From a previous thread (in the diesel discussion) inquiring about glow plug replacement, & after comparing Lightman's instructions it would appear the non turbo 96 has a different setup than the 99 w/ turbo. Without any intercooler & what appears to be a different intake manifold cover compared to the 99 (the 96 has a 2 piece as opposed to the 1 piece on the 99 turbo)
It looks like just removing the plastic valve cover,13 or so manifold bolts,& 4-5 10mm bolts on a bracket holding the egr assembly,would allow easy access to the plugs. Any advice specific to this model would be appreciated.

A friend & I replaced glow plugs on his '96 E300 a couple of weeks ago. You need to remove the crossover, plastic cover, and then the intake. Depending on how old the plastic pcv lines are, they may need to be replaced when you take off the manifold.

Be very aware of the wiring harness, on some harnesses the insulation is brittle and will fall to pieces(do a search on this item). Intake will probably need to be cleaned up inside.
Don't let any parts fall into the head, or the party will be on. By then you are at the glow plugs. We had great sucess with a 3/8" impact set on a low air setting. This took them right out, even though they had NOT been installed with anti-seize. I would use a 606 glow plug reamer, then antiseize both the threads, and the tapered seal(at the bottom of the glow plug housing, not the element), install the plugs, and torque.

It would also be a good time to check out any seeping fuel lines and replace them..

Good luck

Bill

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Bill Brune

86 190D 2.5 5spd 314k
87 190DT 150k
87 300SDL 357k
95 E300D 115k
02 Jetta TDI 90k
99 Subaru Legacy