Will it run

Tiny
JOHN RUNNING
  • MEMBER
  • 1982 MERCEDES BENZ 300DT
  • 5 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 200,000 MILES
Day 1. Valves adjusted and already good. Then relatively little Compression. Put oil on top of pistons.
Day 2. #1 Cylinder = 160 psi. #2 = 400 psi. #3 = 100 psi. #4 = 310. #5 = 160 psi

Day 3. #1 = 175 psi. #2 = 400. #3=140. #4 =300. #5=280

Day 6. #1 = 150 psi. #2=375. #3 = 160. #4 = 300. #5 - 300

Has not ran in 5 years.

Are these compression numbers good enough to run.

I do not want to spend money and time on it if these compression numbers will not work. And it is not worth rebuilding the engine. All the Mercedes book says is recommend 350 to 400 psi, but that does not tell me if it will actually run with less or not. Please help.
Wednesday, November 27th, 2019 AT 3:15 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,003 POSTS
Because it has been setting that long I would suspect it has some corrosion on the valves and valve seats. That will easily cause low compression, and if you found that some valves had excess clearance when you adjusted them that would likely be the reason. The extra oil somewhat confirms that because you didn't get any real change in compression from adding it, and if it were the rings you should at least get a marked increase after it was added. A trick I have used with diesels is to spray just a small amount of gas into the intake and then see if it will fire. The gas burns a bit faster and hotter than diesel and can help to blow rust and crud off the seats. Another trick for dirty valve seats is to take a small hammer and tap the rockers or top of the valve stems a few times to see if you can get them to seat better. The numbers are not real good but it should at least fire and it is very likely that the compression would raise a lot if you could get it to run a bit. You may need to re-adjust the valves as soon as it does run though, if they were adjusted tighter they may not set down if the seats clean up.
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Wednesday, November 27th, 2019 AT 10:33 PM

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