How to change plastic fuel lines on CDI engine

T1M4

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I understand this is a common problem causing either poor starting or the engine to die a second or so after starting then taking lots of cranking over to re start.
It isn’t the pipes themselves rather the seals on the ends that go faulty however, the pipes go brittle and discoloured. As you can see below the four new pipes from the MD dealer. (cost around £40 for the lot)

Firstly you need to remove the engine cover by undoing the six bolts and taking off the oil filler cap (5mm Hex)

This is the first pipe, the smallest which is an easy one to start with
To release the pipes press the white clips inwards and pull the pipes out

The white part of the clip simple pushes forwards.
When you remove the pipe some diesel might leak out so it is a good idea to have a cloth ready to wipe up any spills.

This shows how badly the discolouration is, and the pipes are very brittle.

Push the clip in on the new pipe, clean the mating surface, push the pipe fully home and pull the white clip back out to fix it in.
The next three pipes are a little more difficult because they run around the front of the engine. The next pipe that I did was the long pipe that runs along the top.


Please see part two for the rest instructions many thanks.
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=31202
 

mattkh

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Most grateful to you. You are a star.
 

BlackC55

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BTW you need to change your V belt as it is cracked.

As important as fuel pipe seals!!!!
 

Parrot of Doom

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I reckon this should go into the DIY section. I can't move it myself, can a mod do it?
 
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T1M4

T1M4

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I reckon this should go into the DIY section. I can't move it myself, can a mod do it?

Yes they can, i have asked the admin but i will ask a mod. Do you know any?
 

television

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What a nice DIY thanks this will help a lot of people with this common problem
 

canex

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Pictures have disappeared - any chance of reposting them please?
 

mlmark270

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Pictures

Thanks for the great write up. Are the pictures available?
 

Naraic

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Thanks for the great write up. Are the pictures available?

The original post was more than 3 years ago. The poster last posted in May 2008...so I don't think the pics are available.
 

amb67

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The original post was more than 3 years ago. The poster last posted in May 2008...so I don't think the pics are available.

If that's the case then this thread is useless and should be deleted. :-(
 

mlmark270

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Pictures

The original post was more than 3 years ago. The poster last posted in May 2008...so I don't think the pics are available.

Renault12ts Thanks for the reply:). The original post was in the DIY section so I was hoping that the photos might be available somewhere else!

Regards Mark
 

Naraic

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Renault12ts Thanks for the reply:). The original post was in the DIY section so I was hoping that the photos might be available somewhere else!

Regards Mark

The photos were posted by the original poster, and belonged to him, he has since deleted the link/or the photos.
 

geomceoy

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fuel pipes

Make sure u replace the plastic clip that holds them in place! i didnt and the plastic clip broke and the pipes got sliced from the fan belt. Resulting in me having to buy more pipes!!!
 

mlmark270

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Clips

Make sure u replace the plastic clip that holds them in place! i didnt and the plastic clip broke and the pipes got sliced from the fan belt. Resulting in me having to buy more pipes!!!

I can see how that could happen. It is difficult to see in that area, how do you replace them? Could you please give me a run down on how to do it.

Thanks

Mark
 

Wirral_guy

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I've not had time to do a full write up but here are some pics that I took when replacing the fuel filter to pump pipe on my 270cdi. It might help a bit.

1. The filter to pump pipe (highlighted in red)
2. clips holding the pipe(s) in place
3. Pipe attached to the pump and showing the plastic fitting*
4. The pipe to be removed is highlighted in red and shows the route taken.
5. This shows the fuel rail sensor plug removed, which is required to get the fuel pipe threaded underneath the fuel rail.

*This is where my leak was. You can see how dirty the fitting is.

I can confirm that the pipe fittings get very brittle and I couldn't get them off without them breaking as the design is quite poor and relies on the plastic flexing to remove them.

Anyway, here they are.

Dave
 

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Wirral_guy

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Just to add a bit about the pipe fittings.

The pipes are attached to the filter/pump etc using a plastic push fit and grip type fitting. This consists of a main body with a plastic 'rim', which holds the pipe onto the fitting and held in place by arms and a white, moveable, slide. The slide is supposed to be pushed in, flexing the main collar arms (releasing the collar), and allowing the pipe to be removed.

When trying to remove mine (6 years old), both ends broke in the same way - namely, the arms snapped stopping the white release mechanism from flexing the collar.

I'm hoping this makes some sense before you start but you will see what I mean when you get hold of a new pipe - I wish I had taken a pic of the fitting now!

A little annoying really as the failure is a penny washer that flattens out - if you could reliably remove the pipes I would just replace that as the pipe itself is fine but there was no way I could see to remove the pipes without breaking the collar.

One last thing. I was also going to replace the pump to fuel rail pipe but I couldn't see an easy way to do this without removing the fuel rail (see pic 1, the pipe is highlighted in green, in case you are thinking of doing that one too - it disappears underneath the fuel pump and comes out here pic 2 ) as 1, it was bl**dy freezing and 2, I'm not confident that I wouldn't break something else in the process!

Dave
 

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Silver_Star

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Those pics bring back memories when I changed all the lines on mine. It does look rather damp around the H/P pump, mine hadn't quite got to that stage and it was mainly the lines at the bottom of the pump that were damp.
 

Colin_P

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Is that not a bit of diesel on the belt in the last picture?
 

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