320cdi Diesel knocks on cold start

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Paul P

New Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2005
Messages
24
Location
Shopshire
Car
E320 CDI Estate 210 Elegance Facelift Yr 2000
:confused: Hi Guy's,
Is there any "Diesel Engine Experts" out there? We had a 300 Turbo Diesel which had its heater plugs operated via the key which started okay no knocks or smoke, We changed it for a 320 cdi which has done 72000 miles now witch is not a lot for a diessel engine, The last few cold mornings when we start the car from cold the engine knocks and jerks as if the the timing is to far advanced? and chucks out a lot of smoke, once it has run for a while it starts okay there after no smoke or knocks, is this normal? Paul P
 
Sounds as if a) you have a failing or some failing glow plugs or b) a couple of blocked injectors which is causing the knock or nailing as its known...ie sounds like somebody knocking a nail into some wood.

I have heard that the CDi engine injectors do not last as long as the older style diesels as they are made to much finer tolerances which can result in them getting blocked that much quicker, especially if you have been using diesel with low levels of detergent, ie Supermarket fuel
 
Cheap things first. Try adding injector cleaner and see if that helps. May take a few days.

You may have picked up some poor quality diesel. Happened to me in Wales and was terrible! Run it down and top up with BP Ultimate Diesel.

(Less likely maybe air filter blocked: changed mine recently and a HUGE difference in return for less than £20. On a W211 E320Cdi (much the same engine as yours) supposed to last 60,000 miles or 4 years but that is a joke)

If still a prob. check out the Glowplugs.

Still no improvement get a proper diagnostic done.
 
320cdi Diesel Engine

Vlad said:
Sounds as if a) you have a failing or some failing glow plugs or b) a couple of blocked injectors which is causing the knock or nailing as its known...ie sounds like somebody knocking a nail into some wood.

I have heard that the CDi engine injectors do not last as long as the older style diesels as they are made to much finer tolerances which can result in them getting blocked that much quicker, especially if you have been using diesel with low levels of detergent, ie Supermarket fuel

Thank you guy's Satch & Vlad,

That's right just sounds like some one knocking a nail in some wood but with a club hammer, Gulity! we have been using supermarket fuel for a long time now, from now on we will use better fuel from a garage filling station,Ok cheap way out first, is there any way I can chek the glow plugs with a Avo Meter to find out which one or one's has gone? or is it better to change all 6 of them,

Will Injector cleaner unblock injectors is that worth a try? do we just go down to Halfords or Motor world and get some or is there any better cleaner that you know of?
 
STP or Wynns Diesel Injector cleaner if you want a branded product are OK.

Number here use Millers Diesel Power plus but that is more of a long term additive: cleaning plus cetane improver. If you use supermarket diesel suggest it is well worth seeking out for regular use but if you run on BP Ultimate Diesel or similar maybe just the odd dose every so often.
 
Satch said:
Cheap things first. Try adding injector cleaner and see if that helps. May take a few days.

You may have picked up some poor quality diesel. Happened to me in Wales and was terrible! Run it down and top up with BP Ultimate Diesel.

(Less likely maybe air filter blocked: changed mine recently and a HUGE difference in return for less than £20. On a W211 E320Cdi (much the same engine as yours) supposed to last 60,000 miles or 4 years but that is a joke)

If still a prob. check out the Glowplugs.

Still no improvement get a proper diagnostic done.

Yes! Guilty using Supermarket fuel, will use better fuel from now on,
On the last service 5000 miles ago we change the diesel filter and air filter so that should be ok, I agree with you 60,000 miles or 4 years is a long time! we service the car once a year (aprox 12,000 miles) we put a new air filter in every year, I woud like to check the Glowplugs, I have a Avo Meter do you know if there is a way that I can find out which one or one's have gone with the meter,

What Injector cleaner can you recommend will give that a try

The last MB we had was a 300 Turbo Diesel we took that in to a local stealership and they charged £98.00 for a diagnostic test on the gear box to tell us it was ok (the car had only done 48,000) still was not happy with the box it used to miss a gear some times sold the car for this one.
 
Satch said:
STP or Wynns Diesel Injector cleaner if you want a branded product are OK.

Number here use Millers Diesel Power plus but that is more of a long term additive: cleaning plus cetane improver. If you use supermarket diesel suggest it is well worth seeking out for regular use but if you run on BP Ultimate Diesel or similar maybe just the odd dose every so often.

Will give the them a go thank you will give a posting later on how we get on
 
Once you've put the injector cleaner in take it out for a good old Italian Tune Up.....ie give it some revs and a good thrash....even better if you can find a long steep hill to go up, as nothing cleans a diesel better than putting the engine under load.

On the first 5000rpm gear up change you should see a nice cloud of crud/smoke coming out of your exhaust.

In terms of the glow plugs I would have thought that the glow plug light would re-ignite after the engine had started to show that one or some of your glow plugs were faulty or that it would take slightly longer for the glow plug light to go out in the first instance, when you go to start the car.....is it doing any of this?
 
Paul, sound like glow plug gone. I had the same this morning on my E300 turbo diesel. Had the symptoms of glow plug indicator staying lit after car started, then this morning very cold, one glow plug inoperative. Banged and rattled for about 30 seconds untill it warmed iteself under compression. Ok during the day, but the car never really gets cold, only overnight. Booked in for next week :rolleyes:
 

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