RandyMorgan

OK so it appears that vacomercedes has the part that I need, the trouble is that it is listed for $129.99. I've tried and tried to find this part. My local dealer does not have it, but offers one through a third party for $100. It would appear that there is an awareness that this part is in short supply. I've considered just putting it back together and simply removing the filter screen from the part. That would leave no filtration between the tank and the pump (new pump I might add). Given that I've had the tank cleaned and lined this may be a risk worth taking, but then again for another ~$130 I can have the correct MB part that I need. Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks

randy

whisperingbomb2

If you buy gas at some point and get some "fresh" sediment in your tank from the gas station's underground tanks, your new pump might ingest it which could shorten its life or break it. For $130 you might avoid the replacement of the pump and a tow truck ride.

In my experience (I've had German cars since the 90's) very few parts can be omitted without there being a consequence.

Greg

dolucasi

Indeed, you need this filter. I would not try to Mcgwire it either. The standard filter when I bought it was in the $30 range at the dealership a year ago.

But can you explain this:

RandyMorgan>>> My local dealer does not have it, but offers one through a third party for $100

Dealers will only sell parts in their supply chain not 3rd party. So I'm confused about this set-up but buying it thru the dealership is always a better option.

190Efan

Ways to contact the MB Classic Center: 1-866-622-5277 or classicparts@mbusa.com. You might also try Adsitco if the MB Classic Center doesn't have what you need. You can reaxh Adsitco at 1-800-521-7656 or www.adsitco.com.

RandyMorgan

OK, so I finally got the correct strainer. I put it in the tank and made sure the O ring was in there too. Put my remanufactured fuel line on the strainer and new , I guess they are vent lines, on the tank, put the rubber seal on all of this and put the tank back in the car. I disconnected the fuel line from the throttle body, and cranked the engine till I got about a quart of fuel in a container, then I connected the fuel line to the throttle body and got it started, It runs but only if I continually pump the throttle, and it dies when I try to bring it to idle. Now another frustration, I have a leak where the strainer goes into the tank. Maye I don't have it tight enough. Should I use some sort of gasket cement? I tried not to make it too tight, but when I try to tighten the fuel line going into the strainer, the whole thing moves. So I gotta fix the leak before I can try to get it running smoothly. I walked away from it for a few days just to try to get my thoughts together.

Any suggestions for help will be appreciated.

BetterDaze

I did that job a couple years ago so kinda fuzzy but I think the main outlet fuel line will spin opposite of the strainer itself going in the tank.

First secure the strainer, no cement needed the gas will just erode it away eventually, It does have to be super tight but once you feel like it’s going to break stop immediately. My original was almost impossible to remove but I ended up with new tank and left it alone….

With the tank and strainer in the car, I crawled underneath to align the main outlet line might be easier if the tank is not bolted in, you can try holding the strainer in place with channel locks as you screw in the main outlet fuel line with another wrench.

once you stop all the leaks it should run, system is gravity fed so a disruption in flow seems capable of causing a stall in my experience

dolucasi

That joint is leak free when the o-ring is new and the mating surfaces are clean an plumb. It should be hand tight only, do not torque it at all. It is tightened just to make sure it does not loosen over time not to seal. You will be sorry if you over-tighten.
The seal is the oring, once the metal surfaces mate, tightening further will not get you anywhere but perhaps stripped threads.

Take it apart and do it over and do not use gaskets, seal compounds etc.

I mentioned this before in this thread, when I cleaned out my fuel sender I had a heck of a time to avoid leakage with a full tank. I had to lightly sand the sender and tank side surface to achieve a smooth finish. Once that was done no leaks. The sender and the strainer is the exact same joint. When I installed a new fuel strainer I lightly sanded the tank to remove crud.
No leaks in first try.

On the stall during idle, that is most likely a completely separate issue and needs to be diagnosed later once you have a leak free installation.

190Efan

It's possible that the fuel line might be leaking just enough to prevent a full supply of gas from getting to the engine and that might be the reason for the stalling. I agree that you should solve the fuel leak first to see if the car runs properly on a full supply of fuel. It it stalls after the fuel leak is fixed then that's another separate issue that'll need to be diagnosed.

RandyMorgan

OK, I REALLY appreciate all the help that you guys are providing, but now there appears to be a little disagreement. So, given that I have not yet tightened the four bolts holding the tank in, I thing I am going to remove the tank again, so that I can get easier access to the strainer connection to the tank, so do I tighten it a lot, or not? With the tank out I can then tighten the fuel line to the strainer then put it all back together again. The approach that I took with the tank out earlier in the week was to tighten the strainer snug, "like someone said letting the O-ring do it's thing". but now I have leaks. It is easier for me to tighten these connections with the tank out as there is very little room to get wrenches in to the area where it all comes together. Also the small lines - - - ? are those simply vent lines? it does not appear that any liquid flows through those two smaller lines, I that correct?

Again you guys are a great help to me and I am most appreciative in your time and effort responding to me and trying to help me get this old 190 back on the road

BetterDaze

Dolucasi has more experience than I, so I’d say prioritize his input over mine. I was just telling you my experience since it is similar and recent. I made mine tight as I could, imo you would have to be intentional to actually break the tank but caution will always save you more time and money than man handling things. Make sure it is seated level,Tighten it by hand and then snug it a bit more with a wrench

i actually recall now I did fit the line to the strainer before putting the tank in the car, that’s how I broke the vent valve so be careful with that too. One line is a vent valve the other is a fuel return I believe, don’t mix them up

dolucasi

Most believe that just because these joints were hard to takeoff that it must have been torqued. Not so. Generally they are tight because of corrosion, crud etc.

When I replaced my strainer that was in there for 35 years that large nut was not tight at all. Factory installed in '89. I was surprised too, but soon realized there is an o-ring there. I have also removed that fitting on a few W201's in the junk hard. All the same.

Simply put: tightening that large not will not get you anywhere, except into trouble. Once the two metals meet and hand tight, you are done.

Just consider all those coolant lines with o rings and strong pressure. At the pump, return line, at the cylinder head, heater core, etc, etc. All are torqued just so they stay put, not to avoid leaks upon installation.

Just make sure that the leak is from the o-ring and not the newly manufactured fixture.

And then make sure the surface is nice and clean on the tank side and you have a properly sized 0-ring. I always slightly grease an o-ring with silicon to make sure it does not get damaged during installation.

Trust me on this one.....