Bleeding Fuel Lines on 1993 300D W124

[i-osprey]

Well, it's not really my car until I have run it out of diesel.

Apparently, the same issues with the fuel level sender occur on W124s that I had on my W123s.

1/4 tank means fill up very soon even if it still reads 1/4.

I ran out of fuel, got a ride to the nearest station, got it going eventually and now it runs like $hit.

Rough, a little smoke, etc.

My question is what is the best way to bleed the air from the lines?

After I ran out of fuel I noticed the pre-filter screen was full of black particles so I replaced it. And just like my W123, this led to cracking the fuel lines leading to and from it. I replaced them and now there is very little air showing in the plastic filter but it still runs like crap.

I have cranked the engine with all the injector lines off for a minute or two, started the engine and let it run with one line off at a time for a few minutes but apparently I still have air in my lines.

Is there a better way to do this?

On my 1981 300D it seemed like it took about ten thousand miles before the thing ran right again and I would rather not wait that long.

The engine is much louder now and doesn't smooth out until I give it substantial throttle.

I have a new tank screen that I plan on installing when I get low enough fuel levels but I doubt that's the main issue if any at all.

Anyway, any help is appreciated.

[compress ignite]

"Little Black Crap" are the corpses of the FUNGUS that's in your Tank(I'll bet).

Change out your Secondary fuel filter (Spin-On)(Or Bolt-On).
Fill it with Clean Diesel before you re-attach.
If the rear of the chassis is up in the air (ANY amount) it helps the "Bleed".
Crack the Lines at the Injectors and crank until you see fuel.
Rest the starter every 15 seconds of cranking for a 90 second period minimum.
Tighten the Injector CapNuts and Glow+ Start.

1.Get some Startron and put it in your Fuel tank.
It'll emzyme all the little boogers and allow passage through your filters,'Cause
they are minute enough after treatment to burn up in the engine.

2.When you ran the tank low...All the junk from all the Diesel pumps at all the
fuel stops since 1993 collected at the bottom of the uncleaned tank and
"Made a Run" at your Fuel Filters.

3.All that fungus is also inside the Aluminum tube the fuel sensor lives in...
preventing a proper/correct fuel level reading.
(You MAY have to pull the sensor out of the Tank and clean out the Innards.)

4. You aren't so much suffering from air in the lines ,as Fuel Starvation caused by Blockage!

[i-osprey]

I forgot to mention that I also replaced the screw on canister fuel filter after this.

Do boat shops sell Startron?

I live in the rectum of the USofA and I can't find the stuff anywhere else locally.

[compress ignite]

'Call Starbrite (Startron) direct [Toll free]

Yeah, West Marine,any Marine Chandler's,some online Marine outfits
...some pep boys, maybe wmart

http://www.starbrite.com/contactus.html

Seal rings (Washers?) for Secondary fuel Filter Bolt

I ReCall some thing about needing New seal rings...(To assure complete Sealing)
Unnerstan? (#s 17 + 23 in Cyrillic Pictogram)

[i-osprey]

Where do I get these magical seal rings that apparently didn't come with the filter...or did they and I just threw them away?????

That might be something to consider.

Also, I have practically determined that Startron is a scam.

It's 99.something% Naphtha and whatever percent "enzymes" that I am told wouldn't survive intact in a hydrocarbon.

[jwhughes3]

BioBor is what I used to use if I recall correctly for the fungus. Don't know about Startron. But if other members have had good experience then it must work somehow!

John in San Antonio

[Diesel911]

If you run out of Fuel and Air gets in the Hard Lines between the IP and the Injectors; loosen the Hard Line Nuts at the Injectors and crank until fuel comes out of them. Afterwhich, tighten them.
If you do not loosen the Hard Line Nuts at the Injectors it can take an extreme amout of cranking to clear the Air out of the Hard Lines.

[compress ignite]

MB will give you free for a year the Electronic Parts Catalog
(They will use a US based credit card number to verify residency) :
https://epc.startekinfo.com/epc/subscribe.jsp

Or if you've no access to credit card the Russian site:
http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb0.asp?TP=1
(Much more user friendly,in my book)

EDIT: Yeah,I thought I dis-remembered posting those pesky seal ring part numbers...Reply #4 In This Very Same Post.

"...Teach a Man to Fish..."

I'm outta here.

[i-osprey]

Well, after two tanks of fuel with 8 oz of Startron in each, the second tank topped off with about 6-8 oz of Startron Tank Cleaner at 1/2 level and 1/4 tank with about 10 oz of the Tank Cleaner my ENGINE RUNS SMOOTHER WITH NO PINGING!

I preemptively poo-pooed the Startron!

It works. It really, really works.

I will say that the tank cleaner smelled "soapier" than the regular maintenance stuff. The regular stuff has a much more volatile aroma.

I know that I had algae in my tank because of what I saw after I ran out of fuel.

The plastic primary filter screen was completely blocked up with what turned out to be very oily, slimy organic matter. One piece of the stuff was big enough to be stuck to the screen and the outer body of the filter.

And that is what made it past the tank screen...

I put a lot of miles on my car so if this were allowed to sit longer it might not take the same volume of fuel to accomplish what is has so far for me.

I couldn't believe it.

All day I had the same symptoms until I finished the last 120 mile leg of my work day and turned the engine off. I went inside, got my dogs, came back out and fired up the engine. I noticed immediately the engine ran as silently as it did when I bought it a month ago and the very scary pinging noises were either almost gone or barely audible at idle.

Before the treatment I had to give it almost half the pedal for the unusual (starved?) engine noises to go away. I also had to reach a certain RPM for before they would dissipate.

I stand corrected.

Startron works, especially the tank cleaner version. I hear, but haven't verified it myself, that it has twice the "enzymes" of the regular maintenance stuff.

Now I can move on to a timing chain and sprocket(s) change some time in the near future.

Thank you MercedesShop Forum posters.

This place is a gold mine of information.

[i-osprey]

Originally Posted by Diesel911

If you run out of Fuel and Air gets in the Hard Lines between the IP and the Injectors; loosen the Hard Line Nuts at the Injectors and crank until fuel comes out of them. Afterwhich, tighten them.
If you do not loosen the Hard Line Nuts at the Injectors it can take an extreme amout of cranking to clear the Air out of the Hard Lines.

I already did that.

This exact scenario played out in my 1981 300D but I never wised up and bought the Startron. I was convinced that it was air trapped in the system since I only saw very small specks of black in the primary filter.

This time I could clearly see that my fuel filter looked like an unkempt POOL filter.

What would I do with my spare time if I had a maintenance-free vehicle?