I have a 1998 E300 turbodiesel and I'm having trouble getting it started. It has been going on for several weeks now. When it first happpened, I would start the car and it would fire up immediately then hesitate a few seconds and run fine until I would have to start it again. It got very bad and I had to turn it over a for about 10 seconds before it would start. I took it to a local mechanic whom I trust and he said there was air in the fuel lines and asked me if I ran it dry (which I didn't). I took it home and it started easier but still hesitated again. I took it back and he said it was the injector pump. That didn't seem to make sense since it runs fine once it gets running. It is worse when the engine is cold. The glow plugs are 3 years old. I'm reluctant to replace the injector pump without further verification. Please help!
jon

 

I have a 1987 300SDL and had problems with starting the engine. It would be fine starting cold but if I shut off and start again, it would crank but not start. It had something to do with the starter switch. The mechanic said that it was old and gets stuck in the "off" position. As soon as he changed it out it was fine. That may be the problem if your mileage is high and driven quite a bit.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out.
Jon