87 300TD cranks wont start after sitting overnight
07-14-2021, 03:59 PM
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1987 300TD Wagon-Titan 1985 300TD Wagon Sapphire
87 300TD cranks wont start after sitting overnight
Hi Community and Experts,
We have an 1987 300TD Wagon 211K miles, named-Titan. Owned for 6 months now.
Titan was running beautifully, then loss of power, we discovered that the #2 outlet injector pump line was cracked and leaking, took to shop and had them fix the line and do glow plug maintenance as glow plugs had no maintenance history. picked car up, started fine, drove that day, starting Titan on and off no problems. The next morning Titan would crank and crank but no start. (Weather is in 80's/ 90's here in Delaware) Got Titan started on a very slight spray of ether to get it back to the shop where it sat for the last two weeks due to Todd-the older diesel mechanic being out on a family emergency which kept him out of shop not to return, sad. Picked up Titan, starting on ether(which we don't like to use), got home with no problems, runs beautiful! Started on and off all day, the next morning again, the problem of no start. We tried the "trick" of cracking the gas cap while Titan sat overnight(a recommendation from another forum) same problem, cranks strong (we made sure battery was fully charged) and cranks and cranks, it just will not turn over?? Whatever is plaguing Titan is driving us nuts! We have some mechanic experience, marine mechanics, but Hubby has had a stroke and logical problems are not up our alley.
We are reaching out to this community and hoping that the experts here could help us figure this out. We feel like it is something simple that we are just overlooking. We are getting fuel when we crack the supply line to the fuel filter. We are getting fuel to the injector pump. It just seems so weird that there were never any starting problems until we had the shop fix the injector line and do glow plug maintenance and now the shop is down the mechanic that they had to work on these older Mercedes diesels
So we are hoping that this forum has some diesel mechanics that know these older Mercedes and could please help us pin point this problem, as the mechanic that we used and trusted is no longer available. Any and all help/expertise is so greatly appreciated, thank you for taking your time to help us out!
Sincerely, Jerry and Dana Gates and Family-(we are raising our three young grandchildren and need this wagon.
)
New glow plugs and relay, new battery, new injector line, within the last month.
We have an 1987 300TD Wagon 211K miles, named-Titan. Owned for 6 months now.
Titan was running beautifully, then loss of power, we discovered that the #2 outlet injector pump line was cracked and leaking, took to shop and had them fix the line and do glow plug maintenance as glow plugs had no maintenance history. picked car up, started fine, drove that day, starting Titan on and off no problems. The next morning Titan would crank and crank but no start. (Weather is in 80's/ 90's here in Delaware) Got Titan started on a very slight spray of ether to get it back to the shop where it sat for the last two weeks due to Todd-the older diesel mechanic being out on a family emergency which kept him out of shop not to return, sad. Picked up Titan, starting on ether(which we don't like to use), got home with no problems, runs beautiful! Started on and off all day, the next morning again, the problem of no start. We tried the "trick" of cracking the gas cap while Titan sat overnight(a recommendation from another forum) same problem, cranks strong (we made sure battery was fully charged) and cranks and cranks, it just will not turn over?? Whatever is plaguing Titan is driving us nuts! We have some mechanic experience, marine mechanics, but Hubby has had a stroke and logical problems are not up our alley.
We are reaching out to this community and hoping that the experts here could help us figure this out. We feel like it is something simple that we are just overlooking. We are getting fuel when we crack the supply line to the fuel filter. We are getting fuel to the injector pump. It just seems so weird that there were never any starting problems until we had the shop fix the injector line and do glow plug maintenance and now the shop is down the mechanic that they had to work on these older Mercedes diesels
So we are hoping that this forum has some diesel mechanics that know these older Mercedes and could please help us pin point this problem, as the mechanic that we used and trusted is no longer available. Any and all help/expertise is so greatly appreciated, thank you for taking your time to help us out!
Sincerely, Jerry and Dana Gates and Family-(we are raising our three young grandchildren and need this wagon.
)New glow plugs and relay, new battery, new injector line, within the last month.
07-18-2021, 04:30 PM
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1987 300TD Wagon-Titan 1985 300TD Wagon Sapphire
1987 300TD Starts nose down only
Hello Community,
Our ongoing dilemma with Titan our 1987 300TD Wagon has just gotten interesting. Titan who would not start after sitting overnight, will start every morning if we park on a hill with the nose of the car pointing down?? Does any expert out there have any idea what may cause this and how to fix this. Our Mercedes diesel mechanic is on indefinite leave so hopefully we can DIY it. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, and thanking each and every member of this forum for taking their time out to help us. Sincerely, Dana
Our ongoing dilemma with Titan our 1987 300TD Wagon has just gotten interesting. Titan who would not start after sitting overnight, will start every morning if we park on a hill with the nose of the car pointing down?? Does any expert out there have any idea what may cause this and how to fix this. Our Mercedes diesel mechanic is on indefinite leave so hopefully we can DIY it. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, and thanking each and every member of this forum for taking their time out to help us. Sincerely, Dana
07-19-2021, 07:58 AM
#3
MBWorld Fanatic!
Fuel leak or pump issue where when you park nose down fuel from tank can run down lines into injector pump and ready for starting in AM...
I guess if yo park other way it leaks back into tank for some reason and maybe air in the line.
LEak could be a line or inside injector pump would be my guess but a good diesel mechanic should eb able to diagnose based on the info yo uhave now
I guess if yo park other way it leaks back into tank for some reason and maybe air in the line.
LEak could be a line or inside injector pump would be my guess but a good diesel mechanic should eb able to diagnose based on the info yo uhave now
07-19-2021, 01:19 PM
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1987 300TD Wagon-Titan 1985 300TD Wagon Sapphire
Dear Community,
After many sleepless nights trying to figure out this gremlin in our 1987 300TD, Titan, where it would only start in the morning if we had it parked nose down, we have come to the conclusion from all of the help and information from this forum, thank you so much by the way! That when our shop replaced the cracked injector pump line #2 line, they never bled the system afterwards, so when we took Titan back for cranking but no starting, our mechanic Todd was on indefinite leave and couldn't get Titan worked on, they also couldn't answer the fact if they bled the lines??? Which really isn't giving them our trust as mechanics!. So after many days/weeks of trying to figure this out, with your help we now have Titan starting up right away, like it should, running strong!
What we did.....Filled the tank, parked nose down, started Titan and then cracked the inlet and outlet lines(on the spin on fuel filter),one at a time while Titan was running let Titan run for approx. 20 seconds spewing out diesel, tightened lines, parked Titan on level surface and he started up first try this morning! yeah!!!!!, maybe now we can stop turning this over and over in our minds while we try to go to sleep! LOL!
I do not know if this is the proper way to bleed lines, but it worked, we are now looking for another, trustworthy mechanic in our area that knows these older Mercedes. Brad from Wulff's Automotive in Snow Hill Md. just had back surgery, we wish him well. So with Todd and Brad out of commission we need a trustworthy mechanic, if anyone on the forums knows of a local mechanic in the Delmar DE / Salisbury, MD area please let us know.
Again, thank you Community for taking your precious time to help us, amazing people here!
Sincerely, The Gates Family
After many sleepless nights trying to figure out this gremlin in our 1987 300TD, Titan, where it would only start in the morning if we had it parked nose down, we have come to the conclusion from all of the help and information from this forum, thank you so much by the way! That when our shop replaced the cracked injector pump line #2 line, they never bled the system afterwards, so when we took Titan back for cranking but no starting, our mechanic Todd was on indefinite leave and couldn't get Titan worked on, they also couldn't answer the fact if they bled the lines??? Which really isn't giving them our trust as mechanics!. So after many days/weeks of trying to figure this out, with your help we now have Titan starting up right away, like it should, running strong!
What we did.....Filled the tank, parked nose down, started Titan and then cracked the inlet and outlet lines(on the spin on fuel filter),one at a time while Titan was running let Titan run for approx. 20 seconds spewing out diesel, tightened lines, parked Titan on level surface and he started up first try this morning! yeah!!!!!, maybe now we can stop turning this over and over in our minds while we try to go to sleep! LOL!
I do not know if this is the proper way to bleed lines, but it worked, we are now looking for another, trustworthy mechanic in our area that knows these older Mercedes. Brad from Wulff's Automotive in Snow Hill Md. just had back surgery, we wish him well. So with Todd and Brad out of commission we need a trustworthy mechanic, if anyone on the forums knows of a local mechanic in the Delmar DE / Salisbury, MD area please let us know.
Again, thank you Community for taking your precious time to help us, amazing people here!
Sincerely, The Gates Family
07-21-2021, 11:00 AM
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1987 300TD Wagon-Titan 1985 300TD Wagon Sapphire
AAAhhhh, spoke too soon, Titan is still not starting after sitting overnight, I guess we got lucky and got one night out of him where he started in the morning! But we are back to the same problem, no start unless parked nose down???? and the mystery continues......
And all of our local diesel Mercedes mechanics are down and out for the foreseeable future.
Any and all help, ideas or solutions from the community would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerley, Dana and family
And all of our local diesel Mercedes mechanics are down and out for the foreseeable future.
Any and all help, ideas or solutions from the community would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerley, Dana and family
10-13-2021, 12:04 PM
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1987 300TD Wagon-Titan 1985 300TD Wagon Sapphire
Dear Community,
Please help us with this riddle? Titan is fixed only because we crimped off the return line to the tank with a pair of vise grips approx. 1 foot from the spin on fuel filter?? We replaced all lines and fuel pump and filters and still TItan would not start unless parked nose down. Crimping the line was a last ditch effort as we could not figure out why this problem persisited. After this "solution" worked we talked to our local Mercedes Benz shop and the service dept. manager said that In his 30 plus years of dealing with these older diesels he has never heard of this problem or the fix. So we are asking the community again for your help. Has any member ever heard of this problem? IF so, was there something we missed as to warrant "crimping" off the return line to the tank?. We really would love to know about this "gremlin of a dilemma", what caused it? how to fix it? (without a pair of vice grips hanging off the return line)
Any and all expert knowledge that the community could share would be great, thank you for your time.
Sincerley, The Gates Family
Please help us with this riddle? Titan is fixed only because we crimped off the return line to the tank with a pair of vise grips approx. 1 foot from the spin on fuel filter?? We replaced all lines and fuel pump and filters and still TItan would not start unless parked nose down. Crimping the line was a last ditch effort as we could not figure out why this problem persisited. After this "solution" worked we talked to our local Mercedes Benz shop and the service dept. manager said that In his 30 plus years of dealing with these older diesels he has never heard of this problem or the fix. So we are asking the community again for your help. Has any member ever heard of this problem? IF so, was there something we missed as to warrant "crimping" off the return line to the tank?. We really would love to know about this "gremlin of a dilemma", what caused it? how to fix it? (without a pair of vice grips hanging off the return line)
Any and all expert knowledge that the community could share would be great, thank you for your time.
Sincerley, The Gates Family
12-08-2021, 02:28 PM
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1987 300TD Wagon-Titan 1985 300TD Wagon Sapphire
Dear Community,
When I said fixed I used the wrong wording, Titan is not fixed, the vise grips are a temp solution to a problem that we cannot figure out. We have replaced fuel hoses, crush washers, o-rings, fuel pump, fuel pressure valve, in line fuel filter and cannister fuel filter and still the problem persist. Due to Jerry's back to back strokes we are no longer able to work on the solution, his brain power is not the best in trying to figure out problems that require
the process of elimination solutions.. Plus raising our grandchildren(they are expensive) we have decided to sell one of our Wagons, so Titan is now for sale, sad, We would like to say THANK YOU to the community for all of the time that you took out of your lives in an effort to help us! Sincerely, The Gates Family
When I said fixed I used the wrong wording, Titan is not fixed, the vise grips are a temp solution to a problem that we cannot figure out. We have replaced fuel hoses, crush washers, o-rings, fuel pump, fuel pressure valve, in line fuel filter and cannister fuel filter and still the problem persist. Due to Jerry's back to back strokes we are no longer able to work on the solution, his brain power is not the best in trying to figure out problems that require
the process of elimination solutions.. Plus raising our grandchildren(they are expensive) we have decided to sell one of our Wagons, so Titan is now for sale, sad, We would like to say THANK YOU to the community for all of the time that you took out of your lives in an effort to help us! Sincerely, The Gates Family
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03-25-2024, 05:55 PM
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Hello Community,
Our ongoing dilemma with Titan our 1987 300TD Wagon has just gotten interesting. Titan who would not start after sitting overnight, will start every morning if we park on a hill with the nose of the car pointing down?? Does any expert out there have any idea what may cause this and how to fix this. Our Mercedes diesel mechanic is on indefinite leave so hopefully we can DIY it. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, and thanking each and every member of this forum for taking their time out to help us. Sincerely, Dana.
Our ongoing dilemma with Titan our 1987 300TD Wagon has just gotten interesting. Titan who would not start after sitting overnight, will start every morning if we park on a hill with the nose of the car pointing down?? Does any expert out there have any idea what may cause this and how to fix this. Our Mercedes diesel mechanic is on indefinite leave so hopefully we can DIY it. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, and thanking each and every member of this forum for taking their time out to help us. Sincerely, Dana.
03-26-2024, 05:25 AM
#10
MBWorld Fanatic!
My guess is:
Nose downhill would ensure fuel gets to injector pump overnight.
And if you had nose uphill and it does not start due to fuel would mean a possible fuel leak between pump and tank that lets fuel drain back to tank or on the ground.
ANy smell of diesel?
Nose downhill would ensure fuel gets to injector pump overnight.
And if you had nose uphill and it does not start due to fuel would mean a possible fuel leak between pump and tank that lets fuel drain back to tank or on the ground.
ANy smell of diesel?
