Always nice to hear good news from proper detective work. Thanks for the update.
--- In diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com, Roland Hyatt <wrolandhyattjr@...> wrote:
>
> Nate (and others interested):
>
> Sorry for the long post, but it has been a 3 year problem.
>
> I have written about the goofy stalling problems I've had with my 1981
> 240D stick. Here's what I wrote on a mercedes forum 3 years ago:
>
> Here we go again guys:
>
> I hope I can do this without too lengthy an explanation because hunt and
> peck is a terrible way to go.
>
> My 1981 240D suddenly got squirrelly at idle a few days ago. It would
> seemingly run fine at speed, but when slowing down to idle it seemed as
> if it were running on 2 or 3 cylinders - really rough. Using the
> throttle I could rev it a little and it would seemingly smooth out and
> be OK - until last night. I think if I let it go long enough it would
> have stalled. I looked at the engine and there was a lot of fuel all
> over #1 injector. I tightened the nuts fastening the lines to the
> injectors, hoping that loose fittings were leaking fuel. No change. I
> suffered it for a few days until last night. It was pretty much running
> the same way - badly at idle - until I drove into my brother's yard to
> show him the situation. It was idling really badly. Finally it
> stalled. I got it started and stumbled 700 feet to my place across the
> road. It stalled as I slowed to pull into my driveway. I couldn't get
> it started and keep it running to pull into the driveway, so I left it
> at the end of the driveway for the night.
>
> Do I have 2 problems? It seems as if the fuel return lines are wet and
> maybe seeping. It appeared that the fuel on #1 injector was above the
> terminal where the return line fit on and above the nut boss for
> disassembling the injector, which is why I initially suspected a leaking
> line nut. Can severely leaking return lines cause the problem I'm
> having? I think not, but certainly don't know.
>
> It seemed as if the problem got worse as the engine warmed up. It
> pretty much started normally - it's moderately cold - and ran OK for a
> little bit. 3 miles into town for the first stop at a light and the
> idle was bad.
>
> I'm somewhat baffled with no direct experience with this condition. Of
> course I suspect fuel. But, because full power operation seems
> somewhere near normal, I'm mentally eliminating the usual suspects like,
> filters plugged. I just went out to try to start it and move it into
> the driveway. It took a couple of trys after it having stalled last
> night (fuel starvation?) and then it started and I drove it into the
> driveway. It seemed normal. I had it on high idle with the manual cold
> idle adjust. It's about 40 this morning. When I lowered the idle with
> the manual adjust it was idling normally.
>
> I inadvertently pulled the return line at the first injector, the one
> that returns to the filter, because it came off so easily. Clearly,
> that explains the leakage around that fitting. However, I expected fuel
> to spurt out of the fitting on the injector. It did not. I'd say it
> sputtered out. It was not anything like a stream.
>
> Anyone have a clue about what might be going on here.
>
> Roland Hyatt
>
> Then I recently posted this:
>
>
> 3 years ago I posted the below missive - or should I say, "massive" -
> about an intermittent stalling problem. Well, it's now been 2 weeks
> since I think I found and fixed the problem, because there hasn't been a
> recurrence since. It has plagued me off and on for 3 years. Even to
> the point that I didn't use the car much - it was too unreliable. It
> would always restart when it stalled, but what a hassle. I had a
> thought, as always and as others had suggested along the way, that it
> sure seemed like fuel starvation. Lately I have been chasing a vacuum
> issue that I suspected may be activating the shutoff on the pump. Wrong!
>
> One day, as it happens, I was daydreaming about the problem and
> solutions. Eureka! The fuel primer pump. I had never looked at it
> because it wasn't leaking. But frustration is the mother of invention.
> I jumped over and worked it - it was the old style - thinking that I
> might realign an O ring. As soon as I pumped, it leaked like a sieve.
> I had one of the new style and 10 minutes later it was replaced. It
> hasn't stalled since.
>
> Here's the irony..... This morning I was looking in the archives to find
> my original post. Along the way I found one in 2006 from Christopher in
> reply to a question about stalling from Barry:
> " Is there a fuel leak as well? I am wondering if the primer pump is
> leaking air... " Duh!
>
> So, another for the archives. While mine was not leaking fuel, it was
> obviously sucking air from time to time.
>
> Onward and upward - only 3 years to solve the problem.
>
> Roland Hyatt
>
>
> So, Nate, it appears the problem is solved as it has been over 2 weeks
> of near daily, cold weather driving, without a stall. It was fuel all
> right. My experience may help someone else.
>
> Happy New Year!
>
> Roland Hyatt
> with a bunch of klatta klatta Mercedes in Fallon, Nevada
>
>
>
> ---
> This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
> http://www.avast.com
>