Power Service will gradually mix through even a full tank; adding it to an empty tank and then pumping in the fuel is of course better.

Put the battery on a trickle charger for 24 hours or a larger charger for a couple of hours, then try starting again, mid-day when it's warmed up a bit.

Check the glow plugs, you may have one or more bad ones. I think these cars had the older style glow plugs. maybe you can update the engine to the newer type that work better.

Sounds like a great car, where are the pix you promised???

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Possibly. If the last time it was filled up was a while ago it may not have "winter mix" diesel.

How much is in there now? If its not too full you may be able to avoid having to fill up your tank 5 gallons at a time

G'luck!!

__________________
John Robbins
'05 E320 CDI - 240k
'87 300TD - 318k

if you don't want it let me know

The glow plugs are 7 months old. The tank is full....I filled it up with $40 of #2 @ $2.56 a gallon two days ago. Where is good place to buy a battery charger? How much should I expect pay for one and does it have to be a special kind due to the non-standard battery size?

__________________
1973 280 - Sold
1980 300SD - Sold
1982 240D - Stolen
1988 300E - Sold
1989 260E - Sold
1989 560SEL
1994 E420 - Sold
1997 E420
2005 CL500

My 1993 Ford Econoline would not start the other morning. It was 11 below. I replaced the battery and put in bottle of fuel additive made by red line. My son had complained about the amount of time it took to pump aq few gallons into one of our pick-ups. The station attendent had told him it was pumping so slow because the fuel was so thick.
The recommended dose is one ounce for 10 gallons I think (read the instructions dummy), but to add the whole bottle for intial engine treatment. I had run a tankfull through with a full bottle and was impressed with how much the smoking had been reduced. It seams to start and run better in cold weather with the additive. The Ford dealer had sold me on some additive that I found no benificial effect.

cold starting tips
Fresh hot battery: warm it up if you have to. the diesel engine needs to turn over faster to start in cold weather. Batteries lose performance when the temp drops.

Hot glow plugs: check with an ohmmeter. resistance should be about 1 ohm. If it is open, replace it.

Good fuel: last summer's fuel may not be sutable for winter use. You can try "heat" or other additive. as I said I like the stuf from red line oils.

Clean injectors: nobody bothers to service the injectors, but after 100,000 miles they nay be spraying drops instead of a fine mist. large drops are harder to ignite.

__________________
69 220D not running
79 240D parts car
80 240D Beater runs everyday
81 300TD temp disabled cooling problem
82 300SD sweet

Misunderstood your earlier post... Either way, if you filled it two days ago you should have winter diesel.


Any standard battery charger will work fine. Wal-mart/Autozone/etc should have one. I think I paid $30-$40 for mine.

It should start when its 20 out... I don't get anywhere near as much cold action as you, but my '79 SD has easily started with a 20 second glow when it was 15F out.

__________________
John Robbins
'05 E320 CDI - 240k
'87 300TD - 318k

If the car has a block heater, that will surely help with getting the car started. Look under the front bumper area for a standard 3-prong house-style power plug. It was an option but many cars have them.

Ken300D

__________________
--------------------------
1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

I backed wife's 77 300D out of the showroom in Knoxville TN, 13 May 77, it did not come with a rt side mirror, bought one later.
Ron Moore

PS wife's uncle bought 79, 300 SD, outstanding car.

My '75 300D has started at -24F, and my '85 300SD has started at -10F.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

With or without block heater?

If without... thats very impressive!

__________________
John Robbins
'05 E320 CDI - 240k
'87 300TD - 318k

Ok guys thanks for all of the advise and assistance. I got her (Greta) running and took her out for a nice long drive. If I may.....back to my other problem...the heater. I only works about 25% of the time. I don't want to do any bypasses per say. I want to fix it so it works as it was meant to. Is this a DIY job or a tech sorta job? $$$???

I am a reader and tinkerer by nature. Where can I get a comprehesive manual for Greta?

Thanks!

__________________
1973 280 - Sold
1980 300SD - Sold
1982 240D - Stolen
1988 300E - Sold
1989 260E - Sold
1989 560SEL
1994 E420 - Sold
1997 E420
2005 CL500

Nice thread,ive got a friend here with a 300sd from 1980 with 116k miles,thing is so fast and strong,taken care of like a baby by this guy,paint is bad but interior is like none ive ever seen,he replaced horse hair pads with oem from Germany,took weeks to arrive here,anyway its a speed demon,super steady, everything works,except a/c,new everything as far as rubbber or filters in car,car also came stock from Germany with a 27.5 gallon fuel tank,he is willing to part with this beauty for 10k or more,i think its worth it but im not the man for the car since ive got 3 myself.my 80 sd with 440k miles still drives great so this one at 116 will do good for quite some time im estimating.pm me if intersted.(serious only)

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W123 1985 300TD naturally aspirated