ok, so i was sent to this site from another forum. and the problem with is that my car won't start. the car itself would attempt to start up, but the motor won't actually turn on. I took my car to a diesel mechanic, and he said that he lifted something from the fuel pump and the car began working, but as soon as i took it home, the thing he "lifted" came back down. so, he told me i needed to get a new fuel pump
and i decided to go to my local junkyards to look for a 190d, and i actually did find one, but the guy wants to sell me the motor for $1700! do i really have to replace the fuel pump, or the motor, or is it something else that isn't working?
Welcome to the forum. I'm confused... You took you car to a diesel mechanic to have it fixed. He band-aid fixed it and it failed when you got home. Then you go to the junkyard to find a fuel pump and the yard attendant tries selling you a new motor. I'd believe the mechanic, unless the yard attendant is a MB diesel expert. I don't know what would be "lifted" besides a fuel line that would cause the pump to fail. You are sure it's not the injection pump? I can think of several things you can lift on the IP to get it running. A new fuel pump should be $200 or less, a new IP I bet, is well over $1000. Besides cold and a bad glow plug system the next thing that would prevent a diesel from starting and running is air in the fuel system or a vacuum leak (which would put air in the fuel system). Is it an auto or manual? How long have you had this diesel?
the yard attendant wanted to sell me the fuel pump for 700, but i think that's still expensive. it might be the injection pump, since it was a long time ago, almost a year since the car hasn't worked. and i already replaced all the glow plugs, the glow plug wires, and checked for bubbles in the fuel system, and there is no vacuum leak since my locks work correctly. and the car is automatic, and i've had it since 2004, but it broke down in 2006, and it has well over 400k miles
For $700 it has to be the IP and not the fuel pump. Just did a quick search for a rebuilt IP for a 2.5 and found one for $1800. What was the first symptom when the car stopped working? Have you ever changed or adjusted your timing? How about the IP timing gear? Those IPs are industructable, thats why they can pull WVO with no modification or preheating. Almost sounds like a timing problem since you say there is no air in the system. Have you tried to start it with starting fluid sprayed directly into the intake? If you need an IP and if you don't feel comfortable pulling the IP and rebuilding it yourself then get a second opinion. Where are you located? Someone here may be able to suggest a better mechanic. Hate to send you someplace else but try the forum at greasecar.com. Although they are crunchy globe loving treehuggers, they were very helpful when I had my diesel and was new to whole thing.
the first symptoms were that it would stop at a stoplight, and i'd have to turn it back on. do you mean the timing chain? yeah, it hasn't moved at all. i'll try the starting fluid soon. and i'm in san diego, california
Yeah it's all related to the timing chain. If the IP isn't timed correctly it will run like shit. Was it using more fuel than usual and was the acceleration slower than usual? Did it smoke after startup? If so, what color? If you answered yes to these it defenitely sounds like the timing is out of sync. My Volvo diesel had the same, just shutrting off symptoms at one time. I narrowed it down to a bad ground. My VW diesels would run without a battery, I doubt your MB will. So you don't remember weather your mechanic said injection or fuel pump?
Only thing that mey be lifted without any tools is the shut off valve, which is located on top of high preasure pump with one vacuum conection. There is a small rod on the shut off valve that is used for oposite of what is happening to you, to stop the engine if it won't stop with the ignition key off (it happens if there is a vacuum failure). Check the rod, maybe it is blocked, it should be all the way down when the engine is stopped, all the wau up with engine running and it shoud be mooving freely. The valve itself is operated pu the vacuum controlled by the ignition swich/lock, it goes down and engine stops by turning off the ignition key.
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