It was around 15 below this morning and the 300td started. After reading the manual yesterday which clearly indicated you had to keep turning it over with the starter, I kept the starter engaged for a long time. After about 30-40 seconds it began firing intermittently and finally started up. I had to shut it down immediately because it went to high rpm's because the linkage was stuck from the cold. But it restarted right away. Interestingly, the slight miss which is usually there for about 45 seconds after a cold start was not there today.

I think the trick is to overcome our gasser habits and be willing to keep the starter cranking well beyond what seems reasonable (to me at least), because it't not like a gasser where stopping to give the starter a break and trying again is an acceptable practice. Keeping a diesel spinning for a long time with a starter is heating the engine up and helping it to start. Short bursts of the starter in cold weather are not effective diesel starting techniques. I also kept my foot on the throttle.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13