E300 D rough idle

My 95 E300 idle gets progressively more rough as the outside temp drops, when temp gets to 60 or so it idles smoothly. Other wise it runs great,gets 32-35mpg. Another problem which may or may not be related is the trans shifts very hard when the motor is cold, and as it (the motor) warms up,gets very sloppy, except when accelerating briskly. Thanks in advance.

[SW]

I don't know much about the engine and tranny in your car, but I would run the engine on can of Diesel Purge to see if it smoothes out the rough idle. Hard shifting in the earlier diesels is usually related to vacuum problems.

how difficult is it to run the purge?

[SW]

Basically, you just replace the diesel tank with a can of DP. This is what I do with my car:
1. Pour the DP into a clear jar.
2. Disconnect the fuel line at the injetcion pump and connect a 1/4" hose to the injection pump and place the other end into the jar.
3. Disconnect the return line (cigar hose) at the end closest to the firewall and place it in the jar.
4. Start the engine, make sure the inlet hose (1/4") is submerged in DP or else the IP will suck in air (not a good thing).
It will probably take about 15 minutes for the purge to be used up. Stop the engine before the jar becomes empty. When I did this procedure on my car, the DP instantly turned black, which told me that the injectors were really plugged. The idle smoothed out and the engine was really quiet. I hope it works for you.

Thanks for all your help, I found a vacuum leak which fixed both my problems, but I will try the purge anyway.
Thanks again.