I too have a 96 e300d with 204,000 on it, bought it used about 5 months ago, and so far so good. The question I have is that I went on line to purchase an intake manifold gasket, and on a number of sites, they come up with 2 different gaskets for the same model and year. I will have to see if I can get a peek at the engine plate, but I believe it is located on the right hand side of the engine, below the cylinder head looking into the engine compartment. That area is a little congested, so I may have to use mirrors to get a look without taking off some of the engine parts. Thanks for any info you can provide.