Cleaning out 34 years of crap
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Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 17
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From: Florida Panhandle, USA
1981 300D
Cleaning out 34 years of crap
I will skip over all the preliminaries, but I run bio-diesel whenever I get enough oil to make some. If you do not know, Bio-diesel is a cleaner, it will clean out everything in the fuel system if used long enough.
Because of this cleaning property, I was left stranded.
After getting the car towed home. I decided to clean out my fuel system (note the fuel gage did not work properly since I got the car).
I drained the tank, then I started from the front and worked backwards. I used Diesel Purge to flush out the injector pump and injectors, replacing filters and flexible fuel lines (including return and vent lines). To clean out the rigid lines, I removed the hoses from both ends, attached a NEW piece of fuel line, and blew like I was blowing up an air raft, fuel had already drained so It was easy.
When I got to the tank I decided to remove the tank for cleaning and accessibility. I removed the stainer filter and the sending unit (43mm socket)
Attached should be a picture of 2 filters side by side, the used one (on the left) looks like someone with greasy hands filled it with petroleum jelly. 34 years of goop.
I then flushed out the tank with a 1/2 gallon of fresh diesel.
The sending unit (picture 2)needed cleaning, as well. the 3rd picture shows one of the lower drain holes, there is another on the opposite side at the edge of the bottom plate (no pic). Picture #4 show me inserting the straw from a can of Carb cleaner.I plugged the drain holes an sprayed cleaner in, swish around , drain, repeat. I used about half a can of cleaner to get clear fluid draining out.
Replace strainer and sending unit. Reinstalled tank/lines. Fuel gage works as intended, and motor runs great, actually had to turn down the idle.
I know there are some out there that do not like www.MercedesSource.com, but I do. If you are going to do this, I recommend the following:
1. Diesel purge kit (includes hose, instructions (download),and 2 cans of Diesel Purge.
2. Tank filter kit (includes new strainer filter, new hose, 43mm socket adapted to use 17mm wrench instead of 3/4 ratchet.) if running bio or WVO use the SVO/WVO kit.
Because of this cleaning property, I was left stranded.
After getting the car towed home. I decided to clean out my fuel system (note the fuel gage did not work properly since I got the car).
I drained the tank, then I started from the front and worked backwards. I used Diesel Purge to flush out the injector pump and injectors, replacing filters and flexible fuel lines (including return and vent lines). To clean out the rigid lines, I removed the hoses from both ends, attached a NEW piece of fuel line, and blew like I was blowing up an air raft, fuel had already drained so It was easy.
When I got to the tank I decided to remove the tank for cleaning and accessibility. I removed the stainer filter and the sending unit (43mm socket)
Attached should be a picture of 2 filters side by side, the used one (on the left) looks like someone with greasy hands filled it with petroleum jelly. 34 years of goop.
I then flushed out the tank with a 1/2 gallon of fresh diesel.
The sending unit (picture 2)needed cleaning, as well. the 3rd picture shows one of the lower drain holes, there is another on the opposite side at the edge of the bottom plate (no pic). Picture #4 show me inserting the straw from a can of Carb cleaner.I plugged the drain holes an sprayed cleaner in, swish around , drain, repeat. I used about half a can of cleaner to get clear fluid draining out.
Replace strainer and sending unit. Reinstalled tank/lines. Fuel gage works as intended, and motor runs great, actually had to turn down the idle.
I know there are some out there that do not like www.MercedesSource.com, but I do. If you are going to do this, I recommend the following:
1. Diesel purge kit (includes hose, instructions (download),and 2 cans of Diesel Purge.
2. Tank filter kit (includes new strainer filter, new hose, 43mm socket adapted to use 17mm wrench instead of 3/4 ratchet.) if running bio or WVO use the SVO/WVO kit.
