thank you for the update. After reading, I could not help but notice some feel the block heater is not necessary for daily operation. That is true unless you travel to or live in northern climates. A few years back, I used a 1984 300D daily while surviving a New Jersey winter. Good thing the car had a block heater because I don't believe it would have started without it.

I also learned through all that to:

1. NEVER run a diesel out of fuel, especially when it is COLD outside!

2. ALWAYS plug the block heater in at night even if you need an extension cord to do it.

3. ALWAYS use anti-gel additive in the diesel fuel.

4. NEVER spray WD-40 into the air intake to start a 617 diesel engine. You can easily snap a timing chain. Better to double glow plug the engine prior to starting.

Those were my big lessons learned from running around in a 300D during a New Jersey winter. I'm not much of a cold weather guy, that said, when the ice and snow hits, New Jersey moves out the salt trucks in rapid fashion. You just have to slow down because there are patches of black ice that WILL get your attention if you are speeding or texting while driving.