E250 D cold start problems

[VHM]

Hi

I am new to this forum, and I recently bought a 1996 250D. which had 140k on the clock, I took it to a MB dealership for it's first proper service in some considerable time. whilst I hated the costs(Over 1k), the car did appear to perform reasonably well.

Recently, when coldstarting, I get smoke from the exhaust, and the car feels like it's only running on two cylinders instead of all five, someone has mentioned that this could be the "glowplugs", but I do not know where they are, or how to test them, or if this is indeed the problem.

Can anyone provide some info on this, or should I take it back to the dealership, I am a bit hesitant in going back for fear of another exorbitant bill

 

[sixpack]

Hi VHM

What you describe does sound like 1 or more glow plugs have failed. The glow plugs look like spark plugs, only smaller (12mm hex) To get at them you may have to take off the inlet manifold, the big black plastic octopus thing on the right as you look under the bonnet. Not a terribly big job, but you have to undo about a dozen Torx bolts. After the manifold is off, be careful you dont drop anything down the ports. I had a strip of 2" wide gaffer tape ready to put over the ports. In particular, watch for the plastic clips that hold the injector pipes in place, they can break and fall into the open ports. To test the plugs, pull off all 5 connectors, & measure the resistance of each one to chassis earth. It should read about 1 or 2 ohms. Open circuit or anything much higher than this means a faulty plug. You need a long 12mm socket to get them out, but be careful, they can "stick". Its not usually the threads that stick but carbon build up on the shank. Dont use too much force, the plug can break. Yes I did break one !.

Regards Peter

Let us know how you get on

 

[pcman_jh]

Re E250D cold start problems

If a glow plug is open circuit, which I agree is the most likely cause of yuor problem, the pre-heater light on the dashboard should come back on again after starting the car. This is designed to do this, on the C class at least, so I'd expect it on the E class as well.

Given the age of the car I'd also recommend you change the O ring seals on ALL the pipes that run in and out of the pump/filter assembly, including the bleed pipes that run between the injectors. This will cost about £30 in total but is well worth it as I've just had about 2 weeks worth of non starting, which, fingers crossed, is now cured by changing the last of the fuel pipes with the O rings and bleed pipes.

 

[Keith]

glow plugs

definitely sounds like failed glow plug (s) but you should have the orange lamp with the coil symbol staying on after ingnition to indicate the problem.

If you are using an MB dealer and spending that kind of money then I reocmmend you take it to an independent specialist and ask him to check the glow plugs and replace any that have failed. I tend to need about 1 per year on average on my six cylinder. The end ones fail quicker than those in the middle for some weird reason. This job last tme i had it done cost only about £50 inc one or two plugs (cant remember) so its nothing to worry about and purely routine.

Regarding the fuel pipes I had the same problem with a 9 year old car. The o ring seals on the pipes fail and let air bubbles into the fuel line giving starting problems which get worse. Again it was about £50 from my specialist including parts to sort it out.

If you dont have a specialist then I strongly recommend you find one as they are usually much more knowledgable and professional than the dealers (stealers as they are often known) in my experience. Post a message on this forum with your location and you should get some recommendations.
Keith

 

[VHM]

Thanks everyone

Guys,
Thanks very much for the information,
I dont feel experienced enough to handle this type of work personally, especially when that last engine I worked on was a beetle aircooled 1600, I think engine technology has moved on a tad since then

I will do as you suggest, My location is Newbury, Berkshire, but I work in Birmingham, so either location would be usefull to find a specialist in. should I just post an open message asking for a specialist in these areas?