to start losing power.

Pulled off the freeway at a weigh station and engine stalls.

Removed fuel cap,
No sound

Tank shows 1/3 remaining

Pumped the hand primer 40-50 times.

Starts up and gets me home the rest of the way (10 miles)

Inline filter shows clear, no detectable fuel leaks in engine bay.

This has been happening intermittently since I replaced my lift pump assembly.

Also swapped the old aluminum primer with the new style black plastic. Got if off my old lift pump so I know it's working.

Any ideas?

Thought it was algae, but wouldn't that show on the clear filter?

Maybe I'll fill up and swap the two fuel lines to see if there is an obstruction.

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

Install a temporary clear line in place of the cigar hose and look for bubbles. If you see bubbles, find and fix source of air intrusion. If no bubbles, problem is not air so look elsewhere in the fuel system.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I have seen secondary filters plugged solid with nary a trace in the primary filter. It's all about particle size. And all it takes is one bad fill-up.

__________________
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Would a clogged filter be temporarily alleviated by pumping the primer?

I will try the clear cigar hose.

There is definitely air in the line from the relief valve on the ip to the top of the canister filter.

That line fills up with a few pumps of the primer

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

This is pretty classic description of a clogged fuel filter, so that would be the first thing to do - replace the main filter.

After that, I'd say time to look for another problem, like either your new lift pump is bad or some other fuel problem like an air leak.

Other possibilities include a clogged air filter or clogged tank screen or reversed fuel lines in the engine bay or clogged muffler.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

No, but the engine shut-off may have allowed accumulated debris to fall off the filter and expose some media to allow fuel flow again.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

I suppose its possible to have reversed the fuel lines when installing the new lift pump assembly...


how can you tell which hard line is supply and which is return?


I have a spare canister filter in the trunk. i'll change that out and report back.

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

the lift pump functions correctly when the primer is depressed. wouldn't that indicate that its working correctly?

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

last clue to this puzzle:

after changing the lift pump, I set-up for a diesel purge.

the car ran for a while, but the return line wasn't dumping any fluid back into the container.

the last time I did a purge I remember dirty fluid returning to the catch bottle.

not sure what this means though

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

How long did it run with no return into the catch bottle? Can't be very long!

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

not sure, it was struggling and sputtering, so I called it quits and buttoned everything back up.

this morning it was struggling at a red light, but thankfully once I got going it ran smooth all the way to the office

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

not sure if its a bad lift pump, or perhaps the increased flow from the new lift pump is revealing limited flow from the tank, or revealing a small air leak somewhere.

I cant imaging these pumps could be bad, but I've only changed it one time

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

forgot to mention,

the clear filter is usually only half filled with fuel.

I can't remember if that's correct, or if it should be full...

__________________
1983 300CD Turbodiesel

That could mean that your filter is plugged....

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

It only indicates that the Hand Primer is working.

You can T in a Vacuum Gauge into the suction line line and see if it pulls sufficient vaccum when you at idle.

Vacuum at idle is 0.1 bar. You will need to convert that to whatever units your vacuum gauge reads.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel